Beautiful Krag 1894 Sporter

[Rcat7147]

Hi all!
I'm the one that posted the neat old articles that Butler's Rangers has been posting here.

Thought I'd finally make a post to say hello.
As an interesting tie-in, here's a Krag sporter I recently puchased from Gunbroker that exhibits a lot of the techniques discussed in those articles.

Some say that a Krag sporter is worth the sum of its parts..if that's true, I stole this one!

I've done a bit of searching but can't find a factory sporter that looks quite like this one. There are no names on it anywhere. I'd be interested if anyone had thoughts on that.

Oh, and the trigger pull is a lovely 3 pounds even.

[butlersrangers]

Welcome 'Rcat7147' and thanks again for posting you cache of 'Rifleman' Krag articles on the Military Surplus Guns Forum.

That is a nicely done Krag 'Sporter' that you acquired! It looks to be the work of a skilled Gun-Smith, who did things properly.

[FredC]

Also say it looks good. I am curious about the grooves/threads on the outside of the bolt sleeve. Anyone know if there is a purpose or is it for looks?

[madsenshooter]

They were on early bolt shrouds. Supposed to give one a bit of grip when reassembling. Done away with around serial #15,000. Some of the shrouds were converted to handle the detent safety, so they show up from time to time.

[Rcat7147]

Thanks for the kind words, fellas.
The bore is pristine too. Unfortunately my local range is closed for a few months (renovations I guess) so I've yet to shoot it.
I imagine it's going to be a very nice shooter!

Also thanks for pointing out the bolt "knurling." I hadn't noticed. Looks almost decorative in proximity to all the other fanciness.

[FredC]

This sure is a good website, you get to see nice looking rifles, learn all kinds of things and no drama!

[butlersrangers]

'Rcat7147': In studying the photos of your 'new' Krag sporting rifle, I notice the Magazine-Gate appears to be from a model 1898 Krag - (Boxier contour).

Your 'ribbed' Bolt-Sleeve was one of the versions originally made for the model 1892 Krag.
Around January, 1900, many of these sleeves were altered to be more like the model 1896 sleeve.
The main change is that they were machined to use a later style Safety-Lever. Also, there is a filled hole, that once held a retaining pin for the earlier type of Safety.
Your extractor-spring may be fastened to this bolt-sleeve with a screw rather than the later rivet.

Your Krag's 1894 receiver, #20837, was likely assembled into a model 1892 rifle around Sept. to Oct., 1895.
A model 1892 rifle, #20836, was documented by Frank Mallory as being issued in 1899 to the 8th Infantry.
Being one digit away in SRS data (Springfield Research Services) is interesting, but, allows no conclusions.

You have an attractive and useful Krag sporting rifle. I hope you get to enjoy shooting it very soon!

Photos: 1. & 2. ribbed bolt-sleeve - Before and After conversion.
3. 1896 magazine-gate. 4. 1898 magazine-gate

[butlersrangers]

'Rcat7147' - quick question:

Is there any date on the pages of your American Rifleman article, "The Krag - After 40 Years", by J.R. Mattern?

A publication date might help clarify when the Pacific and Western (later Redfield) 'no-drill' Krag sights first went on the market.

They were a 'recent item' according to Mr. Mattern's text.

[Rcat7147]

BR,
The article is dated November of 1931.
How's that jive with what you know so far?

[butlersrangers]

Thanks 'Rcat', it jives very good.

The Title: "The Krag - After 40 Years", makes sense.

(The U.S. adopts the Krag-Jorgensen design in 1892. In November, 1931, the design is 39 years old and soon to be 40 years old).

In a KCA thread in 'Chit-Chat', titled "Neat Time Capsule", I used some of your generously shared information.

My thread started with a Pacific sight box and instructions that were mailed to a customer, June 4, 1931.

The patent on the Pacific (K-1 & K-2) sight, using the Krag Magazine-Cut-Off hole, was finally approved on June 9, 1931.

J.R. Mattern's, November, 1931, American Rifleman article describes the Pacific (K-1 and K-2) and Western (Redfield 102K) sights, as 'recent' and 'new'.

BTW: It will be interesting to see if the 102K sight that is installed on your 'New' Krag is marked "Western" or "Redfield".

(Because of threatened legal action, by Winchester-Western, there was a switch to the "Redfield" name, around 1934.