I just purchased an 1898 Springfield Krag Carbine.  The stock and butt plate has "Ritz" stamped on them.  Can anyone tell me why it would have this stamp?

---

Likely, "Ritz" was the name or nick-name of a private owner, once the Krag was 'sold off' by the U.S. Government.

If "Ritz" had done that, when it was government property, his Sergeant would have kicked his 'butt-stock' and the regiment billed him $25.

p.s. - Pictures of your Krag would be fun to see. (Caution) There are not many genuine model 1898 carbines. Most Krag "carbines" are rifles cut-down by civilian hunters.

Picture of Ritz on butt stock

---

More Pictures

---

Another Picture

---

I think that the owner of this nice looking Krag just simply loved crackers.

'RetiredMil' - You have a nice looking and useful Krag, but, it is not a model 1898 carbine. It is a 'cut-down' model 1898 rifle.

The stock is a shortened rifle stock as evidenced by the lack of a 'band-spring' to retain the barrel-band.

Your front-sight appears to be a 'banded-type' and was not used on military Krag carbines.

The 1900 'cartouche' and "J" are original markings. The "J" was probably put on during a rebuild after 1903.

You appear to have a Krag that was altered for Hunting and I suspect "Ritz" was a previous owner.

It should be a fun Krag for the Range.

Thank You for the information

I will be backing out of the sale and looking for an original Carbine I wanted to have a pair one Krag rifle and one krag carbine.  I have one M1 grand and one M1 carbine.  So I wanted to do the same with the krag. Thank you for you help.

Model 1899 carbines are the most plentiful and model 1899 marked actions were just built as carbines.

Model 1898 carbines are the most faked. Only about 5,000 were made and most of those were updated to 1899 configuration.

On the putting on the putting on the RITZ Krag, am I seeing vice marks in the finger groove? Seems to be the corners of a rectangle pressed in. Moot point since RetiredMil is passing on it.
One other comment the RITZ guy got a nice font with his stamps.

I will start looking for an 1899 thank you for the information.

Any Krag carbine requires close scrutiny. Expect to pay $1,000, and up, for legitimate examples.

Basic warning flags are: 'Banded' front-sight, barrels not exactly 22" (measured from muzzle to closed bolt-face), presence of sling-swivels (always suspect), serial numbers outside known 'ranges', non-carbine rear-sight, atypical muzzle crown, stock tip with wood 'plug' and lacking barrel-band spring.

When sold off by the Government, lots of Krag rifles were cut down to make them more useful for Hunting.
"Quasi carbines" were cobbled together commercially by companies like Bannerman's and Stokes Kirk, when Krags were cheap and parts were abundant.
The presence of a carbine part(s) on a 'cut-down' rifle, does not make it a carbine. There seem to be a lot of individuals trying to get big money for a $300 cut-down Krag rifle.

Even buying a basic reference book, like Poyer's, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine", for about $25, can help guide you in Krag purchases and increase your enjoyment.

RetiredMil, I don't believe your sporterized Krag was modified to fake anybody out. It looks like an honest to goodness modification to suit a purpose years ago, likely for hunting. I don't know your situation, but anybody who tries to sell a sporterized Krag as an original carbine is either uneducated when it comes to Krags or is a fake himself.
Not sure what you paid, but you can still get some enjoyment out of your sporterized Krag learning its inner workings as you study a book like Poyer's as Butlersrangers suggests. You can shoot it (check it out first), reload for it, and show it to friends who likely never seen anything like it before. Then you can wait for the great deal on a carbine that you can ascertain for yourself that it is for real after you studied the Krag. Lots of good info in this forum if you go back and read earlier posts, also. Takes time to soak it all in, and when you think you know everything you need to know, somebody throws you a curve ball. All the same, it will be an enjoyable journey.

Above all... educate yourself, either by reading from the experts (i.e. Brophy, Mallory, Poyer, etc.), or by talking with the experts here at KCA.  I've been a member here for many years... and even though I've owned Krags for more than 35 years, I knew next to nothing when I joined.  (LOL I was certain that my cutoff sporter 1898 with the 24 inch barrel HAD to be a real carbine...  Boy was I wrong!)

Now I'm certainly no expert... but I know a thing or two now.
Still, I will always seek out advice from guys like Butlersrangers, Parashooter, and Dick Hosmer (three of the most knowledgeable Krag experts... and generally wonderful people I've met here).  I've made a plethora of good friends on this forum.  One could absolutely do a lot worse than the KCA!!!

By the way... Krag sporters have a place in this world too... and can be great to hunt, or even just plink with!

Very well sated Paul...

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