I have a question and will thank you in advance for reading and hopefully replying.
I have a Krag that I know very little about and would like to learn more. It has the following markings.
1898
US Springfield Armory
475436
I have performed a serial # search on Springfield armorys site and found no match although I do not know if I did it correctly.
I received the gun from a friend who passed away and left it to me in his will. I had known him for a couple of years and although I had spent some time at his house and seen some of his gun collection I had never seen nor heard him talk of this one. As I was a young seasonal ranger with the NPS he had become sort of a segregate grandfather and good friend. He had been ill for some time and the night he died he tried to call me but I was on the road returning home from another part of the country. At this time he told my mother that he was going to leave me a rifle and that he wanted to tell me something about it. I tried to call him the next day when I returned home but he had passed away.
The gun is banged up and has received quite a bit of use. My friend had a small ranch and spent a lot of time on horseback. He had a rifle scaffold made for this gun to match his saddle and it was with the rifle when I received it. There is a Redfield Peep sight installed in the rear and the original rear sight is missing. The magazine cutoff lever is missing as well I did not even know there was one to be missing until I stumbled onto the site and the peep sight uses this hole for mounting.
There was some ammo with the rifle when I received it and I have shot it a couple of times with the peep. Seems to shoot and function very well. My friend was in the USMC during WWII and saw some heavy action island hopping in the tropics as he put it. Where he got the gun or what its past is I have no idea. I would never think of selling the gun but would like to collect some info on its past to help fill in the question of what he wanted to tell me.
Thank you for any help you can offer.
P.Posey
Hello
-
Posey
Re: Hello
http://groups.msn.com/ThePoseyClan/3040krag.msnw
Have some photo's now,,,here is a link to an on line album ,,,thanks again for any information you can give me, did this gun start as a rifle and get shortened, or was it a carbine to start with? Any Ideas on its history and how a WWII USMC grunt ended up with it?
I would like to hunt some with it,,,would it be ok to use the Winchester factory loads of 180 grain Power points in an 1898 if the gun is sound?
And this may be a topic of ill repute but has anyone had any success mounting a scope on a Krag. After having had eye surgery I have a read hard time using open sights, if I use it for hunting I will need a scope, my uncle shot a 1 inch group at 50 yards with the Winchester ammo and the peep sight,,,the best I could do was 4 inches,,,,,stinks not being able to see the front sight very well.
Re: Hello
Hello P Posey
The serial number of your Krag indicates it started life as a full length rifle. It was produced in 1903. No carbines marked 1898 on the reciever were produced that late.
From your pictures it looks like you have a nice shooter.
The work seems to be well done, the '03 front sight is put on OK, and the stock seems to have a decent job done in cutting it down.
As far as scopes go, youre gunhas already been cut down so a scope mount shoulden't matter. My first Krag was a sporter with Weaver Side mount base that lets the scope sit almost directly over the bore line/action. It works great from50 to about 150yds(I rarely shoot over 100yds anyway!) S&K makes a no drill mount that mounts the scope to the left side of the bore line. My Dad uses one and it works well also.
The greatest value in youre Krag is the sentimental attachment and the personal history behind it!
Shoot it, hunt with it and enjoy it with that in mind.
Best Regards,
Ned
PS No telling on our end how your friend ended up with the Krag. Inquiries with his family and other friends is likely your best bet!
The serial number of your Krag indicates it started life as a full length rifle. It was produced in 1903. No carbines marked 1898 on the reciever were produced that late.
From your pictures it looks like you have a nice shooter.
The work seems to be well done, the '03 front sight is put on OK, and the stock seems to have a decent job done in cutting it down.
As far as scopes go, youre gunhas already been cut down so a scope mount shoulden't matter. My first Krag was a sporter with Weaver Side mount base that lets the scope sit almost directly over the bore line/action. It works great from50 to about 150yds(I rarely shoot over 100yds anyway!) S&K makes a no drill mount that mounts the scope to the left side of the bore line. My Dad uses one and it works well also.
The greatest value in youre Krag is the sentimental attachment and the personal history behind it!
