Converting 303 British Cases to 30-40 Krag

Рет қаралды 6,052

Күн бұрын

30-40 Krag ammunition is expensive. And for reloaders, brass has been increasingly difficult to find. An easy solution is to convert 303 British brass to 30-40. Dimensionally they're nearly identical except that they're about 0.100" or 2.5mm shorter. This isn't typically an issue as the 30-40 case has a very long neck. Some attention is needed to the bullet choice and the seating depth to mimic 30-40 Krag.
DISCLAIMER
All subjects featured on this channel are shown for historical and informational purposes only. All gunsmithing work is intended to restore the item to it's original condition, never modifying to serve any other purpose. In no way, shape or form is anything featured on this channel ever intended to be sold at any time. Any messages regarding selling a firearm, ammunition or an accessory will be removed. Everything shown is legal where the creator is located, please check your local laws.
00:00 Intro and comparison
02:03 Cartridge conversion
04:15 Loading
05:04 Bullet choice and seating
07:27 Shooting
08:52 Headstamping and conclusion

Пікірлер: 51

@harpoonman234 Ай бұрын

Nothing like going to the range and hearing boomers shouting about their ruger revolvers lmao

@rre9121 Ай бұрын

3:28 Finally, you are using the right sizing wax on an imperial cartridge.

@damianklisz4733 Ай бұрын

One of the best gunsmith youtuber's. Really great video man!

@accountant377 Ай бұрын

It’s a great day whenever you drop a video Rakum

@kmorris180 Ай бұрын

With this video, you have helped me and earned my subscription. I got blessed with a 30-40 Krag a couple of months ago and was trying to figure out what to do about brass. I only have about 30 or so. I can get my hands on 303 Brit. Thank you for posting this.

@matthewspeller Ай бұрын

Now I need a Krag so I never have to trim my 303 again, just go straight to converting it. Life hack.

@ditzydoo4378 Ай бұрын

Excellent video, easy to follow well done. Now I have a new source for my 1898 Krag CMP with its 03 Springfield re-barrel to a 22-inch carbine.

@JerryRussell-cv6ng Ай бұрын

I never thought that, I have convert 30'06, 270, 260 brass to 8x57 mm. Thanks for the video!!!

@shiftymcgee4183 Ай бұрын

Nice that one seems to be the most straight forward conversion out of all the variations you've done so far?

@RUSTYCHEVYTRUCK Ай бұрын

For some reason I always thought .30-40 was a shorter cartridge, maybe just bc I compete it to .30-06 which is very long

@STMwoodturning Ай бұрын

I have done something similar years ago to get my type 99 7.7 Japanese running. I Converted .270 Winchester brass by just running it through the 7.7 sizing die. Also had to trim it down a little and inside ream The neck. Worked great

@tynado1173 Ай бұрын

I do the same. I haven’t needed to ream the necks using 270

@michaelmacek9433 Ай бұрын

I have converted a lot of GI .30'06 brass to different calibers over the years. I use a permanent marker to color the heads so that I can tell at a glance what caliber the converted brass is. This would not work for anyone not familiar with my coding system but it works great for me. The same works for me with 11m/m French Gras, Dutch Beaumont, 8m/m French Lebel, and others converted from .348 winchester brass

@rickt10 Ай бұрын

Every year, around hunting season, Brownells used to get 30-40 Krag in stock for a short period of time. Don't know if they still do. I got enough to re-load years ago.

@Grahambowski 21 күн бұрын

Great video

@andrewsteele7663 Ай бұрын

Great tutorial, just wondering once you have fire formed the new cases. Do you see any length increase in the converted 303 cases?

@elazarsinger4187 Ай бұрын

Thanks for making this video! I've been rebuilding a krag, and ammo has been one of my biggest concerns. Well that and the fact that I'm building an 1896 krag carbine, and my goodness, finding a rear sight seems to be near impossible!

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

The carbine sights are out there, but they're expensive. If I were rebuilding a carbine I'd just get a rifle sight.

@elazarsinger4187 Ай бұрын

@@rakumprojects my understanding was that rifle sights would require adapting? I couldn't get a clear description of what kind tho. I don't have the ability to do any metalworking, but the stock is new made so I wouldn't feel bad about altering it

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

@@elazarsinger4187 All US Krag rear sight models are interchangable, but they may need different screws and need to fit the handguard you have. The only difference between rifle and carbine sights are the carbine sights have a C stamp and are calibrated slightly differently.

