Krag Jorgensen at local gun shop

[Happy_Garand]

So I am an avid collector of milsurps and found a couple Krag Jorgensens at the local gun shop. One is sporterized with a short barrel and new stock, and the other one, according to what the guy at the counter said, is a fairly early numbers gun, It is in original condition and has a bayonet. He has it listed for about $1,400. I haven't really looked into Krags that much until recently and am thinking of possibly adding both the sporterized (for shooting and hunting) and the military config (as a wall hanger and occasional range gun) to my collection. My question is, is $1,400 a good price for the one in original condition, or should I try to haggle the price down a little bit?

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[browningautorifle]

You're asking a lot without any pics or actual numbers. The sporter won't be worth much...maybe $300/400 but the rifle with bayonet could be well worth getting if it's actually good... But we can't see them...

[rcathey]

Sight unseen, I can say with some level of certainty it’s not worth $1,400.
An average Krag in military dress goes for about half that.
It has to be something special to pull $1,400.

[mmppres]

Last all matching correct krag I sold for a customer which was near perfect no screw head was messed up. I got 1100.00 for it.Now could be worth 1400.00 with bayo. But need pictures. A rifle in that range should be in top condition.

[Happy_Garand]

I am new to this forum. how does one upload pictures?

[browningautorifle]

Here are a couple of tutorials... https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=28752 https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=28922

[Aragorn243]

Bayonet isn't worth $300. Plenty on ebay for $100. Price seems high to me by a fair amount.

[Happy_Garand]

I apologize for my terrible photography skills. I went ahead and got the sporterized one on a layaway until I can fully buy it next paycheck

[butlersrangers]

'Happy Garand' - That appears to be a nice looking Model 1898 Krag, but, there is nothing that I can see in your photos that makes it rare, unusual, or exceptional in condition. (IMHO - value $750 to $800 max).

The bayonet appears to have been 'sharpened', which hurts collector value. (IMHO - value $100 to $125).

It is real easy to pay too much for a Krag.

FWIW - Krag prices seem to be dropping a bit and more are showing up at South-Eastern Michigan gun shows, recently. (Baby Boomer and Silent Generation collectors may be simplifying their 'holdings').

For $1,400, you should be able to buy a really spectacular U.S. model 1898 Krag rifle. It is the most common model.

Model 1898 production started around July, 1898, at approximately #109,000 and likely ended in late 1903, at around #474,000.

A useful reference, for someone new to Krags, is Joe Poyer's book, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine, (cost about $25.00). It is not perfect, but, fun, useful, with great photos and illustrations.

[mmppres]

From those pictures that is a spot on number like butlersrangers states 750-850. There are really nice one out there in the 1200 to 1400 range save your money an you will find that holy grail you want. As for the bayo. Listen to Aragon243 an others they know there blades. Every little thing done to them makes a price difference.