Hello from North Georgia.
I just recently picked up my first Krag.  It's an 1898 sporter in the form of a school/constabulary short rifle.  It's in need of some "restoration" in order to be fully functional.  Since I'm new to the Krag, I hope the members will not mind if I ask a few questions during this process.
- milsurpshooter

'milsurpshooter' - Welcome to the KCA Forum.

Members here are very good at providing help and sharing knowledge and experience.

Milsurpshooter...  Welcome to the forum, and to the wonderful world of Krags!

Hows about posting some pictures so we can enjoy.  Pictures will definitely help you get good information.

My sporterized Krag is very similar to one that was just posted about in a different thread a few days ago.  Hopefully the pics will show up as attachments (I will add better pics once it's cleaned up).  I will need to add a front sight and replace the bolt which has had the firing pin tip cut and bolt face welded.  Other than a small crack in the heel of the stock and a generous amount of patina, I found it to be in rather great shape.
Some initial questions....
1.  Did Krag front sights fit into a dovetail cut on the barrel or were they just silver soldered/brazed onto the barrel contour?
2.  Should a new bolt need to be fitted in order to headspace correctly?  Can I use my Brit .303 headspace gauges to check for proper fit?
Thank you in advance,
- milsurpshooter

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Original Krag front sight studs were dovetailed and brazed.

  (You need to Login   (You need to Login

New bolt is likely to fit OK if made for 1898 or 1899 model. See   (You need to Login .

Headspace specs are largely the same as .303 British -
.064" "GO",
.067" "NO GO" (useful for fitting new barrels only),
.070" commercial "FIELD",
.074" UK military "FIELD REJECT".

A common amateur mistake is getting upset if used parts accept the .067" "NO GO" or .070" "FIELD". Given the general high quality of modern brass cases, .074" seems a reasonable and practical upper limit unless a new barrel is being fitted.

See   (You need to Login for an explanation, written for L-E .303's but applicable to Krag .30/40.

I love 'Parashooters' Krag front-sight picture. It shows to perfection the detail of the original Springfield work!

'Milsurpshooter" - How long is your Krag's 'cut-down' barrel (measured with cleaning rod from muzzle to 'closed' bolt-face)?

If it were mine, I would make a simulation of a Board of Ordnance and Fortifications rifle (26 inch barrel) or a 'School Rifle' (22 inch barrel). Probably, a mock School Rifle/Philippine Constabulary rifle.

FWIW - I just have one 'knock-off' head-space gauge. A .073" - Field Gauge.  I feel comfort when a Krag's bolt does not close on it. It is also kinder to the Brass.

Check your Chamber very carefully to make sure someone didn't auger it out to take some kind of 'Blank'.

It is interesting that someone 'DEWAT'ed the bolt to make it non-firing???

Getting a good buy on a complete bolt on ebay is probably your best bet. Grandpa's Gun Parts, in the KCA 'Classifieds', has 'New-Old Stock'
model 1898 Bolts for $55, but, you would still have to come up with a Firing-Pin.

Have Fun you have a nice project there. It should make a good 'Shooter'.

butlersrangers wrote on Feb 26^th, 2018 at 8:34pm:

Check your Chamber very carefully to make sure someone didn't auger it out to take some kind of 'Blank'. It is interesting that someone 'DEWAT'ed the bolt to make it non-firing??? .

Yes, I was wondering that myself.  Especially when the rest of the firearm looks to be in really good shape.  I am familiar with doing chamber casts using Cerrosafe.  So, it looks like this one may be worth the effort.  But how would a blank firing chamber's dimensions differ?
- milsurpshooter

Apparently some were reamed to fire 30-06 blanks, when 30/40 blanks became harder to come by. Hopefully they quit with the bolt and firing pin.

A couple of years back, a KCA Member had a Krag that came from a 'VFW' Post. When he fired a .30-40 cartridge in it, he discovered the chamber had been altered for a 'Blank' or Something. (Photo of Cartridge Case attached)!

An experienced eye, familiar with U.S. Krags, would probably spot such a chamber alteration. Look for crude machining or Drill 'chatter marks'.

