New Krag owner. Questions & looking for parts.

[nokool61@yahoo.com]

Just got a 96 Krag from a pawnshop and I'm looking for information and for some parts. It came with a stock with alot of damage around the butt and a vintage weaver scope and mount on it. Would like to find a replacement stock, upper stock and rear sight. Also it has 4 notches on the underside of the stock. What are the chances these are from Cuba or the Philippines or just deer kills?

[butlersrangers]

'nokool61' - Welcome to the KCA Forum.

Some clear close-up pictures of your Krag and a serial number will beget more information & feedback.

Since your Krag was 'scoped' for hunting, stock notches likely represent 'Deer Kills'. (Soldiers carving stocks was not allowed in U.S. Service).

[nokool61@yahoo.com]

I took pictures to upload but the files are too large to attach

[FredC]

If you have a windows computer open each photo with Paint and resize them. Depending on how big they are 50 to 90% will usually work. When you are done save them as something with a different name. If the original is Photo#1.jpg I will name the resized photo as Photo#1RS.jpg for resized. If it is not in a good range I will delete the resized photo and open the original and try again. 600KB seems to be a good target size plus and minus a bit.
If you have an Apple product ask as some here have experience with them.

Oh, and welcome to the KCA.

[butlersrangers]

Probably the best place to find Krag stocks, hand-guards, and sights is on ebay. Prices are getting quite high!
(It can be very gratifying to repair and restore a damaged original stock).
The mounted "scope" and mount-holes have damaged your Krag's collector value, so it is normally unwise to put a lot of money into replacement parts.

A lot of metal parts can be found at Grandpa's Gunparts or S&S Firearms.

Several 'Parts Vendors' are listed in the KCA Classifieds.

Old posts and threads on the KCA Forum are a treasure trove of information. There is a lot of information on the KCA main pages and 'photos' tab.

A inexpensive book, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine", by Joe Poyer, has a lot of good information and will help with identification and many questions.

I post a lot of pictures on the forum that are under 200KB. Lighting and good focus are more important than the number of pixels.
On my 'tablet', I crop and resize large pictures by using the 'Paint' program to move picture margins (crop) and reduce size. I 're-label' my edited photos by using 'save as', jpeg, and adding 'ed' to my original label. (This will preserve the original photo, if desired).

My desktop computer has a Windows program that allows photo editing.

[nokool61@yahoo.com]

'nokool61' - Welcome to the KCA Forum.

Some clear close-up pictures of your Krag and a serial number will beget more information & feedback.

Since your Krag was 'scoped' for hunting, stock notches likely represent 'Deer Kills'. (Soldiers carving stocks was not allowed in U.S. Service).

Got pictures up

[butlersrangers]

Your Krag appears to be a civilian hunting rifle made from a U.S. model 1896 rifle.

The 30 inch barrel and rifle stock were shortened and a model 1903 Springfield 'banded' front-sight was installed.
The original Safety-Lever has been replaced with a commercial 'Buehler' safety-lever to clear the scope & function.

IMHO - This Krag is too altered to be a practical candidate for restoration to original configuration.
It makes more sense to carefully clean the metal and wood and use it as a fun 'sporter' and shooter.

[nokool61@yahoo.com]

I dont plan for a full restoration but I would like a complete stock and reinstall the rear sight.

[FredC]

There are different ways of looking at that electrical tape repair. Since you just bought it and do not know who did the repair or why it is just ugly. If you were given the gun by your mother and you always wondered did she break it or was it given to her with that, the repair might be part of your family's history that you do not want to change.

The Model 67 Winchester below was given to me about 60 years ago. I am real sorry that I never asked about its history. My grand father ran a Ford agency garage during the depression, maybe he took it in trade for work a farmer could not afford. Somehow it became my mothers back in the thirties.
I added the scope about 40 years ago, it was originally on my dad's 1917 Enfield.

[todd444]

I dont plan for a full restoration but I would like a complete stock and reinstall the rear sight.

grandpa's is the best site, but i would hold off on the stock. i'm redoing my 98 krag stock(it is a sporter) with citristrip, 320 & 400 grit sandpaper, 4 ought steel wool and minwax antique oil. i have another one that is cracked in the butt. its my next redo. and yes, its a sporter too.