Benicia Arsenal/DCM Krag Carbines ...

[Nick Adams]

Thanks, guys.

kragluver:

That would be helpful, as I don't have any of the Krag books. I'd be interested in whatever detail you could provide.

Bill H:

The workmanship on this one is indeed excellent. In fact, I was told these carbines were made from the pick of the better maintained 1898 rifles on hand.

Mine still has the mag cutoff switch. No attempt was made to Bubba-it up with a Lyman, Redfield or similar receiver-based aperture in that location.

And I assume that's how the 'smiths at Benicia intended these carbines to be: basically cut-down, stripped-down 1898 rifles, set into handy carbine stocks with no add-ons beyond the front 03 banded sight and sling swivels. A fine looking, portable, but otherwise Spartan weapon. Probably one of the best wilderness "survival" long arms of its day.

Also, on mine, the front stock band around the barrel is pinned cross-ways, not like the spring thingy holding the lower barrel band on a 1903. I've seen that long-ways stock spring (or lock) in a picture of a real Krag carbine (those issued by the military), but the front sight on those were different from the 1903-style.

As far as paperwork, it would be more reasonable in my view to expect the Benicia Arsenal or the DCM of that period to have recorded the serial numbers of the 1898 rifles they were converting to carbine form (perhaps w/ date of conversion) than to expect someone 80 years later to be able to furnish the original documents.

DCM or BA records should be easily accessed if they exist. Maybe the Krag experts would know if such records are around, or where to look?

Would perhaps the NRA division working w/ the DCM back then to get these carbines built have maintained any of its own records or documents w/ serial numbers for these guns? I've seen where they're sometimes called "NRA Krags" or "NRA Krag carbines."

When the weather gets better here, I'll try to get some pics taken and posted, and maybe we can compare specs.