1898 Krag Carbine Rear Sight

[bill mcandrew]

I have a 1898 Karg Carbine, it's very nice, but I got it without a rear sight, so I'm looking for a rear sight for it.
wjm

[psteinmayer]

Howdy!

Can you tell us which handguard is on the carbine? The rear sight will depend on this. Pictures will help in this instance. True carbine rear sights can be extremely expensive! Just out of curiosity, what is the serial number of the carbine?

[bill mcandrew]

No Hand guard, No Rear sight, the serial number, tells me it was put together in 1898, that is why I'm looking for a 1898 Carbine Rear Sight.
Thanks, wjm

[psteinmayer]

1898 Carbines fall into a very specific serial number range. Many 1898 rifles were cut down to carbine length for sporting or hunting purposes. A carbine barrel should be exactly 22 inches from closed bolt face to the muzzle. If it has a banded front sight, it's almost certainly a cutdown rifle. Even if it has a correct front sight post, it may still be cutdown, which is where the serial number would be needed. Pictures would go a long way in determining this also.

Carbine rear sights are rare, and command a very high price! If you have a cut down rifle or sporter, you might just think about a rifle rear sight instead. 1901 and 1902 rear sights are the most available and the least expensive. There's a photo page on this site - http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/ where you can view photos of the various rear sights and associated hand guards. There's also many photos of the Carbines and all of the variations.

Hope this helps
Paul

[Dick Hosmer]

No Hand guard, No Rear sight, the serial number, tells me it was put together in 1898, that is why I'm looking for a 1898 Carbine Rear Sight.
Thanks, wjm

Your premise is (understandably, since Krag sight application is rather confusing) flawed. The 5000 genuine carbines assembled in 1898 (range approx. 112000-135000) used the short stock and the M1896C sight.

The M1898C sight, developed for the 2200fps ammo in the early M1899 carbine is quite scarce as the loading was found to be too hot, the ammo and sights were scrapped.

For whatever reason, you chose not to respond to a reasonable request - made in an effort to help - for the serial number. If it falls outside the above range the arm is very likely not original.

Also, a banded front sight is ALWAYS wrong - the previous implication allowing a small margin of hope is not accurate.