RPRNY
Member
I'm new to the Krag - Jorgensen. Just bought a nicely done sporter with a modern replacement barrel at 21.5". It slugs a true .308 which is nice.
In the interests of efficiency, I load 6.5x55 30-30 and 8x57 (all 18 - 20" barrels) with Varget for very acceptable results. There is no Varget data for 30-40 so I called Hodgdon and spoke to a very helpful tech support guy. He explained that there's no Varget data for 30-40 because there's no interest in the cartridge. Seems quite reasonable. He then made all the appropriate and reasonable disclaimers, which I acknowledged, and suggested that given the similar burn rate (slightly faster than Varget) and similar granular density that I look to IMR 4895 for guidance. Basically, he suggested starting with the 4895 start load and working up. He mentioned the Krag's know single rear locking lug weakness so he was aware of the rifle limitations we were discussing.
This makes sense to me and I'm sure the Hodgdon guy knows what he's talking about, but I am not the most experienced hand-loader and have always been religious about "published data only", so I wanted to throw this out to the community of experienced loaders for views on advisability.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
In the interests of efficiency, I load 6.5x55 30-30 and 8x57 (all 18 - 20" barrels) with Varget for very acceptable results. There is no Varget data for 30-40 so I called Hodgdon and spoke to a very helpful tech support guy. He explained that there's no Varget data for 30-40 because there's no interest in the cartridge. Seems quite reasonable. He then made all the appropriate and reasonable disclaimers, which I acknowledged, and suggested that given the similar burn rate (slightly faster than Varget) and similar granular density that I look to IMR 4895 for guidance. Basically, he suggested starting with the 4895 start load and working up. He mentioned the Krag's know single rear locking lug weakness so he was aware of the rifle limitations we were discussing.
This makes sense to me and I'm sure the Hodgdon guy knows what he's talking about, but I am not the most experienced hand-loader and have always been religious about "published data only", so I wanted to throw this out to the community of experienced loaders for views on advisability.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
