1899 Krag and young buck

[Olpeddler]

Hello Mark,
I'm the 'olpeddler" from central Massachusetts. I've been a Krag owner and member of this forum for 4 years. Mine is a model 1899 carbine. It is interesting that I have seen very little mention of the 1899 carbine on the forum. Maybe that's because out of the 350,000 Krags made at the SA, only about 10% of them were model 1899's. Mine was given to me by a friend who had a reclusive family member who, as a hobby, owned a gun shop in the 1950's - 60's. I'm told he had a Ph.D. in chemistry and taught at one of the local colleges. In his later years, he must have suffered from a mental disease because he did crazy things like tearing out walls in his home, stuffing in rifles and shotguns, and then rebuilding the wall board. After he died, his family recovered those long guns before having the house demolished. I was offed one the rifles, and I chose my Krag.
My gunsmith stripped down the rifle and had parts x-rayed to determine if the rifle was safe to fire. It was, so I bought a set of Lee reloading dies and have enjoyed shooting it. Guys on this forum have been very helpful to me. I am fascinated with the 1901 rear sight. Initially, at 75 yards my groups hit 24" inches above the 10 ring. I used the battle sight with the ladder lowered to its lowest point, and still the rifle was shooting 2' high. Forum members recommended that I install a lower front sight post which my gunsmith did. That pretty much solved the problem. i sill use the battle sight, and on a good day at the range I can shoot 3-4" groups at 75 yards, mostly in or near the 10 ring. Occasionally, while handling the rifle, i disturb the windage adjustment. I can not determine why the rear sight has a windage toggle adjustment rather than a knob dial as on my 1903 Springfield.

[Whig]

Thanks for being a member of KCA and sharing your nice story about your 1899 Krag carbine. Having had it x-rayed is a little strange but glad nothing unusual was discovered. Usually just a good inspection is sufficient.

The 1899 Krag carbine is the least respected of the three Krag carbine models. Model 1896 Krag carbines were of the period used in the Spanish-American War and the rare Model 1896 rear carbine sight is so valuable that collecting saddle ring Model 1896s with the correct rear sight is somewhat of a challenge today. And, the Model 1898 Krag carbines are uncommon to start with since only about 5,000 of these puppies were made originally. Many exist today that are not originally Model 1898 carbines but a collection of parts and a story to make them seem original. So, the more common, and later, Model 1899 carbines are less valuable and mysterious than the other two mentioned.

But, they are still Krag carbines and, with the correct rear and front sights, they can be accurate shooters. I use the Model 1901 rear rifle sight on my main Krag rifle that I shoot for accuracy in local competitions. I have learned how to adjust the peep hole slide and front windage adjustment lever reliably for accuracy out to around 300 yards. I have gotten around 1 1/2 MOA accuracy with my Krag rifle and this rear sight, using my hand loads.

So, keep enjoying your Krag. Thanks again for the story.

[butlersrangers]

I agree with Whig that the U.S. model 1899 carbine may be of less interest to many collectors, because they associate model 1896 and 1898 carbines more with historic events.

That aside, the model 1899 carbine is probably my favorite Krag. I view it as a very refined and well thought out design.
To me, it is a rather elegant and streamlined military weapon with interesting variations: four varieties of rear-sight, Parkhurst carbines, and Philippine Constabulary & 'school rifle' adaptations.

I have reconstructed two model 1899 carbines from 'sportered' Deer Rifles.
IMO - The model 1899 carbine is a fun and useful Krag for hunting and shooting, as issued.

Mark Daiute, who started this thread, has shown us what a good little woods 'Deer Rifle' the model 1899 carbine can be!

'Olpeddler' mentioned that his Krag initially grouped 24 inches high and required a front sight-blade correction, to shoot to the point of aim.
(This correction would require a taller blade, not a shorter blade as Olpeddler stated).

Attached photos showing details of a couple of restored model 1899 carbines.

[Olpeddler]

Whig & Butlerangers,

Thanks for your comments and input. Good catch on the front sight, I mis-spoke myself; the front sight I had installed was taller than the one that came with the rifle.

[butlersrangers]

A nice thing about model 1899 Krag carbines is that switching to a 'Rifle Front-Blade' will often get them shooting close to the point of aim at 50 & 100 yards.

[madsenshooter]

I recall reading in the Frank de Hass' book Bolt Action Rifles that 444 Marlin was doable. That one is already on Ohio's approved list. There are better shaped bullets available now vs back then. Pressure is 44,000 cup.

[scottz63]

How tall is the Krag rifle sight from the bottom of the base to the highest point on the blade?

[Mark_Daiute]

So what load did you use Mark, your own recipe or factory?

I think it was something boring. My load, of course, 40 grains of 4350 under a 220gr. round nosed corelokt or hornady.