30-40 brass getting scarce

[jon_norstog]

hey, guys,

i was going to put together a Midway order so I could get my new 7 mag up and running. Thought I would pick up a little fresh 30-40 brass. Guess what?

They don't have it!

Maybe they'll get some in for hunting season? Hope so.

Word to the wise: stock up while you can.

jn

[Nick Adams]

hey, guys,

i was going to put together a Midway order so I could get my new 7 mag up and running. Thought I would pick up a little fresh 30-40 brass. Guess what?

They don't have it!

Maybe they'll get some in for hunting season? Hope so.

Word to the wise: stock up while you can.

jn

For what it's worth, I picked up 200 pcs of Rem 30-40 brass from Graf & Sons two weeks back. You might want to check in with them, as the sales guy said they had more on back order from both Rem and Win.

It's apparently "seasonal," and he was expecting a large amount from both companies in August or Sept for the fall hunting season.

[jmoore]

With the huge run on ammo this year the manufacturers have had to concentrate on the most popular calibers, resulting in shortages for most of the less popular calibers. They were caught flatfooted w/ the demand for 380 ACP so for a while many gunshops in the US were w/o ammo for their pistols! Makes it kind of tough for all the first time buyers who have come out of the woodwork looking to buy a small carry pistol.

At least most of us have at least a small stash of supplies to fall back on. I think the supply side will catch up in a few months barring ANOTHER round of panic buying.

[Drydock]

Mid South Shooters supply has some, though how long it'll last . . . Midsouth Shooters Supply, Reloading, Air Guns, Optics, Muzzleloaders & Shooting Supplies (www.midsouthshooterssupply.com)

[kragluver]

As Nick stated above, Remington has told me that their run on Krag brass is seasonal. At one time last year they told me they weren't going to make it anymore. However, they made another run of it last fall. I laid in a stock of about 400 and that should last me a lifetime.

[Kragnut]

Since 30-40 and .303 British use the same headspace gauge, does this mean you can make 30-40 brass from .303 brass by just running it though the throat sizing pin on your 30-40 die and expanding the neck diameter? Or does the .303 have a thicker or bigger dia rim out in the back?

[andiarisaka]

You can make 30/40 from .303, but it winds up a bit short in the neck, the difference in rim diameter is negligible, .540 for .303, .545 for 30/40. Case length for .303 is 2.22, 30/40 2.25. I don't think your rifle would know the difference as long as you seat the bullet to the same OAL. It's a full length sizing operation, not just a neck sizing. Actually, sizing the .303, which has more body than that of the Krag, down might lengthen the case enough that there would no difference. Haven't tried it, but will sometime in the future. I know there are fellows who have, and they'll chime in I'm sure. I have a bolt that shows excess headspace because of someone lapping the locking lug and that makes the .405 Winchester with it's .010 thicker rim a candidate too. An expensive proposition, but better than being without.

[jon_norstog]

Hmmmm ....

[andiarisaka]

No Jon, you can't convert your Krag to .405 for hunting elk! I can hear those wheels turning, and not the type you have to pedal. I guess one could do this conversion, the SAAMI maximum pressure for the .405 is 34000 psi. OAL would be an issue for some bullets with 3.115" being the longest cartridge my Krags will handle through the magazine. AmmoGuide is now... "Interactive"! (http://ammoguide.com/?catid=46) Just pulling your leg Jon, but as far as making 30/40 from .303, Grafs has PRVI .303 for 36.99/100. The brand works well in my 7.5 Swiss.

[jon_norstog]

Andi,

Thanks for your concern. I *was* kinda thinking about, not a .405, but maybe a .35 Winchester. But I'm more inclined to look for an 8mm Danish or get a Norwegian Krag done over in 8x57. I got a call in to Roy Bedeaux in Albuquerque to look for an action ..

jn

[andiarisaka]

Here's a pic showing 30/40 made from PRVI brand .303 brass. From left to right, unfired 30/40, .303 sized in full length die, .303 sized simply by closing the bolt on it, and .303 unsized. Sizing it by closing the bolt is easy as the neck/shoulder is annealed on the PRVI brass. Of course the neck is still a bit large for .308 bullets, but I use .310 bullets, so it isn't a problem for me. At $20/100 less than what Grafs last charged for 30/40, it'll work for me!

[Griff Murphey]

.30-40 is such an esoteric caliber, if you just watch the flyers from Midway, etc., it will eventually come up on sale. If you neck size, it never wears out. I'm still shooting some Winchester brass that came as ".30 Army Full Patch" loaded rounds, probably from the teens or 20's, fired away when I bought my first Krag in the mid 60's. That brass could theoretically have even had some mercuric primer damage but it's still puttering along just fine. I note that when you go into stores these days you see plenty of .38-40 on the shelves and you can't find .380 auto.

[218bee]

As of last week, they had Remington 30-40 virgin unprimed brass for $23.00 per bag of 50...I bought a bag & a 3-die set of Lee Krag dies (also $23.00)..

Now, to find some 6.5 Jap......

218bee

[andiarisaka]

218, you have some jap. It can be made from 30/40 or 303 British. Done it lots of times. It's tedious work though. You have to turn the rim and run it through several common dies, .308 win with the expander removed, 7/08, then your 6.5 jap die. Then trim to length. Lt easier to buy the right stuff. Avoid Norma, the rim is too thin.