Two Krags, (1898 &1899) By Any Other Name Are Still Jorgensen's
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:58 pm
Last month a friend of mine Mike, (a different Mike from my other post) contacted me about one of his customers whose husband was a collector of antique guns, but he’d passed away a couple of years ago and wanted to know if he would be interested in the two “Springfield Armory” Krags she had. He wasn’t, but knew I had a “Krag Jorgensen Elgrifle”, so he called me and told me about them. About two weeks ago I went to the ladies house prepared to take a bunch of pictures, but she told me I could take them both home with me to look them over and do my research. As suggested in my “Elgrifle” post I did find a copy of Lt. Col. Brophy’s, “The Krag Rifle” on ebay and the lady gave me a copy of “The American Krag Rifle and Carbine” by Joe Poyer. Needless to say, I’ve just about worn both those books out flipping through the pages. I know next to nothing about either of these rifles except that her husband had apparently purchased the rifle from some one and the Carbine had been in the family for some time; I believe she said it was her or his grandfathers. When I see her again, I will try and dig a little deeper on who owned the Carbine.
In this posting I will share with you what I have learned about these two rifles between Lt. Col. Brophy, Joe Poyer’s books and this forum, but I really look forward to learning from everyone on this forum, as much as possible. In the end, I would like an estimation of what would be a “Fair Price” to offer this lady for her late husbands Krags. I told her that whether I purchase the rifles from her or not, I will share with her all the information I learn. So, here I go! FYI, since I don’t own either of these rifles I am not disassembling them. All observations except the borescope are external.
“Model 1898 Springfield Armory Krag”, Serial No. 146000
• Though the Stock is dirty/aged, it’s still in relatively good condition with only minor dings and scrapes.
• Cartouche. On the left side of the Stock just above the Trigger Guard you can barely make out the Inspection Cartouche. I missed it the first couple of times I looked for it. Still can’t make out the initials or year, but it is there.
• Proof “P”. Though like the Inspection Cartoughe, it’s only visible in the right lighting, it is there.
• Buttstock Cleaning Rod Compartment. Holes are there, but no rods. The spring loaded door still functions.
• Barrel Length, 30” measured with a wooden dowel inserted down the barrel till it hit the bolt face, marked then measured the dowel.
• Barrel Bore. I ran a Digital Borescope down the barrel and I did record it. Nothing jumped out at me other than it was dirty. I could see the rifling, but not knowing exactly how it should look, I’ll show the video to my other friend Mike on Sunday and get his opinion.
• Magazine Gate, Bolt, Magazine Cutoff, Safety and Trigger all seem to operate normally and smoothly.
• Rear Sight mechanically works. Not sure if it’s the correct one though.
• Front Sight. Looks original.
In this posting I will share with you what I have learned about these two rifles between Lt. Col. Brophy, Joe Poyer’s books and this forum, but I really look forward to learning from everyone on this forum, as much as possible. In the end, I would like an estimation of what would be a “Fair Price” to offer this lady for her late husbands Krags. I told her that whether I purchase the rifles from her or not, I will share with her all the information I learn. So, here I go! FYI, since I don’t own either of these rifles I am not disassembling them. All observations except the borescope are external.
“Model 1898 Springfield Armory Krag”, Serial No. 146000
• Though the Stock is dirty/aged, it’s still in relatively good condition with only minor dings and scrapes.
• Cartouche. On the left side of the Stock just above the Trigger Guard you can barely make out the Inspection Cartouche. I missed it the first couple of times I looked for it. Still can’t make out the initials or year, but it is there.
• Proof “P”. Though like the Inspection Cartoughe, it’s only visible in the right lighting, it is there.
• Buttstock Cleaning Rod Compartment. Holes are there, but no rods. The spring loaded door still functions.
• Barrel Length, 30” measured with a wooden dowel inserted down the barrel till it hit the bolt face, marked then measured the dowel.
• Barrel Bore. I ran a Digital Borescope down the barrel and I did record it. Nothing jumped out at me other than it was dirty. I could see the rifling, but not knowing exactly how it should look, I’ll show the video to my other friend Mike on Sunday and get his opinion.
• Magazine Gate, Bolt, Magazine Cutoff, Safety and Trigger all seem to operate normally and smoothly.
• Rear Sight mechanically works. Not sure if it’s the correct one though.
• Front Sight. Looks original.