Gas checked bullets in the Krag?

[Dusty Tagalon]

A question for those shooting Krags in competition, are you using gas checked bullets?

Thanks
Dusty

[Drydock]

I have used both.  But at the velocities needed for this game I can see no benifit, and leave them off.  A coating of Lee Liquid Alox works wonders.  At higher velocity though I use 'em every time.

[Hell-Er High Water]

I don't know about the performance in a Krag - YET, but I have found that older rifles with less than perfect bores will usually shoot better with gas checked bullets than with plain based bullets.  I'm not sure of the reason but it may be that there is less gas cutting and blow by than you might get with the plain based bullets in a rough bore.

I have found this to be true in my M'95 Winchester in 30 U.S. Gov't, my M'85 Portugese Guedes in 8x60R MM and my M'86 Winchester in 45-70.

If you have a rifle with a less than perfect bore and are not getting satisfactory results, you might give them a try.

HHW

[Niederlander]

Sgt. Drydock,
      What alloy do you cast your Krag bullets from?  I've been using the Lyman formula of nine pounds of wheel weights to one pound of fifty fifty solder, but I'm going to try straight wheel weights for the low velocity (1400 fps) bullets.

[Drydock]

Mostly I just use whatever's in the pot, which is mostly chilled shot.  Wheel weights seem to be mostly zinc now, and the easiest and cheapest way for me to get lead is by buying 25# bags of chilled shot.  I'm not sure what the formula is, but it works great with no leading from 1300 all the way up to 2000 or so FPS with gas checks and Lee Liquid Alox.

For high velocity loads I do quench harden the bullets by dropping them from the mold into a bucket of cold water.

[Niederlander]

Hello!
      I still have access to plentiful supplies of lead wheel weights, so I use those.  I'm a long time user of Lee Liquid Alox myself.  In fact, I've never used anything else, and I've been extremely pleased with it.  Gas checks seem to help a lot, too.

[Niederlander]

Hello!
    I just tried 220 grain bullets cast from straight wheel weights in a Lyman mold, Lee Liquid Alox, with gas checks, over a minimum charge (according to the Lyman manual) of 5744.  Eureka!  They shot great at thirty five yards, especially as I was leaning over the pickup tool box on a windy day.  Groups were an inch or less for five rounds so I'm sure they'll do much better when I can shoot off the bench.  They also feed perfectly, so I'm just pleased as punch!  They'll work great as the next cowboy match.