.30-40 Krag
Encyclopedia
The .30-40 Krag was a cartridge developed in the early 1890s to provide the U.S. armed forces with a smokeless powder cartridge suited for use with modern small-bore repeating rifles to be selected in the 1892 small arm trials. Since the cartridge it was replacing was the .45-70 Government
, the round was considered small-bore at the time. The design selected was ultimately the Krag-Jørgensen
, formally adopted as the M1892 Springfield
.
. After a brief experiment with a 230-grain bullet loading, the .30 Army loading was standardized in 1894 using a 220-grain metal jacketed round nose bullet with 40 grains of nitrocellulose powder. This loading developed a maximum velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) in the 30 inches (762 mm) barrel of the Krag rifle, and 1960 ft/s (597.4 m/s) in the 22 inches (558.8 mm) barrel of the Krag carbine.
The rimmed
30-40 round was also known as .30 Army, .30 U.S., or .30 Gov't. Although the .30-40 Krag was the first smokeless powder round adopted by the U.S. military, it retained the "caliber-charge" naming system of earlier black powder cartridges, i.e. a .30-caliber bullet propelled by 40 gr of smokeless powder.
From the outset, the .30-40 cartridge proved popular for hunting, and was chambered in a variety of firearms. In 1899, a Krag in .30-40 caliber was used to shoot the world-record Rocky Mountain elk. The record stood until the latter half of the 20th century.
In October 1899, after reviewing the experiences of the Spanish-American War
, U.S. Army ordnance authorities developed a new loading for the .30 Army used in the Krag rifle, in an attempt to match the ballistics of the 7x57mm Mauser cartridge employed by Spanish forces in that conflict. The new loading increased the muzzle velocity in the rifle version of the Krag to 2200 ft/s (670.6 m/s) at 45,000 psi. However, once the new loading was issued, reports of cracked locking lugs on service Krags began to surface. In March 1900 the remaining stocks of this ammunition (some 3.5 million rounds) were returned to the arsenals, broken down, and reloaded back to the original 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) specification.
In 1903, after recommendations from the infantry Small Arms Board, the U.S. Army formally adopted a higher-velocity .30-caliber replacement for the .30-40 or .30 Army cartridge. The new cartridge was designated by its year of adoption, the .30-03
.
.45-70
The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873...
, the round was considered small-bore at the time. The design selected was ultimately the Krag-Jørgensen
Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
, formally adopted as the M1892 Springfield
Springfield Model 1892-99
The Springfield Model 1892-99 Krag-Jørgensen rifle is a Norwegian-design bolt action rifle that was adopted in 1892 as the standard United States Army military longarm, chambered in U.S. caliber .30-40 Krag. All versions and variants were manufactured under license by the Springfield Armory between...
.
History and development
Though the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had adopted limited numbers of smokeless powder, bolt-action rifles, the .30-40 was the first cartridge adopted by the US Army that was designed from the outset for smokeless powderSmokeless powder
Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...
. After a brief experiment with a 230-grain bullet loading, the .30 Army loading was standardized in 1894 using a 220-grain metal jacketed round nose bullet with 40 grains of nitrocellulose powder. This loading developed a maximum velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) in the 30 inches (762 mm) barrel of the Krag rifle, and 1960 ft/s (597.4 m/s) in the 22 inches (558.8 mm) barrel of the Krag carbine.
The rimmed
Rim (firearms)
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. The rim may serve a number of purposes, the most common being as the place for the extractor to engage...
30-40 round was also known as .30 Army, .30 U.S., or .30 Gov't. Although the .30-40 Krag was the first smokeless powder round adopted by the U.S. military, it retained the "caliber-charge" naming system of earlier black powder cartridges, i.e. a .30-caliber bullet propelled by 40 gr of smokeless powder.
From the outset, the .30-40 cartridge proved popular for hunting, and was chambered in a variety of firearms. In 1899, a Krag in .30-40 caliber was used to shoot the world-record Rocky Mountain elk. The record stood until the latter half of the 20th century.
In October 1899, after reviewing the experiences of the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, U.S. Army ordnance authorities developed a new loading for the .30 Army used in the Krag rifle, in an attempt to match the ballistics of the 7x57mm Mauser cartridge employed by Spanish forces in that conflict. The new loading increased the muzzle velocity in the rifle version of the Krag to 2200 ft/s (670.6 m/s) at 45,000 psi. However, once the new loading was issued, reports of cracked locking lugs on service Krags began to surface. In March 1900 the remaining stocks of this ammunition (some 3.5 million rounds) were returned to the arsenals, broken down, and reloaded back to the original 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) specification.
In 1903, after recommendations from the infantry Small Arms Board, the U.S. Army formally adopted a higher-velocity .30-caliber replacement for the .30-40 or .30 Army cartridge. The new cartridge was designated by its year of adoption, the .30-03
.30-03
The .30-03 was a short-lived cartridge developed by the United States in 1903, to replace the .30-40 Krag in the new Springfield 1903 rifle. The .30-03 was also called the .30-45, since it used a 45 grain powder charge; the name was changed to .30-03 to indicate the year of adoption. It used a...
.
Rifles and handguns chambered in .30-40 Krag
- Krag-JørgensenKrag-JørgensenThe Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
- Winchester High-Wall
- Remington-Lee bolt-action
- Remington Rolling BlockRemington Rolling BlockThe Remington Rolling Block rifle was a breech-loading rifle produced in the late 19th century by E. Remington and Sons...
- Winchester Model 1895Winchester Model 1895The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester,...
- Ruger No. 1Ruger No. 1The Ruger No. 1 is a single shot rifle, with Farquharson-style internal hammer falling block action, manufactured by Sturm, Ruger. It was introduced in 1967. An underlever lowers the block allowing loading and cocks the rifle. A falling block action is an inherently strong design, and the Ruger...
- Ruger No. 3
- Thompson-Center EncoreThompson Center ArmsThompson/Center Arms Company is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company is best known for its line of interchangeable barrel single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson Center manufactures muzzleloading rifles and is credited with creating the resurgence of their...
See also
- List of rifle cartridges
- .30-03.30-03The .30-03 was a short-lived cartridge developed by the United States in 1903, to replace the .30-40 Krag in the new Springfield 1903 rifle. The .30-03 was also called the .30-45, since it used a 45 grain powder charge; the name was changed to .30-03 to indicate the year of adoption. It used a...
(.30-45) - .30-06 Springfield.30-06 SpringfieldThe .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
- 7 mm caliber7 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
other cartridges of similar size.