.30-40 Krag in a Rolling block

kevin.303

kevin.303

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i'mm looking at buying one of the awede rolling blocks from trade ex, and was thinking of rebarrelling to .30-40 Krag. i'm intending to load it with black powder to keep the pressure down. i know Remington originally made it in the chambering, but it was with a #5 action, and the Swedes appear to be #1's. can this be safely done? if not i'd go with a more appropriate cartridge like .45-120 or .50-110
 
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Can't answer your question, but you could buy a sporter in 12.7mm and rechamber it to 50/70 or 50/90.
 
A cartridge like the Krag can and was reloaded with black, just as our .303 was, but both make poor black powder rounds compared to some of the bigger bores. The smaller cals. tend to foul barrels more and sooner, and with the BP avail. nowadays you can not even equal original BP loads as far as Velocity goes. Bp also does not perform as well with cases that have a shoulder. There are far better BP rounds out there starting with the 32/40 and the 38/55, working your way up to the 40/65 and 40/70SS, and on up to the many .45s. The most trouble free cartridge is the 45/70 as all the components are readily avail. and in a pinch you could shoot factory loads.
 
hmmm.... i never thought about the .32-40. would the rollingblock shot gun actions be a feasible starting platform? they're a lot cheaper then the rifles
 
kevin .303

I own and shoot several BPCRs, including a couple of RBs. Being rimmed, the 30-40 would be an excellent choice for a RB action, but as others have pointed out, there are any number of other good choices, maybe better.

Last couple of times I've been to the range, a good ol' boy has been there with his Swedish 12.7mm using 50-70 brass and 3031, shooting the hell out of paper targets and chunks of clay bird out to 75 yds. This guy is in his 70s!

The current issue of BPCN has an article on the use of BP in the .303 British. It can be done, but it's a lot of trouble and you don't get the original performance either. Best done with Metford rifling, which means shooting a pretty collectible rifle.
The guy who wrote the article even gets 70+ grs of BP into the case with a 'flash hole' through the powder charge. He doesn't give details, but it's one of those 'don't try this at home' things.

A 45-120 or 50-110, you say? Shoot one first. Most of us find that for any amount of shooting, a 45-70 produces all the punch we can enjoy. This includes guys like Mike Venturino, who's been shooting BPCRs competitively for years.
I like watching guys shooting their 45-110s, etc. and getting bounced pretty good. After a few rounds, it doesn't look like they're really enjoying the experience.

Wanna buy a 45-70 RB? I'll sell you mine. Gimme a pm and we'll discuss it.

Todd
 
thanks but no, just thinking out loud right now. and i've shot a .45-120, didn't find it all that bad, no worse then my .358 Norma Magnum. brings up another question i have, i shoot a Krag Jorgensen 1898 carbine as well, and want to try replicating some bp loads with 220 gr bullets. how should i measure it. i've heard i can just " fill er up" since it won't come any where near the pressure limit, but i'm skeptical on that to say the least. can i use a bp substitue like pyrodz? i know it probably won't perform that well, but just want try it for something different.
 
If you have never loaded and shot BP before, do like Sharps '63 says-start with the 45-70. The 45-90 is also a good choice. 45-120 and 50-110's are MONSTERS, not only to get to shoot accurately, but when you pull that trigger on 110 plus grains of powder pushing 550 to 700 grains of bullet......can you say OUCH? Even shooting 60 to 70 grains of BP and 480 to 550 grain bullets get tiring after a 40 shot per day shoot. But that said, it is great fun, and very addicting.
I have met and shot BPCRS with Mike Venturino in Missoula, he explained that when you get a 2.1 to shoot well, then you can start working on the bigger cases. He said it is possible to get the big ones to shoot, just easier to start small.
What do you plan for this RB? Hunting, BPCRS, just plinking, or all of the above?
I use my Shiloh #1 45-70 for all the above.

LeRoy's 0.02 cents
 
I have a couple of the Swede rollers in 12.7X44R, and enjoy loading and shoting them w/black powder. I use 50-70 brass with a few small alterations. I too was thinking of rechambering one, but after trying it out, I've been very happy, although I'm no long range target shooter.
As for using a shotgun receiver: I was advised against it due to the large fireing pin and higher pressures of rifle cartridges. I have seen them done in 45-70 though.
 
While I have a stock Swede RRB. I also bought an action and barreled it to 45-70.
1, Brass easy to find
2. dies reasonably priced.
3. bullets no problem
4 if used as a hunting rifle it will take down anything on the North American continent (except a T rex or a whale)
If used as a target rifle, it won't beat the crap out of you for an extended session at the range.
And it will easily handle smokeless loads if you want to go that way.
 
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