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I had the same problem with an 1898 Krag rifle (1900) I bought on gunbroker. Case split at the neck and body reformed to 3006. Nice rifle for a nice priCe, I thought. Had it rebarreled with a gi barrel I found on eBay. So $250 later I now have a shootable rifle. Still cleaning the bore out though .
Kerry

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'kerry49' - A pair of good looking rifles there!

I have a towel like that .... and a Jorgensen bathing suit.

Do you always take your rifles to the Beach?

Thanks. The m1917 is a Danish return.

A few more questions if y'all dont mind.
I ordered a "good used" bolt and I already own .303 headspace gauges.  The bolt will not close on a field gauge if the gauge is set off center.  But the bolt will close on a field gauge when it's set dead center on the bolt face.  Is the .08mm difference in rim diameter causing this discrepancy or is it failing the field gauge?
The bolt appears to be in very good condition except for a "milling" mark behind the lug. Is this groove indeed a normal mark made during production?
Anything else from the pics that should be of concern?
Thanks in advance,
- milsurpshooter

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More pics

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'Milsurpshooter'  - Your pictures are quite blurry. The bolt concerns me. It appears the lug may have develeloped a crack and been welded.

I would replace that bolt. It does not look OK to me.

A chamber cast would be a good idea.

I would not risk using that bolt especially since NOS bolt bodies are available for $55.

I cleaned up the stock with some Hoppe's #9 and a soft cotton rag.  Once dried, the following marking appeared on the right-hand butt stock which was previously unseen.  It appears to be "N.?.D 2" or "MHD 2".  Any help with deciphering would be greatly appreciated.
- milsurpshooter

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The letters ring no bell with me. I imagine they are the shadow of painted letters that were once stenciled on the wood.

Your second picture makes it look like there may be an additional letter in front of the ones you note.

NOS 1898 bolt body arrived.  After cleaning, but before assembling it, I checked headspace with a Brit .303 GO gauge.  I was unable to fully close the bolt using only the lightest pressure.  However, I was able to close the bolt using a little more force when using a 30-40 new unfired brass casing.  I checked for burrs on the bolt lug and face but didnt notice any.  So is a bolt fitting (stoning of the lug) in order or is there another fix?  Was hoping that a NOS bolt body would be interchangable.
Thanks,
- milsurpshooter

I would not remove metal from a Krag bolt locking-lug. I see no point in removing surface hardness.

Maybe a KCA member will swap a nice used bolt with you.

I assume the lug recess in the action is clean with no heavy buildup of grease and crud.

It is unusual for a Krag action to have resistance closing on a .30-40 cartridge rim.

Do you have access to another Krag bolt, to try?

A question for the Krag experts. How big of an issue is it for the bolt to have a bit of resistance when closing on the case? Since it headspaces on the rim, the case would not be jammed into the chamber and still should have room to expand normally. Wouldn’t the bolt eventually “lap” itself in?

IMHO - With use these parts will 'wear in', but, they should not have to.

It would be interesting to inspect the OP's Krag and note possible reasons for tight headspace.

IIRC - This Krag came with a bolt that had the firing-pin cut and the firing pin hole in the bolt face welded up.

OP's picture of barrel breech shows possible roughness.

Just a few thoughts on headspace and ammo. Several years ago I purchased a 300 pc lot of unfired Remington cases. Checking the head thickness on a fair percentage most were several thousandths of an below the .064 max. With only a few that were .063.  On a 50 pc bag of Grafs unfired cases almost all were near the middle of the tolerance with the largest about .003 below max.
Since getting Remington in the future may be difficult and Grafs seems readily available having a bolt chamber combo that is just a .001 too small may be no issue at all.
If you have a way of checking a batch of cases for effective head thickness you could find the largest one insert it in the chamber and check for free play. Your thickness gauge that can move around on the bolt is not the best because the barrel and bolt can have extensive wear on the case rim and no wear off the center. My old take off barrel has several thousanths wear from case rims. Outside that area is factory bluing. Same thing on the bolt but to a lesser extent.
When I mentioned effective thickness of the case, you could have a rim thickness of .061 and a couple of thousanths of "tilt"
on the rim from the case body axis effectively making it .063".
That is why I made this holder for gauging the rims.

