I've seen a couple of episodes recently and noticed Sgt Shultz is carrying a Krag rifle, not a 98k.

Looks like Peck had a sporterized Krag. It has a short stock and front barrel band along with a sling. The front sight appears to be a 1903 Springfield type. Can't remember if it had a hand guard, but I think it did not. In fact, it looks just like mine.

According to this website the one in To Kill is a Danish 1889 that's been cut down. 

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Yep, that is almost exactly what I have, no handguard, an 1896 rear sight, except my front sight is a 1903. Main difference is my Krag has a little more wood extending past the barrel band. The Krag in the photo doesn't go much further than the band. Believe the movie was about the period during the Great Depression. The Krag was probably pretty popular back then being a low cost army surplus rifle.

knute wrote on Sep 15^th, 2011 at 1:03am:

The 1903 model front sight is a pretty rare bird, seen only on the rod-bayonet M1903 rifle. The common sight on the M1903 rifle is the 1905 model, adopted along with the knife bayonet.

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1903 front sight

Back to the original topic:  I seem to recall that I read somewhere the actor playing Sgt. Shultz had many family members killed by Nazis.  As a result, he refused to carry a Nazi weapon in the TV series.  The prop people pulled out a rifle that looked close--a Krag.

I have heard others say that when they began filming they weren't too concerned with authenticity and the prop folks handed him a Krag and that is what he worked with.  However, all the other German guards carried 98Ks so the first story seems more plausible.

Well I'll be, a 1903 Springfield with a 1905 front sight and possibly a 1907 sling and a........ That's why I like this site, you can learn some good stuff.
Growing up I never knew what a 1903 Springfield or a 98 Mauser or a 1896 Krag or whatever looked like.  So watching Hogan's Heroes it never occurred to me what rifles were being used as props. But now I'll have to take note next time I see an episode of it.
In fact, my Dad had what he thought was a sportized Springfield. But after pulling the scope off a few years ago I found it to be a M1917 American Enfield.

Not to belittle anyone, nor doubt the veracity of the actor's claims, but if MY family had been killed by Nazis, I'd have a problem wearing the helmet, uniform, and in general, even "just playing the part". After you've gone that far, why quibble about a rifle? Following the logic of "in for penny, in for a pound", I find the actor to be a trifle disingenuous. He played the part and took the cash, so what's the point?