Hi, Glad to have found this site! I've had this Krag around the house my entire life (62 years) It's always been indoors but never given enough care. My Brother (grrr) sanded it down and oiled the stock in the sixties and I have kept it maintained but not nearly often enough. The accuracy is fantastic. The rear site was replaced with a peep site dated Jan 23 06. other than that I believe it to be original. The front site is loose and falls off, so it hasn't been to the range lately. I'm interested in receiving information as to its authenticity and value as well as any history to be learned from the serial numbers. The wood inside has been burned in black so I assume it was used heavily at one time or other.
Model 1896     Springfield Armory     68605

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Please clarify "the front sight falls off" is it the blade or the entire sight base? The front sight mounting looks a little odd to me.

The base is loose in the barrel, The base tabs that slide in are bent downwards just enough to let it fall out. I haven't messed with it to attempt a repair. the blade as I recall was replaced by a gunsmith 40 years ago. The saddle ring mount is covered with a smooth brass plate on the left side, and the cartouche has been sanded away

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Sorry still trying to size my pictures to fit

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'voydryder' - Welcome to the KCA Forum.

You have an interesting model 1896 Krag. The receiver serial number is in the range for some of the model 1896 carbines. Your Stock is a carbine stock that has sadly been reshaped in the comb and wrist area.

The valuable carbine rear-sight is gone and would be costly ($500 - $600) to replace. The carbine hand-guard and correct barrel band are also missing.

It is questionable if your barrel is correct. The crown looks wrong and sight appears reattached, likely to a shortened rifle barrel.

It appears changes were made and possible rebarrelling, long ago, to make it a useful hunting rifle.

I have not seen that rear peep-sight before. It looks like it could be an early version of the Leroy Rice sight. The sight could be of value to a sight collector.

IMHO - Your Krag would be worth $300 - $400, but not, readily restorable.

Interesting sight.  I used to be able to find things given just the date, but I've forgot how and I've now messed with it enough it's getting frustrating.  On to some other little bother.

Hi Thanks for your input. All the previous pictures were taken prior to cleaning but in a effort to determine whether the barrel is correct for a carbine I took some more including the loose sight.

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Hi again I recently added some more photos of the crown. I am concerned that the comment,
"It is questionable if your barrel is correct. The crown looks wrong and sight appears reattached, likely to a shortened rifle barrel."
Will forever put this lovely rifle into the category of being "cut Down" Please take a look at the new pictures in the previous post and provide a second opinion as the barrel looks correct to me. Obviously the front sight has had work done over the years and the rear Sight is incorrect but that should not keep it from being an original carbine. Thanks in advance.

I think maybe.  Measure your barrel by dropping a rod to the closed boltface and marking it.  The crown looks good to me, the dovetail looks good, much better than the shaping done to the stud. 

'voydryder' - The barrel crown does look to be the correct contour in your more recent posted photographs.

A Krag carbine barrel should be exactly 22 inches long, when measured from the muzzle to the closed bolt face with a cleaning rod.

The dovetail for the front-sight base on your barrel appears as Springfield Armory did them.

With photo distortion and the front sight loose, it is hard to judge if your sight is the correct distance back from the muzzle.

Springfield neatly bronze-brazed the Krag front-sight bases into the barrel dovetail. These were very strong and with almost invisible seams. It is rare to see one removed from a barrel. (Often this is an indication of a shortened barrel with sight poorly reattached).

I have no intent to offend you or disparage your Krag. Your barrel is likely
a carbine barrel.

However, your front sight has multiple problems: original brazing gone, sight base is detached, base has been shortened, original blade is replaced with commercial one.

Your carbine stock has been re-shaped. The correct rear-sight, sling-bar & ring, hand-guard and correct barrel-band are missing.

You appear to have a model 1896 carbine that regretably was messed with.

You asked for an honest assessment of your Krag. I tried to give you one.

The later pics were a big help.  I too was thinking cutdown, going by the earlier blurry pic of the front sight & crown, and the given barrel length shown on the tape.

Thank You for your reassessment. At least I know that it is an original carbine. I don't have access to the Krag books to see if there is any history to find in the serial numbers.
As I mention earlier the wood inside the stock is blackened from excessive heat. I wonder if the original hand guard, being thin was burned beyond it's usefulness?
I din't have much luck getting a good picture of the bore, an hints on how to go about getting a good shot inside?

Maybe this has been considered and I missed it... but why would the sight base be removed, and the inside of the stock be blackened from excessive heat?  When shooting standard military rounds, Krags don't get nearly as hot as, say, something shooting 30-06 (for example).  It would take an extremely hot barrel and action to blacken the lumber, and that would be hot enough to damage the metal too.  I'm just very curious about the blackened wood.  Could this have been in a fire (smoke and heat damaged, but not burned) and then cleaned up to hide the fact?

  If I'm way off base, then I apologize... but this just leaped at me this morning.

The 'patented' peep sight on the bolt/extractor and reshaped Stock suggest this carbine was used by a 'Hunter'.

