Question on New Krag Sporter

I picked up a new (For me) Krag sporter yesterday and have a few questions I hope someone can answer.

1. I think it has an original 1899 carbine stock however it was fitted with a recoil pad. Before the addition of the recoil pad, was this a carbine stock?

2. Is that an original 1896 Carbine hand guard?

3. It currently has a 1896 rifle rear sight, a Redfield receiver sight and ramp front sight which is off center.

I have not cleaned it but the bore looks good so it should be a good shooter. The serial number is 11420x

Thanks, Steve

The front sight, the receiver sight, and the recoil pad are not original. No Krag of any vintage had those.

It is hard to tell from your photo, but it does like a carbine stock.

This has obviously been in the hands of an amateur gunsmith. Before WWII, and even after, many Krag rifles were cut down into handy deer rifles, and this is most likely one of them.

Carbine stocks sold for almost nothing, so it was common to put the cut down rifle into a carbine stock. The recoil pad is a shame, unless they didn't cut the stock.

Bill, thanks for the answer. I worded my question incorrectly in reference to the recoil pad. I was aware that the recoil pad was not original, my apologizes for the wording. However, the stock has been shorten about the length of the recoil pad. I guess if someone was really good at blending wood it could be repaired. It is too bad it was cut. I might just remove the handguard and rear sight and have the canter on the front corrected and use the gun as a sporter.

Steve

"Carbine" appears to be a cut-down M1898 rifle.
Shape of the magazine door is M'98. Even though the rear sight/handguard is the M'96, the very early M'98's were arsenal-fitted with them.
What's the serial number?
Butt stock appears to have been cut to fit the recoil pad . . . notice there is no longer the "forward-slant" at the toe of the stock. M96's and M'98's had the toe of the butt-plate (and the interfacing stock, of course) bent forward.
As Bill said the receiver sight, front sight and recoil pad are all "Bubba-installed".
Enjoy the rifle for what it is! --Jim

The serial number is 11420x

Steven J,

That looks like a pretty good gun to me. It's unusual for them to still have the handguard after a they've been butchered. The ramp front and peep sight are pretty nice, actually - poor man's scope sight. if the bARREL is good you have got a damn good truck gun or deer/elk rifle.

If it were mine I'd look for a repro stock. You don't need the waffle pad and it looks like s**t.

See how it shoots. If you're an average shooter and you can get it grouping under 3" with green box ammo at 100 yards, then the barrel is good. If the barrel is not good, there are solutions, but they involve reloading your ammo or a rebarrel.

good luck!

jn

that handguard is not a M-96 but a later hi-hump one, M-1901 for the 1901 cabine sight, me thinks. The M-96 carbine handguard stopped at front of sight and the barrel band had the ears to prevent snagging sight. The stock is a 99 carbine stock also, if it was a rifle stock it would have the band pinned, not held with spring.

Dave,
The handguard in the picture is the MODEL 1899 handguard. It was used on MODEL 1899 carbines made in 1900 issued with the MODEL 1896c rear sight. The handguard your describing is the MODEL 1902 handguard for carbines using the MODEL1901c rear sight.
FWIW
Chuck

Chuck, thank you for the information. I have all my reference material packed away right now as we are in the mist of selling the house. I have to wonder if this gun is not really a Model 1899 carbine that was just sporterized. I’ve been referencing this gun against the information on the Krag Collectors site and now see my error in reference to the hand guard. However, my reasoning that this might be a Model 1899 Carbine is the current 1899 carbine stock, the hand guard; the barrel does not look like it has been cut and re-crowned and is 22 inches. Also, the serial number (11420X) places the Mfg. date towards the end of 1898. I could take off the soldered front ramp sight and see what is under it; i.e. a dovetail or filed down front sight base. However, the1896 rear rifle sight does throw some doubt into my theory.

Steve

Hi Steve,
MODEL 1899 carbines started in the 223,000+ serial number range and the receiver is stamped MODEL 1899.
Chuck