wow!!!!

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@ nigh $50/box, they can keep them!

The link takes me to a page that has been removed.

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prices for krag ammo:
Ventura Heritage 30-40 Krag 220gr RN New Ammo - 20 Rounds $46.38

Ventura Heritage 30-40 Krag 180gr SP Ammo - 20 Rounds $45.83

Remington 30-40 KRAG 180gr Express Core-Lokt PSP Ammo - 20 Rounds $42.52

My guess is that they are marking up the Remington as a handling charge.  The 220 gr rounds appear to be using Hornady bullets... and I'm guessing Remington brass.  The 180 gr also appear to be using Hornady bullets.  I'd hazard a guess that they are pricing based on their cost of brass and bullets!

I can reload for pennies as compared to this ammo... but I'm sure there are shooters out there who don't reload, and would just assume buy loaded ammo, regardless of the cost!

Checked the Ammoseek web site and there is a lot of 30/40 listed.  Prices ranged from just over $30 a box and up.  These guys were the highest listed prices.

i feel sorry for the factory loads guys. i still have 30-40 cases that date back to '50-60's. i still load them up.

You may have paid for your brass as loaded ammo way back when unless you got it as a bag of unprimed brass.  Nothing is diiferent for the new guys.  They pay the going rate for their initial feed stock the same as you did then and I did twelve years ago.  The only difference is the inflation of the money supply causing perceived higher prices.  At some point, the decision will be made by them to reload or continue to pay up.

I preach the gospel of Saving Brass by <fill in the blank with your favorite reloader> to every Krag shooter.  Heck, I tell everyone to save their brass even if they are not reloading at the moment because they might at some time in the future.

I want to start to learn how to reload 30-40. I have an RCBS progressive loader. What advice do you for people like me just starting out? I have been saving my brass and have 120 cases to start with.

No offense intended, but I do not recommend progressive presses for beginners. It's much easier to keep track of things when one has only a single station/operation to watch. That, and for rifle cartridges such as the Krag, speed and quantity aren't factors.

All that said, read, several times, the sections in your reloading manuals on the process. I kept a copy of the Lyman manual in the reading...err, bathroom, for a couple of months before I touched my first case.

I can't think of any 'traps' awaiting you specific to the Krag. It is very much like other bottle neck cartridges. You'll need to lube the cases for sizing (neck sizing is preferred for a single rifle) and I strongly recommend a Lyman M-Die for loading cast bullets.

A friend close by who knows his way around loading can be very useful. Ask here if you run into specific issues. I, and I'm sure many others, will be glad to help.

Good luck, have fun and report back.

I partially agree with 'Hoot'. I like doing one operation on my batch of cartridge cases at a time (and then changing to the next operation).

If you can deactivate your press from advancing or progressing, you have an advantage.

You can set-up and preserve the adjustment on each of your Dies on the removable 'Die Plate'.

You then can manually rotate and index the plate to a specific station or Die. Since nothing is advancing, you can perform just one operation on all your cases, as if, it was a single stage press.

Culpeper wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2017 at 6:02am:

I tell everyone to save their brass even if they are not reloading at the moment because they might at some time in the future.

I've been saying the same thing to people shooting Krags for years.  Anytime someone gets their first Krag... I stress "Save Your Brass!" with any other advice.

As far as people new to reloading, although you CAN start with a progressive... but if you've never loaded rifle brass, I agree that a single stage press is far easier to learn with.  I also think that someone starting out need not buy the most expensive equipment out there!!!  I've been reloading for more than 30 years with a beat up old LEE Challenger press, and I do just fine and dandy... and I load several rifle and several pistol calibers with it too!  LEE Pacesetter dies are inexpensive, and work just as well as RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Dillon, and other brands that will cost up to twice as much as the LEE... or more.

Thanks guys. I should have started out by saying my RCBS is only set up for 45 cal. I have never reloaded for a riffle caliber.
What is the first book you recommend buying. I looked at reloading books and there is a lot of information out there.

I guess the next question is what dies to buy. I have had people that reload 5.56 tell me to stay away from Lee products. I don't want to start a brand name flame war just looking for a general consensus.

The Lee Dies work fine for most of us. The .30-40 cartridge is not finicky and is easy to reload. (FWIW - I have RCBS and Lee .30-40 Dies).

BTW - Many of us back off the Die one turn in the Press so that we are just 'Neck Sizing' part of the very long case neck.

(Hint - Keep your Brass separated by the Krag it was fired in).

i used to have a lyman t-mag turret press but i've got a  lee classic cast press (    (You need to Login ). i've had the t-mag press for about 25 years or so, but i like the lee single stage more.

