The Kentucky Krag Rises Again

[rcathey]

No worries at all! I actually found and purchased a book on the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry ("Heroes of Peace" by Greg Eames). Quite an interesting read and they (excerpts from diaries and newspapers) talk quite a lot of all the disease.

[rcathey]

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the POI of the darn thing before I ran out of ammo. Even 50 yards was apparently a bit optimistic. I’ll try for 25 yards next time.
Anyway, I have a few pics here.
I have one showing the range which is Jay Henges in High Ridge, MO. Absolutely wonderful outdoor range. 100 yards and it costs a whopping $3 to shoot there which includes paper targets and the spotting scope you see in one of the pics.
I have another photo showing how much space that 30” barrel takes up in the gun rack - kinda humorous.
I’ve also included an image that, sorta, shows the condition of the chamber. An unfired round next to some empty brass. This was Remington core-lokt and if I slide the empty brass over the loaded round, I can feel it catching on the cannelure (right?) marks on the bullet. Pretty good condition chamber, looks like!
All in all, it was a fine day to “convert money into noise,” here in Missouri. The rifle functioned flawlessly, I just need to figure out where it’s actually hitting!

[rcathey]

And just another little note of some worth:
What a wonderful gun to carry! Even with that big long barrel sticking out, it’ll balance on one finger right in between the receiver and rear sight. It’s a dream compared to the otherwise wonderful M1.

[browningautorifle]

What a wonderful gun to carry!

Absolutely correct. They balance and come to shoulder perfectly. Made when shooters were gun guys and so were builders. Something long lost when you look at the stainless and plastic offerings of some of the major manufacturers of today...big name brands. They snap shoot and come up with the sights on when they hit the shoulder because the sights align with the eye immediately too...

[butlersrangers]

Your 'Fired' cartridge case looks normal so your chamber is probably fine.

How about posting a picture of your front-sight, so we can see if anything is out of whack?

The removable blade should measure around .413" high, outside of its base.

Try at 25 yards with big piece of paper. A Krag will normally be on the paper of a standard target at 50 yards, even with a rough bore.

It sounds like something is way off with the sights.

[rcathey]

BR, I'd nearly guarantee this has more to do with the operator than the firearm. Like it's said back home, "well, I may not have killed him, but I scared the hell outta him." That's basically how I shoot haha.
I went to Cabelas after the range trip and picked up a shooting rest that fits me better. They also had some ammo so I took that too. I'll go back soon.

[Kerry49]

If you haven't tried this already, one way to check if the sights are close is to set the rifle on your bench rest, remove the bolt and sight looking thru the bore at the target. When it's set look thru your sights. This may show you something.

[butlersrangers]

'rcathey' - If you are from Kentucky, it should be in your DNA to shoot well!

(Kerry49 is correct. Careful 'Bore Sighting' tells you if bore and sight picture roughly coincide. It gets you in the 'Ball Park' and saves lots of ammo).

At this point, get on the paper, keep the same sight picture and shoot groups. Don't use 'Kentucky windage' trying to get Bulls-Eyes. Find out where it shoots and how tight it groups. You can adjust and alter sights once you know what to adjust.

[rcathey]

'rcathey' - If you are from Kentucky, it should be in your DNA to shoot well!

Haha, that is true! This shooting for groups business is a whole different ball game than what I grew up doing. Clay pigeons don't stand much of a chance against me and uncountable squirrels have been lead to the dinner plate via my .22... but that paper target is just different!
Oh well. Like I said, this range is only 3 bucks to shoot at. I'll be getting much more practice.

[andiarisaka]

If the neck of the fired cartridges aren't blowing out, it could be that Remington, in order to preserve us and cover their own rear, has loaded them with a fairly slow burning powder so as to keep pressure down. The 40,000cup loads I fire in my Krags will blow the ID of the neck out to .314-.315 or so. That can vary with the thickness of the brass in the neck. A bore with a groove diameter larger than .308, which many Krags have, will also produce less pressure. In other words, you've got nothing to worry about. Murray KY! I'm a Murray guy too, Murray City, OH that is. Maybe someone that buys the overly expensive stuff can pull one down for me and report what they find.