Finally found my Krag

[butlersrangers]

'rcathey' - Was that your photo of the 'stressed' .30-40 cartridge-case, that I took the liberty of using? (Thanks, for posting it on the KCA site, long ago).

What kind of "barrel-vise" do you use? (With the "clocked" or "timed" threads, original U.S. Krag barrels seem to be easily switched or replaced).

FWIW - Maybe the OP's front-sight blade was left off as a warning "not to fire", because of an altered barrel/chamber?

[ssgross]

Some VFW rifles were rechambered to fire 30-06 blanks if I recall correctly.

Thank you. Very encouraging info. A properly sized 30-06 case does not fit all the way in, with 0.775 hanging out. Nor does a 303 case. I noticed at pacific tool their 30-40 headspace gauges are compatible with 303, so I looked up case dimensions. for The base of 303 is a tad larger than a 30-40, even though the OAL is very similar, and the case diameter just below the shoulder is slightly smaller on 303 also.
I'll know for certain once my Krag brass arrives. I've poured chamber castings before and won't hesitate to do it with this rifle if I'm not otherwise certain.

As to the date, the 417k serial block is 1902 according to U.S. Military Dates of Manufacture.

Front repro front sight pin was $3 at S&S, proper height blade (.413) was $11 at Numrich. all on the way.

I read somewhere else that these VFW drill rifles often had front blade removed because they were sharp and snagged clothing a lot when drilling. I can see the need - when I vacationed at Parris island if port arms wasn't held just perfectly you had a muzzle end of a barrel shoved into nose.

Thanks for all the feedback! More pics coming.

---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------

I marked a case where forward movement stopped, and my micrometer says .4555 - interwebs say a 30-40 base is .4573.

[rcathey]

'rcathey' - Was that your photo of the 'stressed' .30-40 cartridge-case, that I took the liberty of using? (Thanks, for posting it on the KCA site, long ago).

What kind of "barrel-vise" do you use? (With the "clocked" or "timed" threads, original U.S. Krag barrels seem to be easily switched or replaced).

FWIW - Maybe the OP's front-sight blade was left off as a warning "not to fire", because of an altered barrel/chamber?

Mine was VERY obvious that it had been drilled out. They used a drill bit big enough to make a tiny knick in the receiver.

I made a vise pretty much exactly like this one. If you have the tools to do so, it’s about half the cost of buying one.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1006552312

[butlersrangers]

'ssgross' - That is a good sign if your chamber will not quite accept a .303 British cartridge-case.

I will be quite happy if my suspicions prove totally wrong. If the chamber is good, your bore likely will be a decent shooter.

You did a very good job photographing your bore and chamber. My results were nowhere as clear as yours. (I likely was 'fooled' by your photo and saw 'chatter marks' and what appear to be 'straight' chamber walls).

FWIW - OP's chamber (left) compared with a detached barrel's chamber (right):

Attachment 110442Attachment 110443

[ssgross]

Thanks, I used my cell phone for that chamber pic. I couldn't get the rifling to show in the pic from the chamber end, but I could see it with my eyes. looks the same as the muzzle end.
I have pics from my borecam after cleaning with jb paste and kroil. I'm almost ashamed to show them. looks like a sewer line up close But looking down barrel with a nice bright light makes makes it look much more promising.
I was reading on here about how easy it is to twist the action when pulling a barrel, and the need for the proper wrench.
The wooden barrel vice at midway got me thinking...since the receiver ring is perfectly round, could an effective, perfect fitting action wrench be made the same way? cut a proper sized hole in a block of oak, same thickness as the collars length, and cut in half. tap the top metal bar stock for a length of pipe, or bolt/weld a handle to it (probably with a recess on in the wood blocks top side).
Wouldn't such an action wrench, with rosin in the hole in the wood, provide a perfect fit?
What are all of you using for Krag action wrenches?

[rcathey]

Here’s my thread on rebarelling my Krag. There’s some good info in here including the action wrench I made.

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=62340&page=1

[butlersrangers]

IMHO - If an 'action-wrench' is clamped tightly on the Krag receiver ring, it might cause the action-threads to bind more tightly with the barrel threads. This could make unscrewing the barrel more difficult.

The beauty of rcathey's action wrench is that it puts no pressure on the receiver-ring.

[ssgross]

Here’s my thread on rebarelling my Krag. There’s some good info in here including the action wrench I made.

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=62340&page=1

Thanks for the design rcathey. Looks like you used a mill? I'm unfortunately not set up to make one...unless you just ground away until you had it, probably not. It looks too good.
I guess it's a good thing you also make and sell em...or at least you did
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=65133

Here are some pics of the rear sight. I completely disassembled it as it was stiff and gritty. Decided to touch up the bluing on the ladder. I don't mind my shooters looking their age, but prefer them to look like they were at least beat to hell in use, but carefully maintained in between beatings because ones life depended on it.

After reading all the Enfield posts on here when restored one last year I got in the habit of using NLGI No.2 grease everywhere that won't ever see the light of day, at least while I'm alive - like in between the base and top of the rear sight. It won't dry out over the years, and the site moves buttery smooth now.
Attachment 110444Attachment 110445Attachment 110446
Here is what it looked like before.
Attachment 110447Attachment 110448

[butlersrangers]

It is your Krag, but, these are the colors that are normally seen on well preserved 1901 sights. Numbered face of leaf is usually in 'white'.

Attachment 110449

[ssgross]

Those look very good indeed. Mine wasn't as well preserved as yours.
The ladder was especially poor with mottles of surface rust. I put some birchwood Casey rust remover on a piece of paper towel on an old board, and set the sight ladder, graduation side down. I did not do this to the sides and other parts - just burnished with steel wool before oxpho cream.
It had a real clean in the white look after srubbing with steel wool, the surface rust spots barely visible anymore except for some slight etching at the worst of them.
I cold blued it to make it easier to look at when shooting. It's easy enough to take off if I don't like it in the end.
Do the sides of your sights show the same in the white finish, or was it just the ladder face?