[Alk8944]

Several years ago I had a No 3 Ruger .30-40 which wouldn't shoot for beans.  After ringing the barrel about 2" from the muzzle (don't ask, it wasn't deliberate) nothing changed either for better or worse.  It didn't even affect the zero! The rifle would do no better than 3-4".

At the same time I was musing about a .358 Win. Model 70, 99 Savage, whatever.  This was 18 or so years ago and me, a gun, and the money, have never gotten to the same place at the same time yet.  I thought about a wildcat .35 and what I had that could be used.  After necking up several cartridges, just to see how they looked, the .30-40 with its long neck looked the way to go.  My Powley Computer showed projected velocities of 2250 fps for a 250 gr. Hornady and 2500 fps for the 200 gr.  Sounds just like a .358 or .35 Winchester, doesn't it?

A call to Fred T. (Huntington) for a referral on a barrel maker to re-bore the Ruger to .35 got me the name of Bob West.  As an aside, I can heartily recommend Bob West for any barrel work you need.  Contacting Mr. West got a quote of &#36125 to re-bore and neck up the existing chamber.(Remember, this was a long time ago)

The barrelled action went to West and was returned just a few weeks later including a re-blue you couldn't tell from the original Ruger finish.  This POS that wouldn't shoot as a .30-40 now shoots in the 1" range as a .35-40 with full loads.  The only problem is that it really kicks!  It has taken one good scope apart for me.

I modified a set of RCBS .30-40 dies to the .35 and saved a bunch there.  This cartridge has the advantage that both bullet and neck diameters are standard sizes so a pair of chucking reamers did the work after annealing the dies.  The dies were re-hardened with Casenite after reaming and have been used for many years now.

The question is, does anyone have any information if this has been done before.  I have seen mention of it it one of the magazines, but checking with RCBS, Redding, C-H can find no information that any has ever made a die set for it.  Until I find other info, I will claim this as my own.

Thought some of you might be interested in the story.  BTW, Bob West is still in business if anyone needs any barrel work.

 

[Jack K]

Say, Alk8944 could you give Mr. Wests address or how to get in touch with him? Thanks. Jack K

 

[Contender]

CB,

The one I’m familiar with on the Krag case is the 35 Lever Power. The Krag case rim is turned to .500” so it can be used in the Marlin 336/Win 94 Lever Rifles. According to PO Ackleys book, the ballistics were quite good up to 2600 FPS or so with a 20” barrel and 200 gr bullet. Of course, one has to take into consideration the actual experience varying to some degree.

It appears the early experimenters preferred to use the 405 Winchester case which is essentially a Krag case but about 1/4” greater in length. However the head and rim diameter are virtually identical. I’m guessing that the slightly greater case length gave them more leeway for experimentation and preferring to neck down than up. Some of them were also shortened if the need arised to fit a particular action length.

In my 1947 copy of “Wildcat Cartridges” I see based on the 405 case, the .35 Rimmed Magnum and the Elliott .357 Express.

One could just use the 356 Winchester for a rimmed case or neck up the 307 Winchester case for 358 Winchester ballistics.

A number of 35 caliber wildcats are also being based on the more modern 444 Marlin case as you probably know. In Contender chamberings the rimmed case being more user friendly due to the single-shot break open action and extractor arrangement. 358 Bellm and 358 JDJ come to mind.

Also with the Krag case, the 35 Remington rimmed. Merely, sizing the Krag case in a 35 Remington sizing die and cutting to proper length for the 35 Rem. A rim counterbore is cut in the existing 35 Rem chamber in the Contender.

An interesting route would be to go with the Ackley Improved case shape in your 35 Krag chamber. Ackley commented that the Krag case was one of the better performers in the Improved version, gaining a greater percentage of performance when compared to his other cartridges.

There is very little new under the sun with regard to wildcats these days but I enjoyed reading of your exploits with this one. I’m sure someone out there at one time did the same thing with the Krag case but that doesn’t take away from the worthwhile endeavor of you pursuing it.

The 348 Winchester case and 303 Brit case were other rimmed cases with a number of wildcats based on them.


Regards, Ray

 

[Alk8944]

Thanks guys.  I was already well aware of the .35 Leverpower and others you mention.  What I am trying to determine is has a .35 caliber on the standard .30-40 Krag case ever been done before?

The actually closest cartridge to this is the .35 Winchester.  If you put them together the only significant difference is the body length.  The shoulder contour, neck length, head, etc. are for practical purposes identical.  The other significant difference is rim thickness, the .35 Win/.405 Win have a rim about .010 thicker than the Krag and .303 British.

 

[Marshall Stanton]

A local wildcatter here in my area built a really spiffy walk around the woods gun, based on a neat little Fox double 20 ga.  The barrels were cut to 20", one barrel, the left, I believe had a screw in Browning choke system installed, and the right barrel lined with a .35 cal barrel, fitted and silver soldered into place, then chambered to .35-40 Ackley Improved.  Wow, what a neat little compact, quick pointing package.  The .35-40 AI is very efficient, and a superb lead slinger.  Sights on this little jewel employ a flip-up rear apeture sight inletted into the rear of the rib between the barrels.  Front sight is an old original marbles ivory bead.

Not exactly your .35-40, but an AI version... close as I am aware of to your current project!

God Bless,

Marshall

 

[Contender]

CB,

Found an article in Handloader #173 on a "35 Krag".

If you want, e-mail me and I can send you a scanned copy to check out.

Appears it is not a "true" 35 Krag as he is using 35 WCF cases full length but does use original Krag cases also.

Interesting at any rate.

Regards

 

[Kragman71]

I'm glad to see some interest in this cartridge.
I made a post ,on a different website, about my Krag developing a case of swollen groups. Mr. Ken Howell suggested that I have it recut to the 35 caliber Krag cartridge,and suggested a gunsmith,Cliff LaBounty,of Maple Falls,VA. (360 599 2047)
I have a great deal of faith in this suggestion,but I would like to get an idea about the realitive costs of recutting a barrel as  opposed to rebarrelling .
I also know nothing about reloading this Wildcat. My copy of P O Ackley's book does not mention it.
Can any one here,help me out;I only want a "ballpark"figure?
Thanks,
Frank

 

[RIH]

Hello all, This board was recommended by "contender" as THE place to be. I come here seeking knowledge. I have a Siamese mauser that was sporterized many years ago and re-barreled (with a 2 groover) to 30-40. Whomever preformed the job did excellent in all aspects except the chamber. It appears as if he got the reamer "cocked" a little on one insertion and double cut the chamber. It now leaves a ring part ways around the case when fired. I have thought of many different way to re-barrel this gun and came up with an idea to make it 35-40 or 35 krag. I posted this idea on another board and got a good response. Now I need info. I ran a couple of old cases into a 35 REM. sizer, necked it up to 35 and am happy with the way it looks. Now I need to figure all the other stuff (barrel twist, thoat, ect.) before I jump in head over heals. Can you help?
Robert