
Use of the ’scope in the standing position 
cartridge and rifle easily took’ 
A pa or fifteen years ago the .30-.40 
first place in a poll of the big- 
game rifles favored by fifty or more 
of the most celebrated guides and big 
game hunters of the far west. It was 
so popular with the men who were at 
the top of their profession that it actu- 
ally had no serious competition for 
honors. 
But to-day such a poll would tell a 
different story. The .30-.40 no longer 
leads the parade and in the thousands 
of words of publicity printed about the 
.30-1906, .250-3000, .830 Magnum, .35 
Whelen, .30-.80 HiSpeed, .270 W. C. F. 
and all the other favorites the old 
standby, the .30 Krag, is spoken of as 
‘a back number and a fit plaything for 
the 18-year old more or less “innocent” 
boys when they first join a civilian rifle 
club. 
But it is a fact that the .30-.40 is 
one of our best modern cartridges when 
used with the late and up-to-the-minute 
charges of modern smokeless powders 
and properly fitted bullets. The trouble 
is not with the cartridge itself. It lost 
in popularity first because being a 
rimmed shell it has not been adapted 
to any modern clip loading, bolt-action 
rifle, and second because of this it has 
suffered the same fate as Mary Jones. 
MAk® according to the story, was 
a fine girl. She was good look- 
ing, a good housekeeper and cook, 
and she had a nice disposition. Ordi- 
narily this would have made Mary very 
popular, but Mary was the second of 
the three Jones sisters, the eldest of 
whom had a national reputation as a 
cook and the youngest of whom was an 
internationally famous beauty. Conse- 
qently, the numerous male callers at 
the Jones’ homestead shined up to the 
eldest or the youngest of the Jones 
730 
girls, depending upon whether they fa- 
vored the material or beautiful in life 
and before anyone, but Mary Jones 
was the wiser, the second daughter had 
reached that dubious stage sometimes 
referred to as “30 and single.” Hav- 
ing no particular reputation to place 
her before the public, the men had 
passed her by. 
That’s exactly the fate of the .30-.40. 
The .380-1906 has been the prize beauty 
of the family and mama’s pet. The 
.30-.80 has for years been known as 
“meat in the pot.” The .30-.40 has been 
merely a “nice girl” with no particu- 
lar outstanding features and conse- 
quently she is “30 and unmarried” and 
with no record of conquests except be- 
ing the original favorite for the model 
95, the early love of the Krag, and the 
old Remington Lee which latter most 
people have forgotten. The _ .30-.40, 
therefore, is still at home keeping house 
for father. 
UT modern loads have made the 
.30-.40 cartridge fully equal in ve- 
locity, accuracy, and considerably su- 
perior in killing power, to the .380-1906 
Are We 
Overlooking 
the .30-.40P 
The .30 Krag Is By No 
Means a Back Number 
By C. S. LANDIS 
of a couple of years ago and a very 
close second to present-day charges of 
later and so-called “more modern” car- 
tridges. Two of the most popular high 
velocity factory loads for the .30-.40 
have the following ballistics. 
200 yard 
M.V. Mz. Energy trajectory 
.30-.40-180 2500 2490 35" 
.380-.40-220 2200 2370 41” 
There is a fairly wide. variety of 
handloads, however, which develop 
much higher muzzle velocities if lighter 
bullets are used.. Some of the most 
effective are listed here, being selected 
because I could quote accurate breech 
pressures for them and because they 
happen to be the latest developments 
for this calibre and use a well known 
and easily obtainable powder, the accu- 
racy of which is unquestioned. The 
bullets recommended are among the 
most modern, accurate and dependable 
projectiles made for .30 calibre rifles. 
Any of them, made commercially, can 
be purchased from the respective load- 
ing companies. Velocities given below 
are taken from actual firing with a 
Krag rifle. 



Cte. Bullet 
E35 =A OMe ONG OVGe dt ectercrete aie iene eee ae 
50-40 RLS Os Wiestern Iu bses veins erie 
SIE) TIAN, Ties aN 185 Wh, (Cc go acy 
80-40 E172 sGOvt.- 0. Da Lee sa eee oe 
FD 0-40 el OMY V enlvene en only Loni yameneneteats 
30-40 ee loos Western Gib) --isen iene 
sd EiK0) aleY§) Weyer, IelitSheeerel 5,45 6aGenc 
SHADE) WO). ie SBI ORG on So ba GG coos 
Weight of Muzzle vel. Breech Press 
powder in foot sec. Ibs. per sq. in. 
35.5 HiVel 2165 41,780 
Set) ae 2482 42,400 
Baz a 2453 41,220 
37.3 2525 42,220 
40.3 2734 41,540 
40.3 | 2719 41,866 
10:3 aes 2749 41,560 
44.0 « 3080 41,680 




Any .30 calibre rifle which develops 
in the neighborhood of 2200 f.s. with a 
220 grain bullet, 2500 with a 180 grain 
bullet, 2,700 with 150 grain, or 3,100 
with a 110 grain bullet and which at 
the same time develops all of these 
velocities with pressures not over 42,- 
(Continued on page 754) 