30-40 krag dies are in lee. but i have many that are rcbs, redding, hornady ... :D dies. if you do cast boolits, use a lyman m die.

also use a hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Charge Powder Scale and Dispenser (   (You need to Login ) you will luv it.

As for manuals, I have several editions of Hornady, as well as the Lyman 49th edition, and LEE and Nosler loading data.  If you're loading cast, Lyman has great data for cast bullet loads.  But when loading standard jacketed bullets, the Hornady 9th and 10th editions are my BIBLE!!! 

By the way... as for your 5.56 guys, there are a lot of people out there who will tell you that if you're not using Dillon (only the most expensive stuff), you're wasting your time.  To that I say, listening to someone tout Dillon... or any brand for that matter... would be "Wasting My Time!"  I only make suggestions for using LEE because it's inexpensive for beginners.  I mostly have LEE because I'm not rich, but I do also have Hornady and RCBS dies and equipment, and they all work great!  The bottom line is:  Buy/use what YOU are comfortable using!!!

+1 on Paul's advise
Vic

psteinmayer wrote on Sep 24^th, 2017 at 12:46am:

By the way... as for your 5.56 guys, there are a lot of people out there who will tell you that if you're not using Dillon (only the most expensive stuff), you're wasting your time.  To that I say, listening to someone tout Dillon... or any brand for that matter... would be "Wasting My Time!"  I only make suggestions for using LEE because it's inexpensive for beginners.  I mostly have LEE because I'm not rich, but I do also have Hornady and RCBS dies and equipment, and they all work great!  The bottom line is:  Buy/use what YOU are comfortable using!!!

And if you are comfortable hefting a seventy pound single stage press then get a CSP-2 to reload your krag brass.  I use the included adapter for my RCBS dies.

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Of course, some days I get a real work out with my reloading time. :o

You do not need fancy stuff & may be able to do OK at the right estate sale.  I still use the Herter's press (really a Pacific) that I bought the year after I got out of high school (1959). I switched to RCBS dies because the Herter's were lemons. I bought the $12 shell holder adapter from RCBS.  I still use the same scale I bought back then, although I have an electronic job.  I have an old B&M powder measure from the 30s. It works better than the new ones. I decap & prime with an old Lyman tong tool.

One at a time, one step at a time, and look at the powder level in every case before the bullet goes in.  Good loading blocks are an investment.  You are loading for an old rifle using one of the best cartridges ever made for handloading.  Nothing fancy and never, ever go for the hottest loads.

Old loading books & manuals will tell you more about Krag loads than newer manuals.

AMEN!!!  You said it brother!

reincarnated wrote on Oct 12^th, 2017 at 5:25pm:

You do not need fancy stuff & may be able to do OK at the right estate sale.  I still use the Herter's press (really a Pacific) that I bought the year after I got out of high school (1959). I switched to RCBS dies because the Herter's were lemons. .

I'm interested in knowing what was wrong with the Herters dies. I am using Herters dies I picked up used some years back and it seems that I am having concentricity problems with some of the resized cases. I have the dies backed of to only partial resize.

IMHO - Some of the Herter's Dies, I've seen, were roughly machined and heavily plated. The workmanship and precision were not the equal of the Lyman, R.C.B.S., C&H, and Lee Dies, I am use to.

That being said, the Herter's Dies and Presses were very inexpensive at a time when U.S. Reloading Equipment was very expensive.

I have a Herter's 6.5mm bullet seating Die, with an open 'side-window' that I like to use for making 6.5mm Swedish Mauser ammo.

Some Herter's dies were OK, others were not.  I don't think you can generalize.  They may have been rejects or low-end contract stuff from some other company.  I don't think Herter's made anything except fiberglass boats & such themselves.  Everything else was made elsewhere and George Leonard Herter put his name on it.  My Dad called him George Leonard Hotair.

I have Herter's dies in .30-06 that are OK and a set of 6.5 Jap that are so badly off that I have used them when making .220 Swift into 6mm Lee Navy. 

The huge Herter's Catalogs made for great bathroom reading. There were some real Non-PC lines in the text.

I think their single-stage presses and reloading Dies came from the Ruhr Valley of West Germany.

As 'reincarnated' states, products were contracted with manufacturers and had the Herter name put on them. BSA made some bolt guns and J.P. Sauer made some Western style revolvers for Herter's. Quality of goods was variable!

The non-PC statements were great.  I recall that one said "The Virgin Mary said" that something was one of her favorites, but I no longer remember what it was. 

I always thought my Herter's C-press was a Pacific because it is the same size as an example I have seen, but it could well have come from West Germany.  No markings on it except the Herter's name.

Bottom line is, if those Herter's dies are giving you trouble (and they very well might), then use them as paperweights and get a set of LEE Pacesetter dies.  Good entry level and excellent quality.