missing the mag. cutoff on my 98

[Chandalar Jack]

fellas, am glad to be apart of this forum and learn much from you all.

I bought my first Krag in the last month and have not done much with it. It is and has been sporterized by one in the past yrs. This particular rifle has the Redfield K series rear peep.

I have built a few dummy rounds using Winchester brass trimmed and seated with a 220 grain Woodleigh RN (the only round nose available on my bench) and within COL of round.

The rounds are controlled by the follower/spring but do not go up to where the bolt will feed the round. I noted the Redfield is fastened in a hole, this hole from my book by Joe Poyer "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine" is where the mag. cutoff goes in.

What can I do to get the round to feed using this existing rear aperture sight? I did attempt to make a dummy cutoff but that failed as I was able to make the flat for "off"? but to make the notch on the dummy at the rear for the sight attachment was all goofed up due to improper position of dummy in the "off" position.

This rifle feeds miserably, any pointers to help me remedy this problem would so greatly be appreciated.

[Century2]

The shaft of the cutoff when installed and in the on position has a flat on one side that aligns with the wall of the magazine raceway for a flush condition. When installed and in the off position, the flat is rotated into the receiver body and the round side of the shaft enters the magazine raceway to effectively block cartridges from passing by. Although I have not tried it, the cartridges should be able to bumble past the raceway void if no lever is installed or if a receiver sight does not extend into the void zone. If a receiver sight did extend into the raceway void with a round shaft, this would block cartridges though I have never seen a sight so configured from the factory (check for possible modifications). Assuming your components are clean and well oiled, there likely is a mechanical problem with the magazine. Given your description, your magazine spring is probably weak, partially broken or not original. It is not out of possibility that there may be some flaw with the follower assembly so if a replacement spring does not do it, try replacing that.

[Chandalar Jack]

yes sir, I broke the parts down and cleaned this rifle up good, had lots of gunked up whatever thru out the action. I icalled up a place called Popperts for a mag. spring the same day I noted problem. However, the existing spring appeared to be fine....we'll see.
I won't make another attempt at a dummy cutoff until I received the other mag. spring.
thankyou for your help.

[butlersrangers]

Chandalar Jack: To get a good look at how things are operating on your Krag, remove your barreled action from the stock, and then remove the side-plate. With the magazine door closed, the follower should be under spring pressure and pushed all the way across to the side plate opening. (If the follower does not evidence spring pressure when you push it inwards, the flat spring that powers it and the magazine door is broken or misassembled). When you look at the attached photo, you can see a faint groove in the receiver wall above the side plate opening. You should also be able to see the tip of the magazine cut-off. The cut-off is in the 'off' position so the flat area on its shaft is down. This allows cartridge rims to move smoothly past this groove (as cartridges are directed by the inside of the side plate) to the bolt. When the cut-off is switched to the 'on' position, a round portion of its shaft rises out of the groove and blocks the lead cartridge's rim, preventing feed to the bolt. With the cut-off removed, most Krags will feed cartridges normally but there can be a slight roughness as cartridge rims move over the empty cut-off groove. To cure this, a cut-off shaft with lever removed was inserted. But, the shaft has to be properly oriented with the flat area down. If it is not correctly oriented, it is a barrier to cartridge feeding. Another barrier to smooth feeding would be damage, dents, or debris on the inside of the side plate.

[butlersrangers]

Early instructions for Redfield Series 70K and Series 102K ('no drill' Krag sights) toted the virtue of removing the magazine cut-off. Later 'editions' recognized the role of the flat area of the cut-off shaft in allowing smooth feed of cartridge rims over the groove that housed the cut-off. Attached is copy of instructions from old William's publication on sporterizing military rifles that addressed this issue. Rather than ruin a good Krag cut-off, a shaft can be made and shaped from steel (nail), brass, or plastic.

[Chandalar Jack]

ha, I should have guessed! okay then, have to play around with making one up or buying a cutoff for this 98 and cutting off the lever....know where I can get one for this rifle?
much appreciated.

[Century2]

I've got just what you need - for postage. Sent you a message (see top of page).