The cracked hand guard is something I would leave original. It is normal for these old Krags. It won't change how it shoots. I would prefer an original 120 year old matching cracked hand guard over a new replacement any day. I have done both, purchased new replacements to install on rifles with missing hand guards and kept cracked ones on some rifles. You are not going to be dismounting it very often.

Now about that barrel. If you just want a looker. Leave it as is and remember they are only original once. Look for a more common 1898 to work on. If you want to shoot it better, read on.

I don't care how bad it looks at first or what a CMP muzzle gauge says. First thing is clean it (A lot) and then shoot it off a bench with a solid rest. Take it home and get some bore cleaning paste with some abrasive like JB Bore Paste. Roll up your sleeves and lock the rifle in a good cleaning cradle and start pushing back and forth from the breech end with bore paste until you think your arm will fall off. Think several hundred strokes. Wipe clean and then go shoot it with the same ammo on the same rest with the same sight picture and the same size target with the same number of rounds. Compare progress. Lather, rinse and repeat! When you think it is clean, you are just getting started. Clean some more. You would be amazed how many 45-70 and 30-40 bores have been saved from the junk barrel when visual inspection looked grim.

If it still won't shoot the next trick is to have someone with a lathe, back bore the first inch of the muzzle end to get rid of the nasty condition up front. This was a common fix back in the day.

Try oversize lead bullets at lead bullet velocities.

If it still won't shoot well. Then decide to leave it as, hang it on the wall and enjoy looking at it or go with a new aftermarket barrel and start shooting for CMP Gold Medals.

I'll see you on the range!

Jeff the Caterpillar Man