Likely the hand-guard, model 1896 rear sight and barrel-band, and sling-bar & ring were removed to increase handiness. The current barrel-band is a model 1899 carbine   band, put on backwards. (The "U" must be hidden on the left side).

Maybe the barrel muzzle area was heated up to knock off the original sight and some hobbiest never finished the project by installing a replacement ramp sight? That might explain 'blackened' wood.

psteinmayer wrote on Mar 26^th, 2018 at 12:29pm:

Maybe this has been considered and I missed it... but why would the sight base be removed, and the inside of the stock be blackened from excessive heat?  When shooting standard military rounds, Krags don't get nearly as hot as, say, something shooting 30-06 (for example).  It would take an extremely hot barrel and action to blacken the lumber, and that would be hot enough to damage the metal too.  I'm just very curious about the blackened wood.  Could this have been in a fire (smoke and heat damaged, but not burned) and then cleaned up to hide the fact?   If I'm way off base, then I apologize... but this just leaped at me this morning.

In my opinion, spot on,
Vic

I know my older brother sanded it down in the sixties just because it was rough I dont remember it ever being burnt. pics inside. During the seventies I did have a local Gunsmith reattach the front sight, I am thinking he heated it to fix the blade and lost the bond with the barrel. It held for approx. ten years though. the brazing shows on the barrel in the photos but there is no sign of any on the bottom of the sight. Thanks again for taking an interest .

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found these online very close to my sight design

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Maybe your stock is not burnt, but, sealed with something like pine tar?

Both my 92/96 full lengths are blackened inside like that, even the one with the floated barrel, like it was something applied after the cutting was done.  Good job finding that patent, bet there's no mention of him in Stroebel's Old Gunsights & Rifle Scopes.

I agree...  stock looks to be sealed with something.  Maybe old dried hard cosmolene?   

  My Sight mounting holes are slightly different. Than the Patent. I'm guessing it was modified to fit to Krag Bolt. (So It's been messed with too)
The wood under the Trigger Guard is also treated. However I did sniff it and it smelled smoky. I believe creosote was used as a preservative also. It makes sense because the inside is hard to dry especially if your under fire on a rainy day. Not the best time to dismantle your weapon.

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Voydryder has brought up a couple of interesting points in this thread.

One is that some Krag stocks during their life may have had the interior wood 'sealed' with creosote or some other dark smelly substance to inhibit absorption of moisture.

Also, the existence of a peep sight, patented by Lucian Hillabrandt of Johnstown, N.Y.
Although, the patent date appears to be 1903 in "voydryder's" photo. He found it in U.S. Patent Records as patent # 810,761, issued Jan. 23, 1906.
In reading the description in the patent, a lot of the specifics appear to revolve around: the revolving 'wheel' to adjust elevation, changeable peep discs, and a 'webbed' disc that allows simultaneous large and small apertures.

'Madsenshooter' is correct in his observation that there is no mention of the Hillabrandt sight in Nick Stroebel's book, "Old Gunsights & Rifle Scopes".

(FWIW - Oddly, Stroebel did not mention the relatively common 'Leroy Rice' sight either, which is found on many Krag hunting rifles).

I suspect the Hillabrant sight is rare and very obscure. The one 'voydryder' has on his Krag appears it may have been skillfully altered from its original form, in order to be mounted on a Krag bolt, with holes through the extractor.

Also, it appears the 'peep' hole is off-set, probably to correct windage.

Funny, the oddball and interesting stuff that comes up, when we really study & scrutinize an old Krag. 

Waterproofing the interior of the stock would make perfect sense when considering the steamy tropical climate of the Philippines (I've been there... believe me, it is!).  Perhaps Creosote would have been the norm for this back in the day.

Pine Tar, Pitch, and wax can seal, blacken, and smell smoky.

I have a 'leather water bottle' (16th - 18th century style canteen) reproduction, that a leatherworker friend made around 1974. The interior was sealed with melted Pine Pitch. The interior is still waterproof and smells of Pine and smoke.

Took her out to the range everything still works!
Here a short You Tube video.
  (You need to Login

No link

Video worked for me.  YouTube.  I thought they banned all firearms related videos?
Vic

Sorry about the link on my computer it was just embedded into the post like a photo, using the insert media tool above. Here's the link by itself. 
  (You need to Login                   I hadn't heard of a ban, and have watched many You Tube videos on gun review sites. Hope they don't take it down.      For the date I just asked my phone,"What's today's date?"
I loaded five cartridges ($12 worth) into the magazine.
The mag lever was in the down position for the first bolt closing.
I moved the lever to the up position and fired all five rounds.
Each time the ejector functioned normally.
On another note, my first estimate of value was given while the authenticity of the barrel being an actual carbine was in question. What do you all think is a fair asking Price?

Kerz wrote on Apr 14^th, 2018 at 11:51am:

Video worked for me.  YouTube.  I thought they banned all firearms related videos? Vic

I think the ban was to be for semi auto "assault weapons" and how-to's that deal with the currently scary things lurking in the market.  Even so, it's probably just a first step.