1896 Krag Rifle [advice needed - PICS Added]

AzMedic · Post by **AzMedic** » Fri Sep 02, 2016 8:18 pm

Have the opportunity to possibly obtain a 1896 Krag rifle and had some questions for the membership:

Rifle is a 1896 with appropriate SN497** and has the appropriate sights and hardware.

Question 1: muzzle wear is approx. 4 I believe on a CMP gauge and bore has been exposed to corrosive ammo during its life but still has visible grooves/lands... thoughts?

Question 2: has correct '96 upper handguard but has a crack from rear of sight base to rear of guard - I know they are fixable with talent and time - are replacements available?

Overall the rifle is in good shape and has 100+yrs of service life as its Hx...

Any thoughts from the group would be appreciated...

AzMedic · Post by **AzMedic** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 3:56 pm

added bore and top handguard pics for review and input from the membership

RangeHound · Post by **RangeHound** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:52 pm

You have some choices.
1. Handguards can be glued or look for a replacement on ebay as they do show up.
2. If you are buying to rifle for shooting the bore may contribute to the rifle being less accurate but if you aren't shooting it for accuracy it looks like fairly clean barrel. I had an M1 Garand with a barrel over 4 ME (don't know ME) and it was all over the place at 100yards.

In summary, it depends on what you want and how you are going to use the rifle. My opinion.

Good Luck

AzMedic · Post by **AzMedic** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:55 pm

Is it worth it to 'slug' the barrel to find out true diameter?
Did a controlled experiment using the Krag carbine I posted in an earlier thread (I have no idea what its ME is either). All tested bullet weights were 175-180grn Winchester Commercial.
.30-40 Krag round sat about 1/8" high from crown to neck brass edge
.30-30 Win round sat directly on the crown with the neck brass edge.
.303 Brit round sat approx. 1/4" above from crown to neck brass edge (.311 dia)

Cat Man · Post by **Cat Man** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 9:53 pm

The cracked hand guard is something I would leave original. It is normal for these old Krags. It won't change how it shoots. I would prefer an original 120 year old matching cracked hand guard over a new replacement any day. I have done both, purchased new replacements to install on rifles with missing hand guards and kept cracked ones on some rifles. You are not going to be dismounting it very often.

Now about that barrel. If you just want a looker. Leave it as is and remember they are only original once. Look for a more common 1898 to work on. If you want to shoot it better, read on.

I don't care how bad it looks at first or what a CMP muzzle gauge says. First thing is clean it (A lot) and then shoot it off a bench with a solid rest. Take it home and get some bore cleaning paste with some abrasive like JB Bore Paste. Roll up your sleeves and lock the rifle in a good cleaning cradle and start pushing back and forth from the breech end with bore paste until you think your arm will fall off. Think several hundred strokes. Wipe clean and then go shoot it with the same ammo on the same rest with the same sight picture and the same size target with the same number of rounds. Compare progress. Lather, rinse and repeat! When you think it is clean, you are just getting started. Clean some more. You would be amazed how many 45-70 and 30-40 bores have been saved from the junk barrel when visual inspection looked grim.

If it still won't shoot the next trick is to have someone with a lathe, back bore the first inch of the muzzle end to get rid of the nasty condition up front. This was a common fix back in the day.

Try oversize lead bullets at lead bullet velocities.

If it still won't shoot well. Then decide to leave it as, hang it on the wall and enjoy looking at it or go with a new aftermarket barrel and start shooting for CMP Gold Medals.

I'll see you on the range!

Jeff the Caterpillar Man

psteinmayer · Post by **psteinmayer** » Wed Sep 07, 2016 10:59 am

Here's another little tidbit: Krag's are a different breed. A barrel with what in Garand or 1903 terms would be considered a bad muzzle gage, should still shoot relatively well. Jacketed bullets seem to ride the bore well, and you're not pushing bullets to the velocities that you can expect in a 30-06. Shooting at 1900-2000 fps is plenty fast enough in a Krag, and can be deadly accurate too! Slug the barrel and see where she stands. You can always shoot cast... and if your bore sizes .310 or up, you can also get jacketed bullets sized to that.

As for that handguard, I would carefully epoxy it to prevent further cracking, and leave it alone. As Cat Man stated, I would rather keep my Krag original.

Remember... all is usually never lost with a Krag!

AzMedic · Post by **AzMedic** » Wed Sep 07, 2016 11:38 am

Thank you both for the advice.....just got Mr. Mallory's book and Mr. Brophy's book is on its way....these are very interesting rifles and being <novice in knowing anything about these ...the memberships guidance is greatly appreciated!!!

Cat Man · Post by **Cat Man** » Wed Sep 07, 2016 3:58 pm

So glad you bought the two books! Not an inexpensive resource but that shows you are a serious Krag student.

Best of luck. And keep us posted on your project.

Jeff :)

Mark_Daiute · Post by **Mark_Daiute** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:14 pm

your collection of books is not complete without the book by Joe Farmer. Samll investment for priceless information

butlersrangers · Post by **butlersrangers** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:48 pm

Joe Poyer's book, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine" is handy and inexpensive, ($20 - CHEAP!).

I take it with me on trips and appreciate the clear photographs. I feel 'OK' about writing in it and make a notation, when I suspect a mistake in the text.

The book's main sins (I think) are its non-official 'Types' on part changes, some text errors, and sounding overly dogmatic on serial number/production dates.

Hey, I learn from my mistakes. I learn from other people's mistakes.

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