Grandpa's Krag

[John Peterson]

Ever since I was a little boy I was always fascinated by my Grandpa's Krag. Now that I've inherited it I have a couple questions about it. It's a model 1898, serial number 480806. It looks almost identical to the one pictured on the website, only not in as good a condition, missing the band that holds the front of the stock to the barrel, and it doesn't have the ring above the trigger on the left side. It does have a flip-up ajustable rear sight like the one in the picture. First of all I would love to hear any information about this gun that anyone can tell me. I looked up the serial number and saw that it was manufactured in 1904. When would it have been used? My grandpa was in WWII, but it seams like a pretty old gun to have been issued then. Besides general info, the two specific quesitons I have on it are first where could I get a replacement for the aforementioned band for the front of the stock? Second, When I load it from the side, it doesn't seem to be able to chamber a round from the magazine through simple operation of the bolt, is there some sort of trick to this I should know? Thanks for all the help and the great resource for information on this awesome firearms.

[John]

one more note, it also shoots really high (and I mean (REALLY high). Any thoughts on this?

[Hal_Beatty]

John,
Possible sources for the front band would be: local gun shows or S&S Firearms. Also, grab a Shotgun News and check out the adds for parts.

To get the magazine to feed, flip the magazine cut-off on the left side to the "up" position. If that doesn't work, you might have something fouled up the magazine.

As far as shooting high goes, best thing is to handload with 220 g. bullets as that's what the sights were calibrated for. You'll also find better accuracy with the longer, heavier bullets.

Regards,
Hal Beatty