A couple of months ago, I decided to reread several books written by Teddy Roosevelt. “The Rough Riders” was excellent reading and a first-hand account of the adventures T.R. shared with the First Volunteer Cavalry in the Spanish-American War.
Everybody has heard or read about the Rough Riders’ charge to victory at San Juan Hill. While it was clearly a victory for the Americans, the cost in casualties was terrible. Fifteen thousand Americans attacked 800 Spaniards. The Americans had three times the casualties as the entrenched Spanish, who also had better weapons.
Time after time, Roosevelt mentions the clear superiority of the Mauser rifles used by the Spaniards. The Americans carried a rifle designed in 1893 that shot a cartridge called 30-40 Krag ammunition.
After the war, Roosevelt went on to become governor of New York, vice president and, ultimately, president. One of his first actions as president was to get America better arms, and that’s how the 30-06 Springfield was born.
Pretty cool story, huh? Old Teddy just couldn’t stand to have America outgunned. Actually, the old 30-40 Krag wasn’t really that bad — it’s just that the Mauser was so darned much better that the Krag looked bad by comparison.
Logically enough, when wars are over, military guns get pressed into civilian use. My grandfather hunted deer, bear and even rabbits with a .58-caliber civil war musket to put meat on the table for his family. Millions of GIs came home from Europe and Asia with a profound familiarity with the 30-06. Many of those old military calibers are still out there being used by old soldiers and their children and grandchildren.
The tendency to use old military rifles for civilian hunting is not unique to Americans. I have a Chilean Mauser 7 mm and an Italian Carcano 6.5 mm. Millions of them were available very cheaply. My Mauser is more than 100 years old and still shoots tight groups.
I recently got a call from an old Tracy High reader who was cleaning out his in-laws’ house and found a bunch of old ammunition he didn’t know what to do with. Among the ammo he gave me were five boxes of 30-40 Krag cartridges and a box of 44-40 cartridges. Standard-caliber ammunition runs between $15 and $20 for a box of 20 shells. Unusual calibers run a little more. The ammo’s reasonably hard to find, so if you shoot one of those old guns, this might turn out to be an early Christmas for you.
Naturally, there’s no guarantee on old ammunition, but I have found that, for the most part, it can be 40 to 50 years old and still work just fine. If any of you readers want a box, just e-mail me and I’ll be glad to give you one. I can’t tell you who the donor is, but his nickname in school was “Killer.” Thanks, Killer!
• Don Moyer is president and CEO of a consulting firm and has more than 20 years’ experience working with the outdoor recreation community, including anglers, hunters, backpackers, environmental groups and the public. He can be reached at don.moyer@gmail.com.
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