First shootiing with a 1898 Krag

[frnkeore]

The barrel is shorten to 26".

Sorry about that FAsmus but, I was hoping to some providence to my rifle.

Frank

[Char-Gar]

Frank....Following WWI, Krags rifle was available for less than $2.00. Many of them were chopped into sporters. Some of them were pretty crude barn jobs and others were quite sophisticated. I have three such rifles with varying degree of work. One has even be restocked. I paid $15.00 for my first such Krag in 1960 and still have it. I killed my first deer with it. While they may not be original, they represent a piece of Americana when the working man could have a fine hunting rifle for a fraction of what a new commercial sporter would cost. I find them very interesting in their own right. Yours is a particularly well done specimen.

[LIMPINGJ]

Some nice looking Krags there.

[blixen01]

Very informative thread, thanks everyone!

My boring Krag story: my uncle took a deer every year with a Krag sporter, so I've always had a soft spot.
In a pawn shop, found a sporter with a cracked stock (behind the magazine) and big, big chip behind the bolt-handle groove. $90. I didn't hesitate.

I epoxied the crack, pillared the screws, did some minor bedding and shaped a piece of hardwood to fill the "ear" behind the bolt handle and pegged and epoxied it in--Just to shoot til I could locate a stock. It's got an old Lyman peep and a ramp front. Good trigger.

I get honest 2 1/2-3" groups at 100 with Lee's 185 gr. "British" .311", sized to .310-.311" and 20 grains of 4759 or 16/2400. (I can no longer find either powder so I'm looking for a replacement.)

The battered stock has kinda grown on me, so I never replaced it.

(It's kind of embarrassing to post these fotos after the beautiful rifles above.)

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Wow! A Krag for $90! That seldom happens anymore. Thanks for the photos and story.

[Char-Gar]

Blixen... Unless you have replaced the rear sight, that is a Redfield 102 and not a Lyman. The Redfield 102 is a great sight for a hunting rifle. It is not click adjustable, but it is all steel and once set it is there forever. I have a number of them on various rifles.

You did a great service to humankind with that Krag rescue.

That chipping and splitting occurred because the rear of the magazine box did not bear on the wood, allowing the metal to move rearward with the recoil. The rear of the magazine box serves as the recoil lug and needs to bear on the wood.

[Scharfschuetze]

(I can no longer find either powder so I'm looking for a replacement.)

While I normally prefer SR4759 for cast boolits in 30 cal military rifle calibres, I've found that Accurate's 5744 double base powder is a very good powder for the Krag with good groups and consistent ballistics over the chrongraph. My only complaint with it is that it seems to burn much hotter than the single base 4759.

http://www.accuratepowder.com/products/rifle/

[FAsmus]

Char:

I went looking and readily found the after-market trigger you mentioned. It's a little pricey but attractive anyway.

Then I looked at eBay for a receiver sight and found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191725294570?rmvSB=true

~ Can you tell me anything about it?

I could see by the pictures that there is lots of old rust that has only been partially removed - I'm willing to gamble that it could be cleaned up and used but I'm primarily concerned about the way it is intended to be attached to the rifle.

Anything you can tell me will be appreciated.

Good afternoon, FAsmus

[Char-Gar]

I am not familiar with that sight.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

That's a very early one and requires drilling and tapping a couple of holes in the left side of your receiver to mount it. I have one that came already mounted on one of the rifles I purchased, and I had to fix it as the lever would not bind the elevation bar tightly enough to retain a setting. Currently at $44 with 2 days to run, I'll be surprised if it doesn't sell for much more with 20 watchers. It's a neat looking sight, but believe me the "no gunsmithing" sights that came later and require no new holes are better sights. They tend to run $60 - $100, but sometimes a deal can be found.

[Scharfschuetze]

It looks like a similar mechanism as the old "Climin' Lyman" that the Model 95 Winchester used. It was/is a very useful sight. Click adjustments for deflection and coarse elevation markings for zero and trajectory. Might be worth the investment if you don't find the one recommended.

