Bought a Krag

[Dalebert]

I bought the Krag I posted about earlier

Had the serial number wrong. It's actually 233825. 1899 I believe

Barrel is excellent inside and out. Better than son in law indicated. Bright and sharp. Maybe a small speck of something several inches from crown, but a non-issue. There is a "2" on the bottom of barrel and some other mark I can't distiguish. Pic attached. Do these indicate anything specific?

Stock is excellent. A few medium dings and some small ones, but sharp cartouches, no cracks, original finish, etc. Dated 1902, so a replacement. Only issue is a small chunk missing between bolt handle and mag door. The mildew or smudges on stock rubbed out easily.

Other than the barrel, most other metal has little remaining bluing, but not too much corrosion or pitting. Some on mag door.

My sense of rifle is that it was well used and came back for rework and had both barrel and stock replaced. Stock is obvious, but barrel condition is so good, it just doesn't match the patina of the other metal. I'm happy though, because I shoot my stuff. It looks like gun was well cared for after rework. Action is amazingly smooth like I guess is the norm on Krags.

I am very happy with my first Krag and feel fortunate that I was able to get it for $500.

Information

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[Dalebert]

I wrote wrong about mark on bottom of Barrel. It's a "P". Does that indicate barrel was proofed.

[browningautorifle]

Still looks like 288825 to me...maybe you should take a clearer pic...? Yes, P means proofed. It's still a great possibility that this was re-barreled by other than the military. Thus the mismatching...

[Dalebert]

browningautorifle,

SN is definitely 233..., but I have to use magnifying glass to be sure. Other than being a little earlier production, is there any other significance to SN range?

[browningautorifle]

SN is definitely 233

233894 was issued the the state of MD, so was232796...so you're in between those.

[andiarisaka]

After WWI Krags were sold as surplus and often used as target rifles. Barrels were available through the DCM, some of them star gauged. Brophy and Mallory say they were unmarked but came with a paper detailing the measurements. I've found a little star mark on some 98 barrels that could be for the gauging. It's a really tight and consistent barrel too. But the point is, the rifles were being rebarreled long after they were originally made.

[browningautorifle]

And that makes perfect sense too.