The challenge is to find an unaltered U.S. model 1898 Krag rifle with a nice bore. The early U.S. service ammo was pretty 'toxic'.

A Krag described as having a "dark bore with strong rifling" is a Lie, intended to deceive. Dark Krag bores rarely clean up and remain rough. They may shoot decent, but, are hard to maintain.

Krag rifles saw a lot of abuse through 20 years of service and were roughly handled during WW1 training. Stocks are often rough, cracked, badly 'refinished, dented, and bruised.

In the U.S.iconA., a correct model 1898 Krag with nice wood and a very good bore will command $750 to $900. Less promising Krags with poor bores seem to go for $500-$600.

IMHO - The Krag 'market' is very slow these days. A lot of older collectors may be selling off little used rifles.

It is good to be patient, save your money, educate yourself on Krags, and attend local gun shows and routinely view GunBroker. Krag rifles show up. It pays to be prepared.

The worse problem with Krags is Seller ignorance, deceit, and delusions about what their Krag is worth.