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I had a little more time today to work on the Krag.  Once again, I thoroughly cleaned and inspected the breech area and locking lug recess.  I did not notice any burs or high spots.  Using a Sharpie, I marked up the rear face of the lug and guide.  I then cycled the bolt on an empty, properly sized, brass cartridge case.  After removing the bolt, only one rub was noticed and that was a small spot on the rear of the locking lug.  Attached are pics of my GO gauge thickness, breech area, and locking lug after cycling.

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If I am interpreting the photo correctly the contact is on the "outside" of the lug farthest from the firing pin?
That would correspond to the deepest part of the recess. You might make a dental type pick out of a soft nail and try to scrape more gunk out of there. A nail should do no damage to the semi case hardened receiver, if nothing else you would be able to tell if the base metal has a high spot down there. If it did it would be hard to explain, unless this rifle has seen a huge overload in its life.

FredC wrote on Mar 14^th, 2018 at 9:31pm:

If I am interpreting the photo correctly the contact is on the "outside" of the lug farthest from the firing pin?

The "rub" spot is on the back side/aft face of the locking lug, as seen in pic #3.  And in particular, only a small portion of the locking lug is making contact with the receiver (that was why I included the pic). 

I am NO machinist, but I would be VERY surprised if anything more than the small area shown is ACTUALLY  making contact on virtually ANY bolt action, unless it is hand-lapped.

Pictures can deceive, but, it appears to me there is a burr on your barrel breech on the left side of the extractor notch, at the chamber mouth.
Also, it looks like some residue is in the bottom of the bolt-lug recess.

As Dick Hosmer states, the amount of lug contact is not surprising.

I am confused by the description of the contact/rub area. I have copied the photo and tried to put an arrow pointing to the middle of the contact area I think I see. My arrow looks more like a line but right side of the line is on the intended target. If this is correct I would rather see the lug make contact near the round portion of the bolt body for the highest possible strength. Since this bolt receiver combo is a little tight on the brass, I would be inclined the take the barrel off and worry a little metal off the receiver on the high spot. Then lap it with valve lapping compound and reassemble after a thorough cleaning. Any compound left in there will bite you with excessive wear in the future. This is assuming the new never used bolt is square, which I think is a safe assumption.

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I believe I can see the burr that butlersrangers is talking about at the junction of the extractor groove and the chamber mouth. Does it make a mark on the front side of the cartridge rim?
FredC, why would the barrel need to be removed to lap the bolt in?
Also, as open as the Krag is, could not a small inspection mirror be used to look at the receiver bolt lug seat? That could be informative.

Others might just start lapping, but I may be over cautious. Especially if I could feel a high spot with a probe I would want to examine it for internal cracks, also look to see if deformation happened because of an overload. I might still use the receiver even if there were evidence of that. The material in a Krag receiver is very soft and not prone to cracking with a relatively hard thin surface. What I found would affect how I would solve the problem.
If the raised portion in the receiver is just a couple of .0001s of an inch, lapping would be my answer. One problem with valve lapping compound and 2 hard surfaces is that it just rolls between the surfaces. if you just start lapping trying to take a couple of thousanths of an inch off the leading edge of the bolt and receiver will get the most wear and the lock up will not be the best when finished and it would take forever, with cleanup out of the recesses being difficult. Any compound left in there will just cause undo wear and problems.
If I remember right the barrel looked like it may have had problems, taking it off would give a better looksy. If MilSurpshooter finds a high spot that can be felt I can tell him what I would try for working it down.

