Forums.NitroExpress.com

Gentlemen;
I ran across this posting the other day which I had never seen before. Since it is about the Krag, I thought it might be good to share it here. The Krag action was rated for 40,000 psi while the '95 Winchester lever gun was rated at 45,000 psi. I considered this carefully when I was loading for another Krag that is chambered in 35 WCF, and I adjusted my loads carefully for the krag. Had I know about this experiment, I might have just used the loads for the 95 Wichester.

John

I ran across this posting of an experiment conducted by Michael Petrov - Best known for his writings in Precision Shooting and his two volumes of "Custom Gun Makers of the 20th Century". I thought that it might make you feel a little better about standing behind your old Krag sporter.

There seems to be a lot of customized Krags on the market at this time, many not bad and in the $300-400 range.

I’ve seen a lot written about the Krag and many times the one locking lug is always mentioned as the “Weak” link in the Krag. This is to address the design of the Krag not the strength - for a better understanding of the rifle.

Please understand that I do not advocate loading the Krag action up beyond the designed pressure limits. Stick with published loads found in any loading manual.

A few years ago after hearing one warning after another I decided to test a Krag action, to destruction.
I built a box out of wood 2x12’s with a steel top, the inside of the box was painted. I set it up so I could fire it remotely, a long string. Word traveled fast and there were a half-dozen folks on hand for the day. Who could resist seeing a gun blowup?

After everything was ready I fired two factory 220gr rounds to make sure everything was fine, it was.
I loaded all the ammo with Remington brass, 200gr Sierra bullets and CCI large rifle primers.

I then shot the following loads which showed maxim in the loading manuals.
A. 40.2 gr. 4895 All OK no problem opening the bolt
C. 36.3gr. 3031 All OK no problem opening the bolt
E. 40.9gr. 4064 All OK no problem opening the bolt
The following loads filled the case to the base of the bullet.
B. 43.0gr. 4895 All OK no problem opening the bolt
D. 41.0gr. 3031 All OK no problem opening the bolt
F. 44.0gr. 4064 All OK no problem opening the bolt

G. 20.0gr. Bullseye, Very loud noise, flattened primer, bolt very hard to open. I was a little surprised that the rifle was still in one piece.

H. 30gr. Bullseye receiver sheared off at the safety lug, both sides, receiver broke off at the bolt handle, top flange on the bolt face gone, back 3/8” of case gone, could read the headstamp on the bolt face. The barrel and back of the receiver flew out the front of the box and the box was blown apart but the paint was not so much as scratched.

Now to the important part of this experiment. ALL the rounds fired and listed above were fired after the single locking lug had been completely removed. The Krag has a well designed and strong safety lug.

No need to hot-rod the Krag I used one for years on both Moose and Caribou and it did a fine job with factory Remington 220’s.

--------------------
John

"In the Texas Oilfield, everything that does not kill me today, gets another chance tomorrow."