Brand New Member with questions

[cowgillj1]

Hello all.....I joined hoping to get some expert advice regarding the Krag rifle I have in my possession. I inherited this rifle and as of yet have not been able to find any ammunition that seems to fit/work. I have tried the standard 30-40 Krag rimmed cartridge and that got wedged and stuck in the magazine. Next I tried the 6.5 x 55 "swede" rimless and that seemed to be a better fit but the bolt will not grab on and it also will not feed in properly. Also the cartridge does not quite sit flush all the way into the barrel. I dont know much about the rifle other than it has a very short barrel (assuming sporterized). I can post some pics of the markings later tonight.....what the heck do I have here?? I know it was used for hunting in the 1940s and 50s and it is in excellent condition compared to what I have seen posted. I really need help with what to try next as we dont really have any good gun smiths in my area. I can post pics as needed I just really hope someone knows what variation this thing is.

Thanks

Jason

[Ned Butts]

Welcome aboard!! Pictures of the receiver and any markings is a good start.

[cowgillj1]

Pics are not uploading due to file size…..any suggestions?

[cowgillj1]

Here are some pics

[cowgillj1]

More pics

[butlersrangers]

"cowgillj1" - Welcome to the KCA Forum!

Your rifle is an 'altered' Norwegian Krag. It was built at Norway's Kongsberg Arms Factory, in 1925.

Your Krag was built and chambered for the 6.5 X 55 mm cartridge, which was a joint effort of Norway and Sweden, in the 1890s.
Nowadays, the cartridge is commonly called the 6.5 X 55 mm Swedish Mauser. The recommended cartridge loads,
for the Norwegian Krag action, are a bit milder than the loads used in the Swedish Mauser.

Your barrel contour makes me suspect, that your barrel has been shortened in the chamber area and then re-threaded.
It has likely been re-chambered, probably for the 6.5 X 54 mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge.

The 6.5 M-S cartridge is a different, smaller, and shorter cartridge-case, than the Swedish Mauser case.
A re-chambering of a barrel, shortened at the breech, may explain why 6.5 X 55 mm cartridges don't fully fit into the chamber?

Such conversions were a common practice in Canada, in the 1950s and 1960s, when the 6.5 M-S cartridge was still loaded,
by the Dominion Cartridge Co. and Canadian Industries Ltd.
A lot of Norwegian Krags were imported into Canada, at a time when 6.5 X 55 mm Swedish Mauser ammo was not available.

(The 6.5 MM Mannlicher-Schoenauer round is a fine cartridge, but not very common any more).

Your cartridge-feed issue could be related to the Krag's magazine 'cut-off' lever being in the wrong position.
The cut-off lever needs to be in the "up" position to feed ammo through the Norwegian Krag magazine.
The Norwegian cut-off switch, when "down", prevents the bolt head from making contact and feeding cartridges.

[cowgillj1]

Wow…..ok this is making more sense…..I did just make another attempt with the 6.5x55 cartridge and flipped the lever and it still wont load or insert fully into the barrel. Can you make any suggestions on where I might be able to find 6.5x54 ammunition? Hopefully its not completely discontinued. This is also very interesting since it was my grandfathers rifle on my mothers side and mostly french canadian….Du Puis was my grandmothers maiden name so that could very well explain how and where it came from.

Based on my limited pics would you venture a guess as to a value or collectibility? It seems to be in very good condition but I understand it has been altered quite a bit.

[butlersrangers]

Your Krag is so altered, that it is not restorable to its military configuration, so most collectors will not be interested.

Some of us have a liking for utility 'sporters'; rifles that performed well and helped put meat on the table, for the owner's family!

I would imagine your Krag would sell for around $250 to $350, if it has a good bore, the ammunition is verified, and it proves safe to shoot.

I checked online and some vendors have Prvi 6.5 mm M-S ammo available, at around $22.00 to $28.00 for a box of 20 rounds.
I have found Prvi ammo to be of good quality.

Where do you reside? A KCA member might be nearby.

[cowgillj1]

Im in eastern WA…..value doesnt surprise me….it was probably a value gun to begin with but it has such an interesting back story I will probably keep it but I would like to fire it at the range.

[butlersrangers]

cowgillj1 - The Norwegian Krags that were altered to 6.5 mm M-S, seem to have been done in two ways.

Some had a 'liner' inserted in the original chamber and were then re-chambered for the smaller cartridge. (I don't like that)!

Your Krag appears to show better gunsmithing. The barrel-contour indicates things have been 'set-back'.
The barrel appears to have been shortened at the breech, new threads were cut, and the barrel was re-chambered.

(FWIW & Good to Know and Remember: The Norwegian Krag barrels and receivers have a left-hand thread, this is fairly rare, in gun making).

It would be good practice to do a 'chamber cast' of your barrel-chamber and verify its dimensions.

(If it was mine and being a cheapskate, I would look at the quality of the work and test the fit of a 6.5 mm Mann.-Schoenauer cartridge.
If everything looked copacetic, I'd go to the Range, test-fire it, and closely examine the fired Brass).

Attached sketch of 6.5 mm M-S cartridge dimensions. Also, some KCA photos from an old thread of a Canadian's Norwegian Krag, which had the 'chamber-lined' for 6.5 mm M-S.