Thanks for all for the input.  After recleaning the chamber area, I just could not see or feel any burrs/raised spots that would affect headspace.  So, I started to think "out of the box" and decided to take the action out of the stock (maybe the bolt is touching the wood).  I also looked for clearance on other surfaces of the receiver that might come in contact with the bolt.  I just wasn't seeing anything.  But then, something did get my attention.  Please see pic #3 and note the clearance between the receiver and bolt.  The gap looks tapered.  Is the receiver bent or torqued?
Thanks again,
- milsurpshooter

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Do the barrel markings/stamps look like those found on an original Krag barrel?  Or is this somrthing else?  Might explain the headspace issue.
Thnx,
- milsurpshooter

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Your barrel and receiver markings are good, correct, and typical original markings.

It would be nice if you could try another 'known to be good' bolt in your receiver.

P.S. - Your photography has improved!

In my post #23 of this thread, I included a pic of my GO gauge and it's dimension of 0.0655".  The SAAMI specs that I just read about show a GO dimension of 0.064".  I'm beginning to think that the extra 0.0015" of my GO gauge may be the issue.  Can someone recommend a SAAMI spec GO gauge that I could try?
- milsurpshooter

A proper go gauge should have an extension on it for centering the rim dimension in the barrel and on the bolt face. There are places that rent reamers and probably the gauges as well.
Did you have an issue closing on new unfired cases? If not almost closing on the .0655 gauge would indicate you should have no issue with Graf's cases.
BR suggested trying a "known" good bolt in your rifle, also trying your bolt with a new unfired case in a "known" good rifle would tell you something. Leave your bolt stripped so you do not get them mixed up. I have 2 Krags and had both bolts on the table at the same time. Took a lot of examination to put them straight and I am not 100% sure that I really did.

Closing on a chambered case is the issue (new, loaded, or fired).

I would load some ammo, making sure the primers are properly seated, and go test things at the range. If there is a bit of brass rub, no big deal, until its time for Rapid Fire.

I imagine with a little use lug fit will improve. Inspect fired cases for abnormalities.

milsurpshooter wrote on Mar 20^th, 2018 at 1:08pm:

I'm beginning to think that the extra 0.0015" of my GO gauge may be the issue.  Can someone recommend a SAAMI spec GO gauge that I could try? - milsurpshooter

Forster will sell you one for $36. See   (You need to Login; Image file shows Forster specs.

You could just stone off .0015" from your .0655" gauge. Rub it in an orbital pattern on a fresh sheet of oiled 400-grit wet/dry paper laid on a hard, flat surface. Shouldn't take long to remove .0015".

Being cheap, I'd find a case with a .060" rim and add a shim cut from an aluminum beverage can (typically about .004"). If that combination goes, you should be OK with any cases that are within spec.

None of this is necessary unless you're having bolt-closing problems with the cases you use - almost all of which likely have rims under .062" thick.

FWIW, back when Krags were dirt cheap and gunsmiths knew them well, it was common practice to lap in the front lug far enough to let the guide rib contact the receiver (Norsk style, about .008") when fitting a custom barrel in some wildcat chambering. Lapping yours a couple of thousandths shouldn't be a problem.

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Went back to reply #18 Quote " I was unable to fully close the bolt using only the lightest pressure.  However, I was able to close the bolt using a little more force when using a 30-40 new unfired brass casing."
If this is correct that you could close the bolt with very slight effort on the oversize 303 gauge your head space is correct. Something else is causing the case to be tight.
Here are some things I can think of, maybe others can come up with other reasons:
#1 Debris in the chamber that has resisted cleaning
#2 debris in the extractor slot stopping the bolt from going fully forward when a rim is in place. looks unlikely as the later photo shows very clean, check near the barrel threads just in case.
#3 chamber is not reamed deep enough on the shoulder    I would think this is unlikely on an worn original barrel. It could possibly be a combination of putting a tight new bolt with a shallow chamber.

If I read that #18 correctly and you can close on the oversize gauge we have been barking up the wrong tree, please clarify if I read it wrong.

Went back and looked at Parashooter's chart. Then checked my SAAMI drawings. Parashooter's .064 is indeed correct for 303 British.
Calipers can be off that far off (.0655), hopefully your 303 gauge is correct. If you have a friend with a regular micrometer you may want to check the gauge. If your gauge does mike at .064 or a couple tenths on the high side you still should be good if it closes with minimal effort, talking about minor effort with your pinky. If your gauge is really .0655 then there is no question the headspace is correct.
Let us know what you come up with.

