June 4, 2020, 06:03 PM | #1 |
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30-40 Krag
My neighbor asked me a question about a old 30-40 Krag.
It belongs to his great grandfather and was asking about the grooves in the barrel. He claims that their are only 2 groves for the rifling. He ask me if that could be true. I have looked on line and can not find any info on the rifling only the twist rate. Thanks in advance.. |
June 4, 2020, 06:13 PM | #2 |
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Looking down the bore and focus on the beginning of the riflings. Count the number of sharp edges. Divide that by 2 will give you number of grooves.
Professional method is to slug the bore or to have a chamber cast. A gunsmith can do that for a small fee. -TL Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk |
June 4, 2020, 07:28 PM | #3 |
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Slugging the bore...
... is relatively easy with the right sized lead bullet. Chamber casting is harder. Eutectic metals and such.
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June 4, 2020, 07:41 PM | #4 |
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4 grooves
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June 4, 2020, 08:16 PM | #5 |
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My 1898 krag is 4 groove
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June 4, 2020, 10:04 PM | #6 |
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I believe some DCM Krag carbines were rebuilt with re-profiled surplus 1903 Springfield barrels. (Most of which were 2-groove.)
Even if I didn't remember that tidbit (and even if it is mis-remembering), I still wouldn't doubt it. The U.S. was messing with 2-groove (and even 1-groove) rifling for 50+ years. I'd be quite surprised if someone was able to prove that there were never 2-groove Krags.
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June 6, 2020, 03:37 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
You're not mis-remembering. I've seen several U.S. Krag rifles that have been re-barreled with surplus 2 groove Remington 1903A3 barrels. All had cut down Krag stocks and had receivers drilled and tapped for commercial peep sights. They turn up from time to time at gun shows and farm auctions up here in WI. Gary |
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June 7, 2020, 06:45 AM | #8 |
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Thanks guys.
If it is a 2 groove barrel does it need heavy bullets (180 + gr) to be accurate? |
June 7, 2020, 08:45 AM | #9 |
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Well, the Army shot 150 and 162 grain bullets in them. I don't know of anything that would make heavier bullets better unless it is the Krag throat length.
The two groove barrel is the same as the four groove barrel except they didn't cut two of the grooves, half the time saved on a Pratt and Whitney rifling machine. Groove depth and width are the same. |
June 7, 2020, 03:54 PM | #10 |
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Shoot what you want.
Don't worry about the 'missing' grooves/lands.
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