As you may no I hastily purchased a sportized krag 1898. I found out after purchase it was a cut down and was very far from looking remotely original. I was advised on this forum that changing it to what I wanted it to be would be very expensive. I was told that buying what I wanted would be cheaper than modifying what I had. So.. I purchased this rifle and will try to sell the other. What are your thoughts? I can now focus on enjoying my rifle and working on a reload it likes. In stead of trying in vain to find what I need.

any info or thoughts on this one would be appreciated

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jnida- You are certainly working hard to join the ranks of authentic Krag ownership. I can't see much in the two pictures you have kindly posted but it appears that you have an early model 1898 Krag rifle in a cut down rifle stock. The front of this stock is too short and appears to have been cut short to look like a carbine stock. It may have been switched to the rifle receiver and barrel it has now but more pictures are needed.

Please post more pictures for us to help figure this one out.

Also please keep in mind that we are here to help you determine a good investment even BEFORE you buy. It would help to learn more by reading one of the Krag texts available and utilize this forum.

But, you may have something that can be fully restored to correct military condition if the barrel and receiver are unaltered. It might be a great shooter too!

Post the pics, please.

That's many steps closer to fixable!  I'd keep the sporter to play with while you're working on the other!

here are some more

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here are some more

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Hi jnida,

Another nice looking sporterized Krag rifle you've got there!... according to it's serial number it was produced on January of 1899.

Not sure of your intentions... Do you want keep it the way it is or try to restore it to it's military configuration.

If you try to restore it... than metal replacement parts would not be a problem for an 1898 Krag rifle and relatively inexpensive.

On the other hand... replacement wood stocks and handguards can be hard to find and pricey.

Don't know what your woodworking skills are???... But an alternative is attaching a replacement forearm as displayed below.

Handguards pop-up from time-to-time on Ebay and Gunbroker...  Cost can be high ($200+).

From what I can tell your rear sight appears to be an 1898 or 1902.

Good luck on your decisions and enjoy shooting your Krag.

They are addictive! :D

BTW: A krag rifle barrel should be 30 inches and another petty thing... the barrel band is backwards... the opening of the "U" should face in the direction of the muzzle.

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'jnida' - Your 'GunBroker' Krag has nice looking metal finish and patina. The rear-sight is a 1902 sight. Hopefully the rifle's bore is real nice.

Your stock appears to have been sanded and reshaped, in the area of the forearm 'finger-grooves' and 'comb' area of butt. The forearm 'shoulder', that the barrel-band once abutted, has been removed.

A hand-guard will no longer 'blend' neatly with the stock's forearm, since forearm dimensions, contour, and crisp edges are changed.

Your Krag's stock is not a good candidate for 'stretching' to original length and will likely look odd with an original hand-guard.

The barrel-band was likely 'reversed' to help clamp it in place; barrel-bands have a 'taper' and wood 'removal' probably left it loose.

It's a nice looking Krag and can be enjoyed, as is.

A cheap investment in Poyer's book, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine", would help with a lot of basics and increase your enjoyment.

I was all over this rifle as a candidate for repair until better folks than I pointed out that the stock was messed up at the shoulder for the middle barrel band.

Oh will, sigh.

On the other hand if you had a repaired stock you could drop this rifle right into it.

Stretchable stocks turn up on the auction sites often very reasonable. Be patient and you can get deals on most of the parts and have a nice restored Krag.

You mind if I add your rifle to the KCA serial number database?