One critical function of the safety mechanism is to pull the cocking piece sear back out of contact with the trigger sear. This allows the trigger sear to return to full elevation if the trigger is pulled and released while the safety is engaged.

The cam surfaces on safety lever and cocking piece of the US Krag are engineered to provide full retraction when the lever is turned fully to the right. They are not designed to work when the lever is turned only half way.

Your description reflects proper function of the Krag safety. The difference in function from your carbine simply reflects manufacturing tolerances or normal wear.

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