1898 Sporter Serial# 456713

[mavt]

The evolution of this sporter is sad and some here may think what it eventually has become even adds to that in a way.... It was 2007 and browsing a LGS I came across this cut down Model 1898 - the first Krag I had even seen. Knew of them and wasn't looking for one but was definitely attracted to it. The legendary buttery smooth action and the clean condition with not a speck of rust on it - in fact, all the metal and wood was still covered with cosmoline - had me going back over to handle it for the fourth time when over my shoulder I heard "You can have it for $50 off the tag." So with that the rifle and a box of Remington ammo followed me home that day.

To say this rifle had been butchered would be an understatement. This Bubba's middle name must have also been Bubba! The forestock had recently been cut off with a grinding wheel WHILE STILL ATTACHED TO THE BARREL!!! There were deep nicks cut into the sides and bottom of the barrel and the end of the now shortened stock still had the grooves around it to prove it.

The barrel had been cut to 24" and a banded sight base was literally hammered onto the end of it. There was no crown to speak of so I wasn't surprised the bullets all keyholed at 50yds but I was just checking the overall function with a few rounds to gauge what I had.

I didn't want to put much into it including the cost and permanence of drilling and tapping holes in the receiver so attached a Williams receiver sight and front base to it with JB Weld. I decided to cut the barrel an additional 2.5" behind the battered front sight base to 20" because I liked the handling of that length in the woods with various carbines I owned. I filed the muzzle as flat as I could get it and used a RCBS chamfering tool to clean up the crown and it shot surprisingly well with jacketed and cast (311284 and Lee 309-200-R) and even round balls even though the first 8" or so of barrel was pretty much shot out.

This is what it looked like at that point.

[mavt]

I loved shooting and hunting with this Krag. It was more than serviceable for what I wanted to use it for. I settled on a woods load of a Rem 180gr .310 RN and 36.0gr H-4895 at 2050fps for the equivalent of a slightly overweight 30-30 load. An accurate plinking load of 3.5gr 700-X and a .308 RB cast of WW alloy was right on at about 30yds or so at the same sight setting and with the cutoff feature made it practical for small game encountered while deer hunting.

[King carp]

That looks like a nice woods walking carbine. Nicely done. It is always encouraging to hear that a rough looking bore can still shoot. It gives me hope for mine. Thanks for sharing.

[mavt]

For the past 12 years I have thought about the possibility of replacing that nicked up barrel and adding permanent sights fore and aft so when my days with it are done I'll have something more presentable to leave my grandson and his future heirs to hopefully enjoy for another 100 years. As retirement approaches the window to do it was narrowing so I bit the bullet and sent it off for installation of a 22" Criterion barrel and an S&S repro front sight base. Haven't decided on the front sight blade yet and have a repro blade if I decide to go that route but these old eyes may need something more visible up front - the posting about a fluorescent front sight presented an interesting possibility. For the rear I obtained an E.L. Rice peep sight to make it Krag Sporter "authentic" at a reasonable cost and for the added simplicity that design offers. FWIW it came with a 1902 rear sight which is almost useless on a sporter in the woods. The screw and nut needed to replace the extractor rivet to attach the Rice sight was missing and a few minutes working with file reducing a screw head diameter to fit up into that recess made a suitable replacement.

To further keep costs down and retain the old look closer to that of the original receiver finish I intended to cold blue the barrel figuring it would look old again before too long. But a series of events culminated in an "offer" to hot blue the barrel and I reluctantly decided to go with that which in hindsight was a blunder since the receiver ended up being blued by mistake as well. The bluing job was well done just not what I was intending for the receiver. Obviously it doesn't affect performance as a Sporter and guess I have the option to remove it and go with a forced older look of one type or another but for now it is what it is and unfortunately was what it was...For better or for worse depending on viewer's perspective for now it's a modern looking Krag Sporter.

[mavt]

Here's a closeup of the Rice sight and a few more views.

[Ned Butts]

Nice job, leave the blueing, it looks fine for what it is.

[Whig]

Any Krag spoter with the cartouche intact is great in my book! The main consideration is how it shoots and if you like it. You have resurrected a bad Krag into a nice one. Great job and thanks for sharing!

[butlersrangers]

Enjoy it, shoot it, and your grandchildren will love it!

Take them shooting with it, when they can. (Have one for each grand child).

Commercial blades, like the ones made by Marble's, fit the Krag front-sight base and give a clearer sight-picture for older eyes.

[mavt]

Finally took this rifle with the new Criterion barrel to the range yesterday and the bolt wouldn't close on a round. When I first tried the bolt on receiving the rifle after blueing the bolt closed hard initially on an empty chamber but loosened up after a few tries so figured it was just the blueing in the lug recess increasing tolerances slightly.

I compared this bolt with the the bolt from 407052 I posted in the Military section and extractors and their reference to the bolt ends look identical. I tried the bolt from this one in 407052 and there was no issue but when I tried the 407052 bolt in this rifle it wouldn't close on the empty chamber. I put about as much pressure on the bolt as with the initial try with the original bolt which finally worked in but didn't want to force it any more than that with this bolt.

The extractor lines up with the cut and bolt closes on an empty chamber. The relationship of case rim to extractor cut looks to be about the same on both rifles so there appears to be enough space for the extractor to jump the rim but isn't happening.

Checked an old thread on Criterion barrel headspacing that had a nice close up of a case in the chamber but the barrel was not attached so was of minimal help.

I would hate to have send it back if there is something I'm overlooking so any insight or suggestions to check something else is appreciated. I can take pictures later today when I have more natural light. Anything particular views that might be helpful?

[Whig]

Can you close the bolt on an empty piece of .30-40 brass?

Head spacing may not be the issue as much as circumference tolerances also.

If you cannot close the bolt with no round loaded, that raises lots of issues as to what changes were made in the chamber of this rifle. Was it damaged when worked on? Does it visually look clear in the chamber area? Since a different bolt won't work either, the gunsmith who worked on it must have damaged it somewhere. Does the bolt close a little but won't turn fully closed as if the rear of the new barrel is set back too far?

Close ups of the chamber would help. Hard to figure out without it in hand to manipulate.

The gunsmith certainly should have checked his work after changing barrels. If it won't work, you need to send it back!