Hi all, new to the forum and to Krag ownership, I picked this up yesterday at a small shop in MD.  There was no claim by the seller of what it is other than an 1898 Krag 30/40.  As it was very clean and with a bore in great shape and was priced reasonably I went ahead and added it to my US Martial Arms collection. 

My limited research so far tells me that I have a 1901 production Krag 1898 that was originally built as a rifle.  The rear sight is from an 1896 Carbine and appears to be correct with it's markings.  The front sight appears to be a sleeve made from a Krag sight and barrel, not a common 1903 sight sleeve as most have and is fitted on a turned barrel that measures exactly 22" from the breech.  The seller thought the small S in a circle just below the rear sight to mean Springfield, however my research shows that to actually be the stamp of R.F. Sedgley of Philadelphia, a converter of Krags from 1920-1940 or so.  The "S" stamp is present again in the barrel channel of the stock as seen in the pictures as well, which I'm guessing means they are the ones who cut and refinished the stock.  The rear sling swivels are expertly installed and inlet and appear to be from the 1899 carbine, the front barrel band also appears to be from that later carbine model.  The stock does not wear any cartouches on it's left side, however the "P" marking is faintly present under the trigger guard. 

So is my research correct so far, or do I need to be schooled.  If so, school me!   ;D

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Front sight pic.

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Circle "S" on top of barrel. 

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Left side. 

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Rear sight top.  Marked to 2000yds with C marking. 

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Rear sight side w/ C marking. 

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Not sure about the specifics of your rifle. I have heard of sedgley sporters.  Would it be possible to see a picture showing the whole rifle from the butt of the stock to the tip of the barrel?

mark392001:  Your research is correct about the Sedgley "s" mark on the barrel of your Krag sporter.  It appears Sedgley converted some Krags into low cost sporters by recycling GI parts in novel ways to keep costs down.  Your carbine rear sight is probably worth a couple of hundred dollars.  (Unfortunately a square notch has been filed into the pivot end of the 'ladder').  Still, this sight is in greatest demand of the Krag rear sights.  You might consider replacing it with a more common rifle version.  Your reused front sight is a neat feature on your shortened Krag rifle barrel.  I can't comment on your stock because your photos don't show it completely.  There were no sling swivels originally on carbine stocks and carbine barrel bands are solid and retained by a flat spring inletted into the forend tip.  (My Sedgley sporter is marked on the receiver ring, has a recycled & rechambered,1905 dated, Springfield barrel, and a crudely reshaped & repaired Krag rifle stock).  Enjoy your Krag;  you have a neat shooter/sporter!

Thanks for the reply!  I found it even more interesting that the seller had recently had another Sedgley listed on GB (I bought this one in their shop and the other had been subjected to some receiver modification for the aftermarket rear sight).  I may inquire if the two had been acquired from the same source as it seems highly coincidental. 

Here's the listing where they had the other one listed, but it didn't sell:

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mark392001:  The gunbroker listing you shared shows how "3rd Worldish" some of the guns cobbled together by Sedgley, Kirk Stokes, and Bannerman were.  The Sedgley on gunbroker utilizes a reworked 1903 Springfield stock.  The barrel band is improvised.  The handguard and rear-sight are 1892 Krag rifle.  The rear peep sight is a 'no drill' Redfield.  It appears Sedgley re-blued the 1896 Krag rifle action with shortened barrel and installed a 1903 Springfield front-sight base to hold a commercial blade.  Such rifles were low cost assemblies of commonly available cheap surplus parts.  They may have been useful "poorboy" alternatives at a time (1920's-30's) when factory guns were a major investment and a Depression was going on.  These improvised sporters are interesting but a poor investment.  They are shunned by most collectors, often over-priced, and often passed off as U.S. Armory rarities.  They are only worth their parts and utility value.  Sedgley may have turned out some better quality 1903 Springfield Sporters.  The Sedgley Krags I've seen have been spartan and crude.

Interesting.  I definitely like the characteristics of my rifle more than the other one. 

There is an article on Krags in the Fur Fish and Game magazine from November 1920. The article is from "The Gun Rack" on page 18.  The article talks about the hunting qualities in of the Krag and favors the carbine over the "clumsy" rifle. The carbine was obviously still available as military surplus, so sporterizing Krag rifles was probably not popular/necessary at the time. But for $5 versus $50 it was a steal for a quality firearm. As the article states, if you loose it over the side of a canoe you weren't loosing much of a big investment. Thus, that mentality may have lead to the rough abuse some Krags have been through. And if you crudely bubba-ize a Krag at least it wasn't that valuable, at least back then.
By the way, I own a bubba-ized Krag and won't give it up.
I can't seem to paste the web site, it has too many caps for this forum's rules. But go to Google Books and search for (fur fish game krag rifle) and you might find it.

I have one of the Sedgely Sporters.  It was rebarrelled with a Sedgely barrel which has a pronounced taper just fwd of the receiver.  The barrel is stamped, "R. F. Sedgely Inc  Philadelphia, PA"  on top about four inches from the receiver.  The left side of the barrel (at the chamber) is stamped "30/40" with an "S" in a circle.