First, thanks for all of the input regarding my Krag project.  It's been a learning experience and a hobby that's thoroughly enjoyed.  The following will hopefully summarize the "progress" made thus far.
1.  Purchased a project Krag with a welded bolt (bolt #1).  Firearm appeared functional except for bolt and missing fromt sight.
2.  Purchased complete bolt #2 for parts.  Bolt lug had a groove at rear base and I decided to forgo using it due to safety concerns.
3.  Purchased NOS bolt body (bolt #3) and thoroughly cleaned.
4.  Breech area cleaned extensively and no known burrs noted.
5.  Already own .303 button-style headspace gauge set.  GO gauge measures .0655" when SAAMI specs state .064".
6.  Stripped NOS bolt (bolt #3) will not close on GO gauge the majority of the time unless I am carefull about the gauge's orientation.  Bolt will only close if GO gauge cut is properly oriented for extractor cut in breech.  Assembled bolt will close on GO gauge if gauge is properly oriented for extractor.  All other times, the bolt comes within just a few degrees of closing.
7.  Using a properly sized brass casing, NOS bolt (bolt #3) will always close if using more than light finger pressure.  No scratches or rub marks are noted on casing after extraction.
8.  I have decided to order a Forster GO gauge which should be of better quality / better tolerance.
9.  Chamber cast will be completed to confirm proper caliber / chamber dimensions.
Hope this summary will help in the diagnosis.  Thanks again for the assistance.
- milsurpshooter

A couple of comments on your #s 5 and 6

"5.  Already own .303 button-style headspace gauge set.  GO gauge measures .0655" when SAAMI specs state .064"."
Have you checked this .0655 thickness with a mike? In a shop environment we only use the best electronic calipers if we have plus or minus .005 inches. Calipers are good for rough fast measurements, not precision.
"6.  Stripped NOS bolt (bolt #3) will not close on GO gauge the majority of the time unless I am carefull about the gauge's orientation.  Bolt will only close if GO gauge cut is properly oriented for extractor cut in breech.  Assembled bolt will close on GO gauge if gauge is properly oriented for extractor.  All other times, the bolt comes within just a few degrees of closing." Makes me think you have some slightly raised metal in the vicinity of the extractor cut in the barrel.  Have you checked the brass for this? Maybe marking this area of the brass will show it?
  If your gauge is really .0655, it is telling you something if the gauge must be perfectly aligned to close. I got a mammoth raised spot adjacent to the extractor groove on a barrel by forgetting to pull the bolt out before unscrewing the barrel, there maybe other abuses that could do that.
One other thing your new Forster gage will do is measure on the center of the barrel face. Krags seem to wear on the barrel face probably from dirty ammo. A flat gauge that is not centered will measure against the unworn barrel face unless perfectly centered.
On the attached photo you can see 2 distinct wear rings on the chamber end of the barrel. The outer is from the bolt face, the inner is from the case rims. I did file off the raised metal from the extractor accident, but you can see where you Forster gauge will measure.

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IMHO - If your NOS bolt will close on .30-40 cartridge cases, without undue effort, and your chamber shows no aberrations, you should be good to go.

It appears you are blessed with minimum 'head-space'.

BR, I was puzzled by the #7 comment on closing with light finger pressure, is it just friction from turning the bolt and finishing the cocking? Or is it something more? At any rate if the go gauge does close with slight or no effort (when centered) indicates the head space is OK.
The reason I had to get the new reamer was the first was made wrong and the chamber was tight just in front of the rim. The cases fed a little tight but extracted very hard. Also resized cases would not chamber. This would be highly unlikely on a used original barrel.
If there is some defect on MilSurpShooter's barrel extractor cut that causes extra effort to close it would be just a nuisance and not a safety issue. If he has some cases that will not chamber and some that do, then the issue needs to be cleared up so have will not have to be sorting brass.