Wolfsburg,

This is a good discussion about changes to the Krag and what happened when and for what reason(s).

The real answer is "We don't know."

As butlers has stated, there were many opinions about what was done and when and what changes were made at Springfield Armory with regard to updated changes for the M1892 to M1896 configurations.

Since these great rifles and carbines were made, they have been passed through so many hands and have had so many different changes, there is not enough documentation to support what were official changes and what was done by people outside of Springfield Armory of even "official" changes in the field. Many gun smiths and Bubbas have had their hands on these things there is no way to tell how your Krag got to where it is today. Chances are these changes you have are not official alterations.

But, I would still like to see pictures of your bolt removed from the action to see how it is fully configured.

Some of the M1896 Krags that I have that are updated Model 1892s have some of the M1892 features to the bolt and some have M1896 features. Not all updated M1896 rifles have the original grasping grooves that you have. These bolts were updated differently based on what parts they had and what parts may have been damaged or worn enough to warrant changing.

So, there is no across the board consistency as to how every Krag was updated to Model 1896 configuration when they were sent back later for upgrade, whether it was 1898 or later. See how this is so confusing? One of the reasons this is a big jumble is because so many of the Krag parts were interchangeable through the different model years. Thus, a M1892 bolt fits and can work fine in later Krags. Some parts are not specifically interchangeable but may fit and seem to function fine. Very confusing to all of us.

Here is a link showing differences to the Krag bolts through the different models:

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