I am new to the forum and just acquired a 1898 Krag Carbine that I believe is a cut-down rifle - but it is a Krag, and something I have been looking for the last several years.  I havre been writing a book on American firearms and the Krag has come up several times! 

The stock does not have the spring clip for the front barrel band.  It also has a M1902 rear sight not marked with a "c".  At some point it was fitted with what appears to be a Redfield front sight and rear peep sight from the 1920s.  What I have noted is that the rear sight is installed over the magazine cut-off tab. 

My question is whether the sight simply covers the cut off or if it had to be removed to install the sight?  Also, will the magazine be cut off if removed?  My guess is that this was a Bannerman cut-down, but did they go to the trouble of filling the lightening notch in the stock?  A final question would be whether there is value in replacing the rear peep sight with the original cut-off.  Thanks TN Rifle.

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I have taken the liberty of reducing your pictures in size a bit to make them easier to see:

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Welcome to the KCA and the wonderful world of Krag!!

We would love to hear more about your military firearm book you have written. There are other KCA members who have written military firearm books, so, you are in good company.

I will make a few comments about your Krag and others will chime in with more info.

You have a Model 1898 Krag rifle that was cut down to make it carbine length and put into a cut down rifle stock. It has been fitted with a rear peep sight instead of the Springfield Armory rear sight attached to the barrel in front of the receiver into two holes that might still be open and exposed. Many sporterized Krags were made like yours to accommodate hunters carrying them in the field which was easier than the longer rifles.

Authentic carbines are fewer in number and generally more valuable when in military configuration. Cut down Krags are a different area of collectibility and frequently are valued in the $350 range.

Your rear peep sight may be attached by the left side plate screw and may not have had any permanent damage done to the receiver to attach it. The cut off lever can be purchased and reattached without any problems. Others will comment on this.

The front sight is an added, after arsenal sight also. The original Springfield Armory sight was a dove tailed base with an attached blade. These banded sights, similar to the Model 1903 sights, were added by Bannerman and other gunsmiths when they cut a rifle barrel down to carbine length.

Your rifle was made in 1900. The cartouche of 1899 is acceptable as the stock for a Model 1898 rifle made in 1900 but it may not be original to this rifle. It is not a Model 1898 carbine, which were made in a lower serial number range and all Model 1899 carbines have "Model 1899" stamped into the receiver where yours is stamped "Model 1898".

That's a start.

How is the bore? Many of these sporterized Krags have great bores and make great shooting firearms.

Thanks for sharing and welcome again!

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TNrifle wrote on Dec 29^th, 2019 at 8:03pm:

. . . My question is whether the sight simply covers the cut off or if it had to be removed to install the sight?  Also, will the magazine be cut off if removed? . . .

Why not just look inside to see if the cutoff shaft is present and if it's "OFF" and blocking the magazine? Easy to see/feel with the bolt open.

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With the cut down barrel, stock and incorrect front sight, why not just leave it as a nice sporterized Krag? You can keep the rear peep sight as is.

You will not be able to return this Krag to its original military configuration. If you want an original military Krag, rifle or carbine, you will have to keep looking. There are many out there for sale.

But, people do like the sporterized Krags for shooting, if not collectible. Even Krags with pitted bores can be good shooters.

"TNrifle" - Welcome to the KCA Forum. You can learn a lot about Krags by going through the many old posts preserved on this forum.

Your Krag, #241740, was likely assembled in December, 1899, or January, 1900, as a model 1898 rifle.

Your rifle's serial number does not appear in Springfield Research Services Data (SRS data), but, model 1898 Krag rifles, #241742 and #241743, were issued to the Maryland National Guard in 1904.

(Your rifle not appearing with the considerable neighboring rifle serial numbers, that were issued to the Maryland N.G., pretty much guarantees it served elsewhere.
Only a small percentage of Krag serial numbers were found in official documents and appear in SRS data).

Bannerman's did a rather crude job of 'sporterizing' Krags.
Judging by the good quality 'aftermarket' sights put on your 'cut-down' Krag, the work was likely done by one of the 'legion' of gunsmiths that did this work in the 1920's and 30's.

Your 'peep' sight is the Redfield - model 102K.
Originally, Redfield instructions recommended just 'tossing' the magazine cut-off lever.

In time, it was realized the absence of the cut-off shaft added an area of roughness to the cartridge feed path.

William's Gun Sight, in the 1970's, recommended positioning just the cut-off shaft in its hole in the receiver, with the 'lever' removed.

(Rather than waste an original Krag "Cut-Off", just a shaft can be made and shaped from a large diameter nail).

Attached pictures: 102-K sight, Redfield instructions, William's description, model 1898 cut-off lever, 'Arrow' showing cut-off shaft in 'Cartridge-Feed' position.

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I've got the same peep on my sporterized Krag. Works great and was able to put 5 in the ten ring at 100 yds last week using hand loads. Not bad for 65+ year old eyes.  :o

My Krag appears to have been sporterized by a more local gunsmith. Different front sight and more wood work modifications done to the stock. There are some faint initials in the wood, and at one point it appears some numbering using gray paint was applied to the stock on the off side suggesting it was used in a club or local civilian militia, probably WWI, but that's just a guess. My dad bought it from a pawn shop around 1942, and i have a pic of him in uniform holding the Krag standing next to a deer he and his brother took.

If you're thinking about giving it a try out on the range, you may want to start by having a good look in the barrel and chamber.

Mine is in excellent condition, rivaling some of my custom barrels.  If you don't own a borescope, I'd advise getting one. They're not expensive. The Teslong is an excellent camera based borescope and is about $50 delivered from Amazon. An absolute must in my opinion.

Factory loads are still available on some shelves, usually with 168 gr soft point made by Winchester.

Mine shot best with 220 gr Hornaday RN and IMR 4350 in new Winchester brass. I also loaded some 165 gr SST's over IMR 4831SC for hunting and they shot well, but not quite as well. Some basic load tuning may fix that.

If you do shoot it, let us know your results and impressions.

From my experience, most Remington and Winchester .30-40 Factory Ammo uses a 180 grain Soft-Point projectile.

This factory ammo shoots and functions well in most Krags. The lighter bullet tames 'recoil' in a cut-down Krag, has a higher velocity, and respects the pressure limits of the Krag's metallurgy.

Most Krags tolerate a wide range of loadings - (jacketed and cast bullets).

Thank you for all your comments.  I have already found a replacement cut-off for the one that was tossed and will make a pin to use with the Redfield site.  The bore is excellent - and I now have ammo!

As for the book... it is more of a hobby and focuses on our entire American "experience" with firearms.  It is probably more of an excuse for expanding my "interests".   In keeping with that endeavor, I have become more of a "pattern" collector - and enjoy shooting all the different examples of firearms from our past. 

What I have learned is that the notion of the "left" that civilians should not have access to Military-style weapons is mostly, if not totally unsupported by history.  To the contrary, civilians have usually had access to "more" fire power than what was available to the military at any given point in time.  If anything, the AR-15 marks a tipping point where the military finally caught up - Just my thoughts...thanks.

The Krag will be much enjoyed...

Congrats and enjoy shooting your Krag. I shot my Krag rifle over New Years with a friend and shot right at 1 1/2 MOA at 400 yards with a M1901 Krag rear sight. What's funny is I hit the bullseye three times before my friend hit it once with his scoped Remington Model 700 with a scope. He couldn't believe I out shot him with the open sighted Krag.

So, it is capable of some amazing stuff. Just treat it right and it'll do what you need!

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