handloading the .30-40 Krag

[kevin.303]

ok, soon i'll be starting to load for my 1898 Krag. i plan to use the Hornady 150 gr RN, only $20 per 100 and i'm stuck with RN's because of the Krags long throat. for a powder will probably use IMR 3031. my Lee lists this load as starting with 38.2 grains of powder, which produces a MV of 2473 FPS. the sights where originally designed for a 220 gr bullet fired from 30 inch tube, but my barrel's ben shortened to about 21 inches, and the front sight blade was cut down, was shooting way off with faciotry ammo, now it's on paper. i'm assuming that with a lighter bullet and shorter sight plane, it will be hitting high, the question is is there way to figure out how high?

[PaulS]

Kevin,

Light bullets usually hit to a lower point of impact because they don't move the barrel as much in recoil as heavier bullets. With the front sight lowered it should raise the impact point. It depends how much the sight was lowered and how much the lighter bullet affects the shorter barrel - To my mind all bets are off - too many modifications at once.

[Slamfire]

I'd think with 150's you could use the longest VLD bullet you could find. As you say the throat is long, I doubt any 150 is longer than the original 220 RNs. I think heavier bullet will strike higher as they are in the barrel longer as recoil develops. If you need to make your front sight higher, just braze a piece of brass wire to the top of it.