@elazarsinger4187 Ай бұрын

@@rakumprojects thanks! I'll give that a try!

@TheRedneckPreppy Ай бұрын

I'm surprised that the Handloaders Manual of Cartridge Conversions even bothers listing .405 Winchester as another possible brass source given the easiness and ubiquity of .303 British brass.

@mckutzy Ай бұрын

After an annealing of the case, Couldn't you make up a fire forming load instead of the resizing process...Kinda like if one didn't have those die sets???

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

The sizing die is necessary since the 303 case can't fit within the 30-40 chamber without the shoulder being pushed back first.

@michaelsaine Ай бұрын

i dont have a 30-40, but cought my attention couse i have a 303 rifle. this looks intresting and even though i dont have 30-40, i wanna try it

@ZacharyBurgard Ай бұрын

I am lucky my grandfathers buddy has a bunch of it from when they were still making it in a decent amount and I have a huge amount of brass from him

@grahammctygue724 Ай бұрын

Had luck useing krags lead in tight britsh rifles great job 🎉🎉😊

@tylerhughes192 Ай бұрын

Great video! I myself am on a quest to try and make 11x60 Murata been knee deep in forums/manuals.

@kmorris180 Ай бұрын

That can be made from 348 Winchester, can't it? There's a gentleman on MeWe who is selling some 348.

@guaporeturns9472 Ай бұрын

When in doubt you could just oust the shoulder down just a smidge more to make sure it chamber properly , don’t you think? It headspaces on the rim , right? If you push the shoulder back a bit over it will fire form to the correct size won’t it?

@markcooper6736 Күн бұрын

I do the same thing

@Bidimus1 Ай бұрын

Nice, and like the remarking of the brass. Could the sizing die also be used as the case holder ?

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

It would likely get stuck in the die when using the punches

@Bidimus1 Ай бұрын

@@rakumprojectsThanks.

@samiam619 Ай бұрын

@@Bidimus1I use the case holder whenever I have to pull some bullets. A lot easier than those three jaws held together by an O ring that comes with the inertial hammer! It’s a Franklin Arsenal product.

@Tammy-un3ql Ай бұрын

👌👌👍👍

@craigthemonke794 Ай бұрын

I wonder if a krag can be rechambered into 303 british or is the brit cartridge too high pressure?

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

303 British is probably slightly too hot for the Krag action. You'd also need to open the bore to .311", however some Krags have oversized bores.

@AndrewTPewPew Ай бұрын

Great vid. Man I hate the loud mouths at range. Like bro, get powered muffs I don’t need to hear your entire convo!

@rakumprojects Ай бұрын

Agreed. I try to edit it out as a much as possible without sounding like the audio is cutting in and out.

@krockpotbroccoli65 Ай бұрын

Glad my range is a private club and I never go on weekends. I usually have the place to myself.

@Guke-Nukem Ай бұрын

They could at least tell a more interesting story (or at least a joke) if they're going to be that loud.

@guaporeturns9472 Ай бұрын

Guess you should set up your own private range then huh? Imagine whining about people talking at a public area. Some folks just look for stuff to whine about , like you for example.

@jakeevans8819 Ай бұрын

That's what I'm saying@@guaporeturns9472

@amym828 Ай бұрын

I've never understood why some people get so fixated on seating to the cannelure.

@scott_hunts Ай бұрын

Load to max length or above it just because you get that rifling engagement as you close the bolt. Be a man.

@davenoi9609 Ай бұрын

Global brass shortages!

@Strelnikov10 Ай бұрын

Excellent video.

@unclewillcorp227 Ай бұрын

303 brit is rare too dont waste it for that bs

@geodkyt Ай бұрын

.303 is in current production, such as the PPU he was using. I've also bought US commercial .303, without having to look THAT hard. Advantage of using modern brass is the primer pockets are already made up for easily obtainable Boxer primers, instead of the British milspec Berdan primers. It's certainly far more available than .30-40 Krag, and well under half the cost as .30-40 Krag.