Took a break from shooting my 1899 Krag Carbine a few months back after some mild frustration with the lack of accuracy; I couldn't hit sh*t at 100yds. In the meantime I bought a spotting scope, proper benchrest equipment and adjusted the load I was using in my Krag.

I'm now working with commercially cast 205gr gas checked lead bullets sized to .314 (Lyman 314299), pushed by 29gr of IMR 4895, Rem 9 1/2 Primer and seated to 3.1". This is .003 over the bore of my Krag. The rests provide a sturdier platform, and the spotting scope is allowing me to make small adjustments without having to walk down range.

I'm amazed at the improvement. 20rds fired. First three shots were great (see 3rd picture - difficult to make them out but it was taken with a cellphone through a spotting scope). First ten shots were part of that nice lower-center grouping, the next ten were pretty much all over the place with the 19th being that bullseye and the 20th being the one half on the paper at the far right edge. Go figure.

Overall I am happy to say that this old Krag with a half-*ss bore and iron sights is still fairly capable. I am hoping to tighten up those shots some more too.

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