Krag Collectors Association Forum Archive
Firearms >> Sporterized and unofficial modified Krags >> Fred C. Ness & Krag sporters
http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1497564490

Message started by reincarnated on Jun 15th, 2017 at 10:08pm

Title: Fred C. Ness & Krag sporters
Post by reincarnated on Jun 15th, 2017 at 10:08pm
Ness was one of the technical guys at the NRA in the late 1940s.  He wrote 2 books; "Practical Dope on the Big Bores" and a similar one on .22 cal. rifles, concentrating mostly on centerfires.  The guy was a terrible writer and an even worse proof-reader, but he mentions several of the semi-wildcats turned out on Krag actions.  How many of these have you seen?

.405 WCF and .35 Winchester:  I have seen one each of these, "foul weather" bear rifles made locally (Ferndale, CA) for a guy who hunted in Alaska and the Canadian west.  The forward part of the magazine was milled away to let the longer cartridges feed properly.  Are these the only ones?

.35 Krag; just the Krag case expanded to take .35 bullets.  I have never seen one, but there is no reason why it would not work, as long as the reloader did not get carried away with velocity.

Krag-Hornets:  These were apparently made in .22 Hornet, some by Sedgely, others by J.B. Sweany.  Usually, the barrel of a 1922 Springfield was rechambered and fitted.  Sometimes other .22 rimfire barrels were used.  All were single shots.  Sometimes the magazine was completely removed.  Other remodels used the magazine for fired cases.  Undoubtedly, some were made for the K-Hornet, another poor idea.  I know that some were made in the wildcat .25 Hornet, a low-pressure squirrel hunting & target load. 

Griffin & Howe Krag-Hornets; also made in .22 Savage High Power and .25-35 Winchester calibers.  These were high-$ single shot conversions.  Still high-$ today.

Krag-Lovell:  These were done the same way as the Hornet sporters, but with much more dubious results. The R-2 and the Maximum Lovell can be pushed to .222 & maybe to .223 pressure levels.  Best left alone.

Sedgely and others rebarreled the Krag action with .22 Savage High Power and .219 Zipper barrels. A few writers reported good accuracy but most were unhappy with the conversions.  The cartridges may feed through the magazine, but that is all that can be said.  More anon.

Krag Collectors Association Forum Archive » Powered by YaBB 2.6.0!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2024. All Rights Reserved.