Carl D.

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That's a nice and interesting photo, Carl.  I'd like to see a complete picture of your sporter.  Chuck

Here's a couple more photos of my Sedgely Krag.  I believe Sedgely sold a bunch of surplus Krags as cheap sporters, but he also built a small number of high grade Krag Sporters.  When I got this sporter, it came with a very cheap looking aperature rear sight mounted on the bolt with a screw where the extractor rivet normally is.  It was adjustable for windage and elevation.

Carl D.

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Second Photo

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Carl:  That's a nice looking Krag sporter that you have.  The sheetmetal sight you mentioned, that was mounted on the bolt, was probably made by the Leroy Rice company of Elyria, Ohio.  I like your forend barrel band (which is necessary to prevent stress on the stock in the magazine area).  What type of sights are you putting on your Krag sporter? 

Very interesting, several variations but most seem to share the aftermarket sights and stocks.  Has anyone seen one quite like mine before where they used all milsurp parts to build? 

Actually, I am in the process of disposing of the remainder of my Krag collection and firearms inventory.  If I were to finish it, I'd go with the original sights installed by Sedgely.

Carl D.

If you read some of the old books, particularly Fred Ness' "Practical Dope for the Big Bores", you get the impression that there were Sedgleys and then there were Sedgleys.  Some were just put together from surplus parts.  Others were extensively modified, apparently including re-heat treating the actions.  I have read that the latter are sometimes found with a Sedgley serial number instead of the one applied by Springfield Armory.  Those are mostly found with low numbered 03s, but apparently Sedgley did the same things to Krags.

waterman:  I think you are correct.  Sedgley company performed 'high ticket' custom work, as well as, cobbled together 'poor boys'.  From the late 1920's to W.W.2, they were surviving the market of the Depression.  Chuck

I think mine would fall into the 'poor boy' group, though it is nicely done with the milsurp parts.  I guess the nicest part is that original 1896 carbine sight which has already gotten me unsolicited offers of more than I paid for the rifle.  I've got a couple of boxes of new ammo coming this weekend and the set of dies to begin reloading for it, should be a fun shooter. 

I hope you resist any temptation to sell the rear sight. It now belongs where it is, as what it is - part of the arm's own unique history. It is no longer suitable for use on a collector carbine, unless - heaven forbid - someone planned to weld-up the missing metal and re-machine it. In an obscure way, it even shows WHY the sights are now so rare - they were used up a long time ago by the surplus market. Just my unsolicited $.02. Good luck, and enjoy your shooting!

If you have not hand-loaded for the Krag before, just a bit of advice.  It is not necessary to duplicate the original loads.  The newest of these rifles is over 100 years old  and there is nothing to be gained from squeezing the highest possible velocity from them.   

You might read (at least in old Lyman manuals) about inspecting Krag bolts for cracks around the locking lugs.  They are found and it is easy to add to the number.  If you are going to shoot the old 220 grain bullets, stay away from the loads giving 2,000 fps or more.

There are several loading manuals out there with recommended loads that (IMHO) are way too hot for old Krag actions.  It is easy to pour more of a modern powder into the Krag case than the old bolt, action and barrel will take without negative consequences.

Our old Krags usually shoot quite well with loads tamed down a bit.  Lighter loads are easier on both our old rifles and our shoulders. 

There are several cast bullet designs developed with the Krag in mind.  If you have access to Phillip Sharpe (1937) "Complete Guide to Handloading", check out the section on the .30/40 Krag cartridge.  There are modern day equivalents of most of the recommended components.

Dick Hosmer wrote on Nov 5^th, 2011 at 3:45pm:

I hope you resist any temptation to sell the rear sight. It now belongs where it is, as what it is - part of the arm's own unique history. It is no longer suitable for use on a collector carbine, unless - heaven forbid - someone planned to weld-up the missing metal and re-machine it. In an obscure way, it even shows WHY the sights are now so rare - they were used up a long time ago by the surplus market. Just my unsolicited $.02. Good luck, and enjoy your shooting!

Dick, I completely agree and am not a big fan of parts restorations either and it will remain as it was meant to be.  It will remain as is.  As for my loads I'll stick between 150-180 gr bullets which I have in bulk already. 

Many Krag shooters have their own prefered loads that they have found to work best in their respective Krags.  Me personally, I sometimes load a 180 grain soft point spitzer from Hornady, but lately, I have started loading a Hornady 165 grain boattail soft point and 38.6 grains of IMR 4064 with amazing results.  The trick is to try several different bullets and loads to find what you like best.  I agree about hot loads... stay away from them!  Hornady has a complete reloading guide book which offers many load options for each different bullet weight and powder.  Good to have even if your not using Hornady bullets.

A word of advice: in both of my 1898s, I must use bullets with a crimping ring.  An un-crimped bullet will push back into the cartridge case when trying to chamber from the Krag magazine.  I know that not all Krags will do this, but both of mine do.  Round nose bullets do not have this problem, but pointed (180 or 165 grain) do.  Lee has a factory crimper die... but use with caution.  Keep the crimp light so you don't damage the case neck.

Enjoy shooting your Krag!