The Krag in South Africa.
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2024 7:29 am
In the Norwegian shooters journal "Norsk skyttertidende" 10th of july 1901, there's a short article called "The Krag Jørgensen rifle in South Africa". It's referring a letter from a British officer, published in a British paper "The spectator". Here's a translation.
The Krag-Jørgensen rifle in South Africa.
“An English officer on active duty in South Africa has sent home a letter about the rifles used in the war, in which the following is stated in the English magazine "The Spectator", which we reproduce after the "Ørebladet": " Our rifle is certainly a rotten weapon. The stock is not strong enough for military use. Among the hundreds, which I could have obtained in Pretoria, hardly one was undamaged, many looked like a flail, with the loose stocks. Many were tied together with bootlaces. The barrel is good enough, but there is no relationship between the sights and the bullets trajectory. - No wonder, that "Tommy" prefers- the bayonet. " Brother Boer" can pick a man off the horse at a distance of 1,000 yards, but the sights of the Lee Enfield rifle do not lead the shooter to the acre of land, where the projectile was to hit the ground. However, it has some advantages. The fact that the magazine can be kept in reserve and the rifle used as a single loader is an admirable thing. The short extractor spring are better than the long ones in the Mauser rifle, which easily can break. But the magazine is clumsily arranged, so the cartridges do not enter without fingering. The Mauser rifle's stripper clip is not a safe arrangement, as it often jams. The Krag-Jørgensen rifle is undoubtedly a very superior rifle. Its magazine is easier to load, and no charger is needed. But it contains five cartridges, which are to few, and its caliber is too small. Anyway, it is the best rifle used here. Its sights are simply beautiful and shows itself exceedingly when it is in the hands of an intelligent man. I have annexed such a rifle from "Brother Boer" and have often shot with it to good effect. Those foreign manufactured rifles are superior in construction and work, as modern automatic machinery, profiling and milling machines are used on them. Compare their finish with the handwork on our rough bolts." In the last remark, the letter writer is wrong; Modern machines are used in the preparation of English rifles, just as these are carefully manufactured”.
The Krag-Jørgensen rifle in South Africa.
“An English officer on active duty in South Africa has sent home a letter about the rifles used in the war, in which the following is stated in the English magazine "The Spectator", which we reproduce after the "Ørebladet": " Our rifle is certainly a rotten weapon. The stock is not strong enough for military use. Among the hundreds, which I could have obtained in Pretoria, hardly one was undamaged, many looked like a flail, with the loose stocks. Many were tied together with bootlaces. The barrel is good enough, but there is no relationship between the sights and the bullets trajectory. - No wonder, that "Tommy" prefers- the bayonet. " Brother Boer" can pick a man off the horse at a distance of 1,000 yards, but the sights of the Lee Enfield rifle do not lead the shooter to the acre of land, where the projectile was to hit the ground. However, it has some advantages. The fact that the magazine can be kept in reserve and the rifle used as a single loader is an admirable thing. The short extractor spring are better than the long ones in the Mauser rifle, which easily can break. But the magazine is clumsily arranged, so the cartridges do not enter without fingering. The Mauser rifle's stripper clip is not a safe arrangement, as it often jams. The Krag-Jørgensen rifle is undoubtedly a very superior rifle. Its magazine is easier to load, and no charger is needed. But it contains five cartridges, which are to few, and its caliber is too small. Anyway, it is the best rifle used here. Its sights are simply beautiful and shows itself exceedingly when it is in the hands of an intelligent man. I have annexed such a rifle from "Brother Boer" and have often shot with it to good effect. Those foreign manufactured rifles are superior in construction and work, as modern automatic machinery, profiling and milling machines are used on them. Compare their finish with the handwork on our rough bolts." In the last remark, the letter writer is wrong; Modern machines are used in the preparation of English rifles, just as these are carefully manufactured”.