In the late 1880's and early 1890's while many European countries were converting to small bore smokeless rounds the US still had the outdated 45-70 Springfield a black powder 45 caliber design. In 1892 the Krag was adopted taken from a Norwegian design. It has only one locking lug which limits the loads you can use. The magazine pulled out from the side and the cartridges were dropped in which was fairly convenient.
It beat out over 50 other rifle types to be adopted including a variation of the 303 Savage. It was loaded with a 220 grain round nose solid bullet and was outdated almost as soon as it was adopted. The velocity varied from 2000 to 2200 FPS though the heavier loads were known to crack the locking lug.
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Its shortcomings became apparent during the Spanish American War. The Spaniards had a 7 X 57 Mauser with a more streamline bullet weighing173 grains at a higher velocity about 2300 FPS so they were able to pick our troops off from distances that were too great for the Krag. At the battle at San Juan Hill about 700 Spanish soldiers inflicted about 1400 casualties on our 15,000 men army. That started a search for a better long range cartridge eventfully ending up with the 30-06. The Krag was replaced in 1903 with the 30-03 which was a slightly longer variant of the 30-06. Like all military hardware it was used for a few years after being replaced by reserves.
It was the first smokeless sporting round brought out in the US in 1893. The Winchester Hi-Wall was the first to adopt it. The Winchester model 95, Remington Lee bolt action and some rolling blocks also adopted it in short order. From 1936 to 1973 there were no rifles offered in this caliber but Ruger offered a single shot rifle for a few years. There was a rimless version loaded by United Metallic cartridge and used in the Blake rifle though it's not common today.
Today there are still some Krags around though they are getting pricey especially originals. Ammo can be found and there is plenty of information for the handloader though caution is the byword. It is suitable for most large game and can produce great accuracy. The Krag utilizes cast bullet and reduced loads very well. It has one of the smoothest actions around. If you have one by all means shoot it, you won't be sorry.
Bob Shell
The 30 - 40 KragATV HD Tube. Duration : 3.08 Mins.The essential ATV video. An assemblage of clips from the past couple of seasons. Special thanks to ATVtracks.net, Extreme Motorsports Complex, Fantom Z ATV and NWQN, ATV Magazine, ATVnation.com, Adventure Sport Rentals, and Dave "follow me if you can" Abenth. Music by Mark Magill
Tags: ATV, HD
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