30-40 krag top wood hand guard removal

evening all my name is bill in I am interested in older guns and rifles. while I an in here I will ask my first question. a while back I came across a 30-40 krag mfg. in 1900. its looks like nice old rifle. most of it I have it apart and cleaned .except the top wood hand guard.the rear screw will not lossen up.i am wondering if I can just gently push the hand guard over the top an through the wood hole ? what I have so far is put long pieces of shim stock between the barrel and steel clamp pieces and also some shim stock between rear sight and wood hole, then gently tap on the long pieces of shim stock ? I have so far been able to move the stock down about 1/8 or so but I stopped at that point for now !!, but it seems like it may work ??? hoping I can get some advice if this may work ? or another way to get the screw out ? possibly take screw driver and grind down to what I need thanks for any and all help you can give me bill p.s. not good at spelling

The general thought is that if you remove the top hand guard by pulling it off, you'll crack the wood or worse. The usual procedure is to remove the rear sight and take the rifle out of the stock group. Slide the hand guard forward until it comes clear. The spring clips may "Allow" you to take it off straight up, but that might not be healthy. Regardless, the rear sight has to come off. Most will use a quarter in the rear clip and nickel in the front clip while they're off the rifle too...saves on torqueing the wood...if your rear screw won't come free, maybe a bit of assistance is in order... I've used a hardened screwdriver bit of proper size and put it in the slot, smack it like a chisel with a small hammer and it will break the hold of the screw. Straight down on the screw, understand? Just the bit. Then make sure you use the correct size to remove it. A second guy to hold it all sometimes helps.

Thanks Jim for the reply I did try a couple times to smack straight down the screw but so far did not move may try to custom make a screw driver for the screw. the trap and the screw let soak in oil for 4 days an using a exacto knife to work around the edges on the 5 th or so popped open an got of the but plate all the rest of the hardware except that screw.

I was also thinking of reloading for this krag using a jacked or cast round nose about 110 gr bullet an poss 10 to 11 gr of unique powder. I reload also for a trap door that works well using unique powder and cotton or tissue backing up the powder again works well. again thanks for your advice Bill

There's all manner of loads in the Lyman book... Yes, a properly dressed screw driver can be magic some times. Don't forget that second set of hands...

Hi all today I finally got off the top wood hand guard that back screw was hell but it finally came out with lots off thin oil an scrapping around the screw head to loosen it up. I guess I have two more question about this krag 1) can i use factory 30-40 krag ammo in this old rifle or us reduced loads ? 2) the serial # is 289526 I did find out it was mfg. in1900 and was wondering if there was any other history to this krag ? thanks for any help you can give me Bill p.s. through this webb site can get any info on a trap door rifle also ? again thanks

Yes, Factory ammo is fine. You'll probably find they have 180 grain bullets and the originals were 220. They should work fine. Lots of us here shoot them and one takes his elk yearly with his. Don't use a reduced load as it can buy you a whole different lot of trouble. The serial number doesn't even come close to a hit... Yes, there's a place to find out about trapdoor rifles and carbines on this site.

thanks Jim for your reply think I will pick up some factory ammo Bill

Krags seem to do best with 180-220gr bullets pushed at moderate velocity --use published data--, and most people find they feed through the magazine more reliably with round nose bullets rather than spitzers. They can be pleasingly accurate rifles, no doubt about it. Always remember they're 112+ year old ladies and demand respect, handload-wise.

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Originally Posted by M2phil

most people find they feed through the magazine more reliably with round nose bullets rather than spitzers.

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I can personally vouch for that.

Mine will feed anything, but has always been slightly more accurate with RNs.