Why did the US go with the Krag design?

[macqnj107@aol.com]

What does any of this Evans stuff have to do with the adoption of the US Krag? It’s not even in the same class; firing what could be called a large-caliber, low-speed pistol cartridge.

And to the individual that brought up fire power at the Somme; that’s back to the “chicken and the egg” question I mentioned. It was WW1 firepower that made bolt rifles obsolete, at least in the US; the US had even developed a semi-auto adapter for the ‘03 by war’s end.

During the last half of the 19th century, once napoleonic tactics were dropped (driven by a change in weaponry), military leadership looked toward the rank-and-file marksman with a single-shot rifle to make every shot count. That thinking was still prevalent with the adoption of the Krag (and the ‘03), the magazine cutoff switches on those rifles prove it. The Somme and other horrendous battles of WW1 drove a change in weaponry, which drove a change in tactics, which in turn drove a change in weaponry. A viscous circle – but in this area you can’t compare today to yesterday and say why didn’t they do it the way we do now. I don’t think history works that way – hind-site and all.

[Knute1]

The Krag was thought to be a most horrible and hideous weapon of war. There were those in America that thought it's longer range and almost explosive characteristics when hitting a human were beyond humane. After being adopted, trials of the Krag design were performed on cadavers by military surgeons, which furthered the concept of its inhumanity as a weapon when reading the reports from these tests. Military ranges where the Krag was being used brought alarm to those in the vicinity due to it having a greater reach. Almost to the point of hysteria. The Great War blunted concern of a smokeless powder, magazine rifle concept. There were more hideous ways to kill another human, and many of them at a time.

What came first? The chicken or the egg? The Krag-Jorgensen rifle or the .30 government round? It was the round that came first, though it was in its infancy in development during the rifle trials. The Ordnance Department supplied the round and barrels (if need be) to those developing rifle designs for submission. The one-lugged Krag won out. If the round provided had higher pressure requirements I am sure Krag and Jorgensen would have provided a weapon engineered to meet the requirement. As it was, they provided a design that met what the Ordnance Department asked for.

America had been known as a nation of riflemen. Still is, to some degree. However, America was losing its identity as a nation of riflemen as the Industrial Revolution took hold in the late 1900's. More young men were going to the cities to work in factories, leaving the rural life. A rural life that included the great outdoors and hunting with rifles. It was such a great concern among some that it prompted Townsend Whelen to write a book in 1917, just prior to America stepping into the Great War, to make sure that these urban young men had access to knowledge of firearms through his writing. Being a rifleman, to some degree, insinuates proficiency and accuracy with a rifle. The old generals put accuracy above the ability to throw lots of lead downrange. They had not grasped the concept of being able to do both. Therefore, clips were not viewed as any great advantage, but actually a hindrance to accuracy. They could only envision a waste of hastily shot ammunition from a weapon that could be loaded so fast. In their mind, give them a single shot weapon and they'll show you how to pick the enemy off deliberately and efficiently. They even developed 45-70 smokeless powder cartridges to remove the negative aspect of giving one's position away due to the smoke. The old generals were giving their single shot concept one more breath before the Krag totally took over for all the military.

[butlersrangers]

Sorry about bringing up the Evans rifle, I was mistaken. (Hey, it did have firepower)!

It was the 'pump-action' Spencer-Lee rifle, that Francis Bannerman submitted in 1893 for review by the Magazine Rifle Selection Board.

The Magazine Rifle Board had to weed out a lot of poor & inferior junk designs and bad ideas.
The Krag-Jorgensen rifle that the Board selected was one of the best, if not the best, of the arms submitted.
It successfully met the criteria the Board was directed to follow.
The state of propellants, bullet design, and gun design was very different in 1892, then in 1902.

The OP, in the initial post, asked for our "thoughts" on the selection of the Krag.
I beginning to guess his mind was already made up.

I'm done with my thoughts on his question.

[Local Boy]

Death Stara.jpg (16.57 KiB) Viewed 674 times

Now that's firepower!

I wonder if the Emperor really wanted to rule the galaxy by suppression of rebellion through the use of force or did he just like blowing up planets?

IMHO: I believe the Springfield Krag story is one of many innovations and first as well as a wonderful shooting firearm that is part of our American arms history/heritage.

BTW: We may never know the answer to the chicken egg question? However, I did have the most delightful egg drop soup with chicken veggie pot stickers for dinner last night! YUM!

[macqnj107@aol.com]

As the author of this string, I had my own ideas – but wanted to hear what you had to say.

You’ve enlightened me to many thoughts, ideas, and facts that all roll into an answer to my question; but I will continue monitoring posts and hopefully I will become the Krag expert that many of you are.

One of the first rifles in my early shooting days was my dad’s Krag, and he taught me to load my own ammo with a Lyman Nutcracker. Later on we got a Krag saddle-ring carbine which I loved even more.

The Krag was (is) a great rifle.

[Knute1]

If you haven't, check the older posts, also. There is much out there, albeit scattered. We're all still learning from one another.