Shoot it, hunt with it and enjoy it with that in mind.
Best Regards,
Ned
PS No telling on our end how your friend ended up with the Krag. Inquiries with his family and other friends is likely your best bet!
-
PPosey
areRe: Hello
Thanks Ned,,,
That is why I want to hunt will the rifle,,because Hugh did and thought that I would enjoy it. It will make me feel good to get the Krag back in the woods as hunting was very inportant to him later in life, his family knew nothing about the gun and he had very few close friends, I think I was the only person he designated anything to in his will other than family members.
I am thinking of a scout mount as it would just require a couple of new holes in the rear sight area and I have also looked at a S&K mount at the following,
http://www.scopemounts.com/98krag.html
is this the one you are talking about? If so did your dad have to put high rise blocks on the mount or did he use high rings or the third option of changing the safty out? I talked to S&K and they said that one or both could be needed to have safty clearance.
And have you ever tried a lighter bullet? say a 130-150grain or are the longer heavier bullets needed in the older bores
Thanks a whole lot for the reply, It is great to find a place where knowlegable people are willing to share, perhaps it is best that I do not know about Hugh and his/my Krag,,gives me more to think about.
;)
That is why I want to hunt will the rifle,,because Hugh did and thought that I would enjoy it. It will make me feel good to get the Krag back in the woods as hunting was very inportant to him later in life, his family knew nothing about the gun and he had very few close friends, I think I was the only person he designated anything to in his will other than family members.
I am thinking of a scout mount as it would just require a couple of new holes in the rear sight area and I have also looked at a S&K mount at the following,
http://www.scopemounts.com/98krag.html
is this the one you are talking about? If so did your dad have to put high rise blocks on the mount or did he use high rings or the third option of changing the safty out? I talked to S&K and they said that one or both could be needed to have safty clearance.
And have you ever tried a lighter bullet? say a 130-150grain or are the longer heavier bullets needed in the older bores
Thanks a whole lot for the reply, It is great to find a place where knowlegable people are willing to share, perhaps it is best that I do not know about Hugh and his/my Krag,,gives me more to think about.
;)
Re: Hello
Hello again,
The scope mount you show is the same as Dad uses. His clears the safety. I am in the process modifying a mount for another gun as a scout style mount. My gunsmith is quite swamped right now and has had little time for "fun" projects! I'll let you know how it turns out.
The longer bullets are more compatable to the Krag but I have been shooting 150gr psp for years in my sporter with great results. It will probably boil down to prefrences of individual guns and condition of the chamber throat etc.
I used IMR 4064 in the past and have lately gone to H414 for 150gr bullets. Both give excelent accuracy in my old sporter! I also shot some 110 gr hp at woodchucks years ago!!
Enjoy,
Ned
Good
The scope mount you show is the same as Dad uses. His clears the safety. I am in the process modifying a mount for another gun as a scout style mount. My gunsmith is quite swamped right now and has had little time for "fun" projects! I'll let you know how it turns out.
The longer bullets are more compatable to the Krag but I have been shooting 150gr psp for years in my sporter with great results. It will probably boil down to prefrences of individual guns and condition of the chamber throat etc.
I used IMR 4064 in the past and have lately gone to H414 for 150gr bullets. Both give excelent accuracy in my old sporter! I also shot some 110 gr hp at woodchucks years ago!!
Enjoy,
Ned
Good
-
PPosey
Re: Hello
Sounds like you enjoy your Krags! That is good.
I have a scout mount base from a Place called Wild West Guns
http://www.wildwestguns.com/
It is for a Win94 lever gun but seems to fit the barrel of my Krag very well right in front on the recever before the barrel tappers, this might put it to close to the reciever though, as soon as I can afford to buy a scout scope I will check. Please post how your bases work.
I have a scout mount base from a Place called Wild West Guns
http://www.wildwestguns.com/
It is for a Win94 lever gun but seems to fit the barrel of my Krag very well right in front on the recever before the barrel tappers, this might put it to close to the reciever though, as soon as I can afford to buy a scout scope I will check. Please post how your bases work.