Barrel- Welcome to the Krag Collector's Association. You have found a friendly place to learn about Krags and anything else we might pretend to know about!

You have a very nice looking Model 1898 Krag rifle there. Thanks for the good pictures you posted. It looks like your rifle has its full length military stock that may or may not be original to this rifle but is correct for this Krag. It has been refinished at some point and the "cartouche" on the left side below the receiver has been worn away with the refinishing. It is a stamping of the date of approval of the rifle it was made for originally with the initials JSA which stand for the assistant armory foreman of that time John Sumner Adams. Many Krag stocks have this totally missing so you have a remnant of it at least. It's hard to read the original date from the picture you posted.

The Model 1898 serial number 200920, if I'm reading it correctly, was possibly made in late 1899, but I don't have the exact dates. Other posters may give a better estimate than me.

These rifles were made at Springfield Armory, as marked on the receiver. The "P" is a proof marking. The other marks I am unfamiliar with and have been debated here before. Some may represent simply production marks.

You have a Model 1901 rear sight which may have been original for your rifle also. The front sight looks correct. The barrel bands look correct. Is there anything in the butt trap under the metal cover? This is where the three piece cleaning rods and oiler are stored.

You may have an original sling on your rifle. That's a great thing because that adds about $100 to the value and it makes it much more appropriate for a military collectible to have a period sling. I can't see it all but it looks good.

The rifle takes 30-40 Krag ammunition which is still available but a little pricey. Many of us shoot factory loads and keep the brass to reload. Reloading is a great hobby with shooting and collecting the Krags.

Thanks for sharing!!

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