Krag Collectors Association Forum

Here is a gem that is on display at Springfield Armory.

I was unaware of this altered Krag, used to test .45 caliber ACP cartridges for pressure of load, by crushing copper pellets.

No need for an extractor, I imagine a short rod was used to push the fired rimless pistol case out of the chamber.

98 receiver? We saw a Krag hand gun before, looks like this one predates it by a long ways. Elegant and cost effective solution for testing pressure back then, never thought about it before, but testing pressure with copper crushers would seem to be impossible in an automatic hand gun or a rifle for that matter.

It it possible this was actually for the .45 "Long" Colt cartridge, as issued for the M1909 revolver (5.5" barrel)? That might answer the extractor question. (Might be why the Krag action was used instead of the M1903.)

'Parashooter' - You could be correct about this altered Krag being used to test a rimmed .45 caliber pistol cartridge.

(I may have assumed the .45 ACP round was the chambering).

Actually, the chamber could be easily be reamed for any .45 cartridge, if the case was simply pushed out of the chamber with a short cleaning rod.
Having no provision for an extractor simplifies things.

Winchester used their Model 1885 Single Shot actions for pressure test and load development for the Winchester Self Loading series of cartridges (.351, .401, etc.) Makes sense. They were after information, not functional testing.