Krag Project Decisions

U.S. Military Krags
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P0H0
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Krag Project Decisions

Post by P0H0 »

I’ve been waiting on my Krag rifles for a bit — long story short, the gunsmith here locally had a recent surgery to his knee and hasn’t been able to work on the project — he needs a month more to heal up. I would like to have the rifles completed by May — just not feasible given his situation.

He was originally lined up to do the stock and handguard fitting, rebarrel, and rust bluing of both rifles. He has agreed to complete the stock and handguards, and he will need a rifle back in four weeks to complete the fitting and handguard cut for the sights.

So I need to complete the rebarrel and bluing. The barrels are Criterion 30-40 Krag and short chambered. I have read some accounts of the barrel timing correctly out of the box — not sure how true/realistic this is. If I need a lathe, then this will have to be taken to a shop.

ebruce
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by ebruce »

Oh boy. Regret that your gunsmith is having health problems. Sounds like he will be able to do most of what you need done. Following this post. Sincerely. bruce.

FredC
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by FredC »

I think you will find the timing of the barrel to be good. In the past on KCA there was some documentation on how they did it a Spring field Armory. Old photos of the barrel threading machine revealed some of their secrets. There was an extension on the lathe spindle that had a locating point for the sight. The threads looked like they were cut by thread milling. Criterion will use a different set up, but it should be just as repeatable. Assembly torque will give an ability to adjust a little for slight variations. Talking to Brownells barrel torque of 35 foot pounds is adequate for any barrel. Tightening anywhere in the range of 35 to 100 foot pounds allows you to make up for slight variations in make up.

That slight raised boss that Criterion leaves on the barrel face is to allow for bolt wear. If you have a very worn receiver and bolt it could work right out of the box. More likely it will need reaming a bit.

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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by FredC »

http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.co ... 221#p33221

I think I pasted a link to a post I made years ago. If correct the bottom picture shows my 35 Krag barrel with a boss like Criterion's on the barrel. it is a logical way to deal with excessive headspace in receiver/bolt combination that has been lapped or worn excessively.

Personally I do not think mine was worn that much, I think someone in the distant past had a misguided desire to make the guide rib a bearing surface so instead of being just a safety device so mine was actively taking bolt thrust. There may have been magazine articles back then recommending lapping to make the Krags safer with 2 effective bolt lugs. The Krag in the photo does bear on both surfaces with the bolt closed. The are 2 real negatives when this was done, 1st some of the hard surface from the case hardening was removed, the other is that the head space was increased making it excessive and more likely to have a total case separation.

If you were to try to headspace your new barrel, a Krag reamer and a driving wrench would probably be all you need. Facing that boss off while chucked in a lathe would get the bolt to close would be easy but then the bolt to shoulder dimension could be a little short, making reaming a recommended procedure. If you go to the end of the mentioned thread, there is a picture of a shop-built wrench to drive the reamer with the receiver installed.

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P0H0
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by P0H0 »

http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.co ... 221#p33221

I think I pasted a link to a post I made years ago. If correct the bottom picture shows my 35 Krag barrel with a boss like Criterion's on the barrel. it is a logical way to deal with excessive headspace in receiver/bolt combination that has been lapped or worn excessively.
Holy cow, you have a red dot on your Krag!

The timing on the receiver I bought on GB was off — it came up just 2 or 3 degrees past the mark. I am hoping the other rifle matches up right.

Just a quick update:

I contemplated doing this myself but at the end of the day the Brownells Action Wrench I wanted (thinking ahead to other projects) wasn’t in stock. I did however, find a gunsmith — he is very knowledgeable and his home shop was like stepping back in time, I was very impressed with all his knowledge. When I mentioned that I had only brought over a single stock for both rifles (the others are being worked on) to be test fired, he stated he didn’t need a stock. He then shown me all he does is take the barreled action naked without wood, load it, and grip it by the barrel with one hand that pull the trigger with the other while aiming into the ground :shock: . I reason it works, because he is still with us and probably near seventy. Anyway, he is going to shim that receiver and barrel. He is also doing the silver soldering of the front sight base. When the rifles are back I will then disassemble them prep and rust blue like I did the 1903 Springfield. The stocks should be done right around that time also — just need do final sanding, stain and oil.

FredC
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by FredC »

P0H0 wrote: Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:27 pm
http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.co ... 221#p33221

I think I pasted a link to a post I made years ago. If correct the bottom picture shows my 35 Krag barrel with a boss like Criterion's on the barrel. it is a logical way to deal with excessive headspace in receiver/bolt combination that has been lapped or worn excessively.
Holy cow, you have a red dot on your Krag!

The timing on the receiver I bought on GB was off — it came up just 2 or 3 degrees past the mark. I am hoping the other rifle matches up right.
Kind of looks out of place, huh? Krag sporter with a stainless barrel is a little far out also. That seemed a better match for the receiver patina than a new blued 35 caliber barrel. Pigs seldom come out in the daytime. I thought the red dot would work in moon light, but sadly, no. It will work further past sundown than iron sights will.
One thing about a red dot is both shots I have taken on live critters I was able to keep both eyes open. You see things that you do not when using a scope or iron sights, pink mist or pieces flying up after the shot.

Any chance the one 2 or 3 degrees past the mark was just from Bubba over tightening the barrel? if so, it will be a bear to get it off and the parts may be deformed enough that they will not line up in the future.


http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.co ... 892#p43892
Just looked at this other thread and the new Criterion barrel will be going in this receiver that is now 3 degrees off? Do you have the new barrel yet? Is the old barrel removed? You could find the old barrel was sanded slightly on the face or something and the new barrel will fit fine. Or not.

I do have a Brownells action wrench but did not use it on the Krag. Seems like I used it once, but I forget which gun.

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P0H0
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by P0H0 »

You certainly have a heck of a pig gun! I am surprised the red dot doesn’t help at night…. Well I guess you can’t see the target any better — add a flashlight?

The over index receiver doesn’t at present have a barrel — it doesn’t appear to have met Bubba. A shim will make everything work just fine.

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butlersrangers
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by butlersrangers »

If the 'shim' is a thin round metal washer, it will require that a narrow section be cut away, to make clearance for the 'claw' of the extractor.

A bit of 'adhesive' holding the shim onto the barrel breech will probably keep it indexed with the barrel-notch, as things are tightened.
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FredC
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by FredC »

butlersrangers wrote: Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:57 pm If the 'shim' is a thin round metal washer, it will require that a narrow section be cut away, to make clearance for the 'claw' of the extractor.

A bit of 'adhesive' holding the shim onto the barrel breech will probably keep it indexed with the barrel-notch, as things are tightened.
That could work. I was worried about making a full cut for the bolt recess and the extractor cut (essentially having 2 pieces). No need to make a cut for the bolt recess. That is just an observation point to tell if the shim is wrinkling up or something. Thinking about it, the shim being visible there will have no ill effects.

POHO, one time I was on the trail of a herd during a full moon. i was carrying a shotgun with buckshot. I had a head light with a red light just barely bright enough to illuminate the ground in front of me. I closed the gap and was ready to fire, switched on the red head light so I could see the front shotgun sight and they took off. Sometimes you can turn a spotlight on them with no effect and other times the slightest hint of light sends them running. I have a StreamLight on my 10-22. It is sure handy for target ID. You can turn it on for a second and verify the target is indeed one that needs to die then go back to hunting with the thermal dodad.

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P0H0
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Re: Krag Project Decisions

Post by P0H0 »

Lol

Hunting at night for pigs has to be a blast — pun intended. I imagine some of them are good eating too.

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