[blixen]

Blixen... Unless you have replaced the rear sight, that is a Redfield 102 and not a Lyman. The Redfield 102 is a great sight for a hunting rifle. It is not click adjustable, but it is all steel and once set it is there forever. I have a number of them on various rifles.

You are right, it is a Redfield sight--i haven't looked at it in a while.
And, Scharfschuetze, i'll check out the Accurate 5744, I've also been recommended IMR 4227 as a 4759 replacement.

[gnoahhh]

I have a spare Redfield No-Drill sight I'll let go if anybody wants it. Pretty nice, may never had been on a gun. Complete with cut-off clip, but missing the side plate replacement screw. PM me if interested. I'll sell it for a bit less than eBay prices.

[Multigunner]

Two rare Krags to be on the lookout for are the "School Rifle AKA Phillipine Constabulary Rifles" built by Benecia Arsenal using Carbine barrels turned down at the muzzle to allow use of a bayonet. These have short rifle stocks rather than carbine stocks. Occasionally one of these will be found in a carbine stock if the original stock got broken.
I've seen one of these mistaken for a cutdown rifle, luckily someone alerted the owner before he tried to "restore" it with replacement barrel and stock.
Another is the 26 inch barrel Fortress rifles. A few of these were made for personnel at coast defense gun emplacements, the shorter OAL to allow easier moving about in tunnels and enclosed spaces. These were sometimes confused with the constabulary rifles.

[craig61a]

I run WW RCBS 30-180's in mine over 35 gr. H380. One of my sporterized Krags has the Lyman sight you mentioned and I love it.

[gew98]

Man ..... this thread is gonna make me get back into a krag...oi vey. Been a decade since I traded off my last 98 long rifle and 99 carbine. They were fun shooters...especially with M25 tracer pulls !.

[FAsmus]

Gentlemen;

The latest news about this Krag of mine is that I took Char-Gar's advise and worked over the bedding.

It was all in pretty good shape - except at the rear of the magazine box where recoil is transfered to the wood. Here I found a gap and could feel the loose barreled action 'click' in its recess as I applied pressure back-and-forth.

I measured this gap with a feeler gauge and made shims to fit it as precisely as possible. This eliminated the slop but did not bind the assembly either..

Then I naturally went to the range to check the work. My load was 15.0 grains 4759 under the LEE C309-200-R. It worked perfectly right from the first round.

Considering the issue sights and old eyes the darn thing kind of dazzled me.

It'll be out to the foundry and make up some more of those LEE bullets tomorrow.

Good morning, Forrest

[blixen01]

Let us know how it goes. I've been considering the 200 grained Lee.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yes, it is surprising how trifling are the improvements modern rifles make, for the sort of use to which most people put them, to the .30-40 Krag. With the same sights, if you have any special needs in that respect, but that can be arranged. I would be very surprised if moderate throat erosion is noticeably harmful to accuracy, but if you are worried you should get the best results with heavy bullets, flat bases and thin jackets if they are jacketed.

I don't much like the barrel band in a sporting conversion, and if I was doing a re stocking job, I would try the result of removing it. I can't see that the Krag stock is more flexible than central-magazine rifles, and it does have three bolts going into the action. For cast bullets there is a lot to be said for a bullet which is grooved and lubed for the full length of that long neck, which in that role is an advantage of the .30-40 is an advantage over the .303.


Attachment 153559

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Attachment 153592Attachment 153593Attachment 153591Alas, the U.S. version lacks the third screw of the Scandinavian version. The as-issued rifle relies upon the barrel bands to keep stock and barrel together. Once the stock is cut off there is no support forward of the front trigger guard screw. One way to address the problem is shown in the center photo, a half-ring around the barrel into the bottom of which is screwed a sling swivel stud, thus serving two purposes. But, if you want to free float the barrel this isn't an option.