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Has anyone come across the practice of converting 30-40 Krag cases to 303 British? According to a list I am on the Krag brass is stronger. :G

I have read about it often enough and heard the strength difference assertion but not sure about, the Krag round SAAMI max is a tad less that the .303" British.

Why would you want a stronger .303" British case anyway? Case "strength" is not just dependant on the case but also how it fits the chamber.

To follow on most of the historic reasons for converting the Krag case was in the US wher Krag cases were plentiful and .303" brass especially boxer primed was not so people who were picking up .303"s were looking for reloadable case and used what was on hand.

dromia wrote:To follow on most of the historic reasons for converting the Krag case was in the US wher Krag cases were plentiful and .303" brass especially boxer primed was not so people who were picking up .303"s were looking for reloadable case and used what was on hand.

I think Dromia has hit the nail on the head with availability of brass.

From Hodgdon

303 max load 150 grain bullet
44.2 gns of IMR 4895 Velocity = 2689fps, Pressure 46600 PSI

30-40 Krag max load 150 grain bullet
36 gns of IMR 4895 Velocity = 2435fps, Pressure 39700 PSI

All I really know about the 30-40 Krag is the action has a reputation for being weak and is loaded accordingly in the US.

Thanks all, it was an American SMLE list and I was surprised they would resort to such things, Adam's explanation explains everything.