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