What should the muzzle O.D. of an authentic carbine be vs. the muzzle O.D. of a rifle cut to 22" length?  I just bought a model 1899 ser. no. 344800.  Would love to post photos but am still learning how.  The gun has a 22" barrel and if it was cut the front sight has been expertly rebrazed.  It has no handguard and the rear sight is unlike most Krag sights I have seen.  It is a ladder type and adjustable for windage by releasing a knurled lever at the front of the sight (pushing it to the right), whereupon the sight pivots left or right.  There is virtually no bluing on the gun but it has a nice (I think) patina on all the metal.  The stock seems  original and uncut (again, if cut back it is very well done)  There are outline  carvings on both side of the butt--not deep and could be sanded out but I may try to fill them with Micro-Bed or something similar (or do nothing).  There are no cartouches.  Buttplate is correct.  I made non-permanent changes to the sights by fashioning new sight blades front and rear and epoxying them in place, as my primary interest is shooting.  Also plugged holes in the toe and forend where crude sling swivels were attached with scraps of walnut whittled to shape.  Oh yeah, the bore is pretty decent after I cleaned out lots of copper fouling, and my initial shooting results with cast bullets were promising--with the original sights.  It ought to do better with the wider sights I installed.  So far, lots of fun!   Pete

Hi Pete, Serial number put it Sept. 1901. Carbine muzzle is .635" and rifle is .62" OD. Exactly 22" long. Muzzle should be crowned. Front sight is mortised in place. Rear sight should have a C on it for carbine use. Click on the KCA Website logo above to see photos of rear sights. Stock ???. Hope that helps you. John

Thanks, John--muzzle O.D. of my gun is .648.  I guess that would indicate it's a cutdown.  Also I can find no "C" on the rear sight, which is the type on your '99 carbine.  No matter-- as I said, whoever did the the work on this gun was a craftsman, and I'm happy to have it.    Pete

Pete,

By your description, it sounds like you have a 1901 rear sight, which is actually quite common.  If the sight has no C, it is probably a rifle sight. 

I would love to see some pictures.

Paul

Unlike the preceding .45-70 trapdoor, the Krag carbine barrel IS the rear 22" of the rifle barrel, so there should be no significant difference in diameter - the genuine-ness must be determined by the crown and front sight.

Agreed.  If the sight was installed, but in the wrong location (i.e. distance to the muzzle) as in my cutdown, then it's obviously not an original carbine barrel. 

What if it is correct?  is it possible that it's a replacement carbine barrel on a rifle receiver?

Just a thought...

It is certainly possible that a "genuine carbine barrel" could have been installed in a "rifle" receiver. We cannot know everything that transpired 100+ years ago. There are doubtless a few combinations which look wrong, but, if we had the gift of sight could be 100% genuine. There is some overlap in all of the production blocks, so, what constitutes a "rifle" receiver anyhow? Thank goodness for the "1899", which gets rid of 99.99% of the trouble!

Having said that - we collectors (a pure milsurp shooter probably would not care too much) try and invest our money in accordance with certain general conventions - in other words, obtaining those items which we feel that most people will perceive as being genuine, and have recoverable value. No one in their right mind pays big bucks for an 1898 "carbine" with a receiver in the 340000 range. The one in 489000 chance that the arm is as assembled by SA just isn't worth the gamble.

Further to this case, I've no ideas why the barrel in question mikes .648 - is it a Krag barrel?

Dick--where in the state are you located?  I'd love to have you look over this gun.  I'm in Santa Cruz but regularly shoot matches in Castro Valley and Richmond.   Pete

I'm about an hour north of Sacramento, not too far off Interstate 5. Don't get down to the Bay Area much.