1898 cut down rifle?

[Galvinator77]

Guys, thanks for the info! Once I get a front sight back on the barrel (22") I will have a good starting point.

Again, thanks!

Mark ("The Galvinator")

[butlersrangers]

'Mark' - An added thought:

If you make your front-blade height measurements in front of the 1903 base, (from the top of the turned or 'stepped' barrel section to the top of the blade, and stay in the range of .665" to .675"), it will probably correspond closely to the alignment of original sights on the 30 inch rifle barrel.

[Galvinator77]

Will try that and let everyone know how it turns out. Setting this up for CMP Vintage rifle matches (its a Cav carbine clone now) so wanted the sight markings as close to reality as possible. Have to look at my Carbine rear sight and this rifle rear sight for the differences.

Mark

[butlersrangers]

Krag carbine rear-sights sit closer to the barrel than their rifle version.

This requires that the carbine front blade also be shorter.

Which Krag rear-sight does your friend have now?

A carbine rear-sight will cost 5 to 10 times what the rifle version does. To find one 'loose' is getting difficult!

Also usefull to know:

Likely due to barrel & action harmonics, 30 inch Krag rifles were reported to to show 'bullet drift' to the left out to about 900 yards, then it came back to zero and moved to the right.

(I imagine it was rifle barrel/action vibration that caused the bullet to depart the bore and be directed to the left and eventually 'bullet drift' brought the bullet back to neutral and ultimately to the right). "Horizontal Banana"!!!

Carbines showed less 'bullet drift' and it was always to the right.

Hey, tell me more about the Krag carbine - 'Clown Match'.

[Galvinator77]

His cut down rifle barrel is same length as the issue carbine barrel. The rear sight is a 1901 rifle sight. The flat milled on the barrel is wider than the one on my original carbine barrel so my earlier thought that its a possible carbine barrel is incorrect. I will post pictures of the barrel flat. The M1903 sight band/base that I removed was milled to increase the ID to fit on the barrel. As a result the keyway is very shallow and no woodruff key was used. This probably contributed to the rear of the sight base cracking from recoil. For the ease of front sight blade replacement/sizing I am thinking that a M1903A3 front sight base is a better choice for his rifle as it will never be mistaken for a legit carbine anyway.My plan is to reduce the OD of the barrel end to fit a stock M1903A3 front sight base w/ the OEM woodruff key and retaining pin.

Where are you from in MI?? I graduated from WMU many moons ago. Almost all of my relatives still live in the State.

Mark

[Galvinator77]

Getting access to an industrial lathe to turn the muzzle end of the barrel down. It has a pass through that will allow me to bring the barrel through the center of the lathe. Hoping that the lathe dimensions will let me leave the receiver on the barrel for the milling. However if it doesn't I will need to remove the barrel. Can one of you point me to a forum thread or anther source for removing and replacing Krag barrels and head spacing considerations?

Thanks,
Mark

[butlersrangers]

Mark - Since, you are going to the effort of 'stepping' the muzzle area of this Krag barrel, I would recommend you install a 1903 Springfield front-sight base. That arrangement will simply look nicer than a '03A3 sight.

Buried somewhere on the KCA threads is material on making a barrel vise and an action wrench. IMHO - For your project, this would be overkill.

If I had access to a lathe, I would 'Chuck' the barrel (protected with some tape wraps) and support the barrel with the 'tail-stock' fixture at the bore's crown. (I'm sure some protective brass or plastic bushing could be improvised).

(The action could be left on the barrel, projecting out of the lathe).

I would turn things at a slow speed and use a File to form a step at the muzzle area, measuring my progress frequently.

p.s. I was born in Detroit and grew up and live in Oakland Co.

Go Broncos!

[FredC]

Here is one recent thread:
http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1497923753
In this thread I did refer to a thread I started with some photos. If I remember correctly there is at least one more thread were another member posted photos of the tools he made and used successfully.

Butlersrangers mentioned in the above thread that all the barrel work is believed to have been done before final assembly. Tolerances being what they are some of Krag barrels will be very tight and other so much in order to line the sight up.
With the right lathe and a cat's head at either end of the spindle your work could be done without removing the barrel from the receiver.

[Galvinator77]

Once again thanks for to everyone's input. Going to remove the action from the stock and try to complete the milling w/o removing the barrel. Agree w/ using a M1903 sight base for the correct "vintage' look. The barrel currently has a flat that i can use as a baseline for the new one. i will monitor the milling to ensure I don't take the flat off before the diameter reduction is completed. Once I get the base installed we will take the "Carbine" to the range to work on calibrating the front sight using all the info provided earlier.

For Butlersrangers. Go Bronco's! Graduated in '77. Spent a lot of time at Selfridge AFB (pre and post ANG days) as a dependent in my youth. First 2 years of High school were at Mt Clemens (Battling Bathers!) then Dad was transferred to Otis AFB on Cape Cod. My parents moved back to Mason after he retired for the second time. Mom still lives there.

Mark

[Galvinator77]

Update on the front sight replacement. The lathe I have access to is too deep for me to pass the barreled action through the body. Will have to remove the barrels to turn down the muzzle end. I have to remove the barrel. Now to find an action wrench. Think I can come up w/ a barrel clamp.

Mark