Krag Collectors Association Forum

I just picked up my first Krag and I hope I did alright. It's marked 1899 but the stock doesn't seem to be a carbine stock. Can you experts provide me some insight? Thanks!

More pics

Welcome to Thee Forum of all Forums, Sarge. Everyone will be along in a bit.

You are right to question your stock. You can rest assured it is a cut down rifle stock if you see a pin (yours) at the band. Carbines had a spring to hold their band on.
The other giveaway is the sling swivel at the heel of the stock.

The good news is you have a carbine band.

Does the number on the rear sight go to 18 or 20? 18 = rifle sight. 20 = carbine sight.

You can educate yourself while the others show up by looking at the collections of photos of the every thing Krag.

https://kragcollectorsassociation.org/photos/

Best Regards

Captain Culpeper
of the former KCA Africa Corps

Thank you! Sight goes to 18. I guess my question is, why would it be a cut down rifle stock if it's an 1899? Aren't all 1899's carbines? Was it just easier to replace the original stock with an old, modified stock? Also, excuse my ignorance I am definitely learning as much as I can, as I go. I jumped on what I felt was a good deal with this one.

Moola! It is always money. Chances are somebody needed money and sold the original stock and sights. Then, and this is just a guess, somebody else needed a deer rifle and rifles were a dime a dozen so they cut down a rifle stock to a) pass it off as a carbine or b) have that light weight two dollar carbine back in the Depression. Any thing could have happened to it in the last 124 years.

https://kragcollectorsassociation.org/k ... /carb2.jpg

In the link you provided the 1899 carbines pictured don't appear to have the spring at the fore end like mine. This was something I noticed today when I picked it up at the FFL and had me a little concerned. I have also been wondering why my cocking piece isn't rounded and flared like others I have seen. All in all, I am happy with it. Wondering what the value might be just to make sure I haven't been ripped off though. I have no ammo of course and will have to wait to test it out.

BTW are you from Culpeper, VA?

Look at the right side pics of either 1896, 1898, or the '99 carbines. They're there.

You have headless cocking piece. Lucky you!

No. I am from the planet Krypton. Just like that kid from down the street. He landed in Kansas. Geez. He got the babes, Saturday matinees, movies, made the world spin backwards, the works. Man, I hate the guy. I landed elsewhere and got a whole lot of nuthin'.

Culpeper was a nom de plume when I did a radio show about twenty years ago.

Go here to the main page and then click on photos, then scroll through them you will see the other side of the carbine stocks and the spring retainer will be more obvious
http://kragcollectorsassociation.org

Ah, I now see that it’s only on the one side now. Thank you!

Is it ridiculous to think of adding a true carbine stock at a later date? Just leave as is? What would you estimate the current value to be on mine?

That’s a good name for radio. It’s also a town not too far from me so I thought we may be neighbors. I you were I was going to ask if I could borrow a cup of Krag ammo!

Most likely ridicluous. That is the problem. To get a carbine stock you have to strip it off a perfect carbine. So the back and forth begins. Someone needs a stock or carbine sight make his gun whole. Naturally there are jackass gun strippers who will tear a perfectly good gun apart for a buck so they can sell the parts to saintly gun guys who are doing the Lord's work of putting them back together.

And no one are making new stocks. I talked to the Boyds rep at the Harrisburg gun show and asked when they were going to make krag stocks. They said management is not interested in that.