I've been trying to find a reasonable Krag rifle for many years to go with my collection of carbines.  I've been kicking myself for 15 years since an auction at Hesse's where I lost out on one of the best I'd ever seen.  I went today to another Hesse auction and there was a Krag rifle with a bayonet.  Everything was in good shape but i do have some questions.  The serial number tells me 1899 the stock is cartouched for 1900 the bayonet is 1902 but that doesn't matter as i have an 1899.  The stock looks good and looks like it matches.  The hardware looks good enough to pass for original.  My question is if the serial number specifically states 1899 what are the chances it was re stocked or maybe late 1899 got a 1900 stock? #153798  I was surprised at the low turnout.  If any of you were there let me know.  I would have said hello!

The auction came upon me quite quickly and  I couldn't remember dates and serial numbers off the top of my head so I did a quick search on line and found a brief timeline which looked like it might have come from Brophy's book.  I just went with it.  The gun is in pretty good shape considering some I've seen at shows and auctions.  I'm ok if it was "refurbished".  The stock pieces match well and all the other hardware looks good.  The bayonet is dated 1902 but I have an 1899 bayonet.  All in all I'm happy that I caught it when reviewing the auction items and made the purchase.

'Bill': Others, more knowledgeable than I, have said 'Bowers' is very incorrect on Krags.

It is very tentative giving a U.S. Krag an exact manufacture date, because of the way they were assembled at Springfield Armory. A numbered Receiver could have 'laid around' for a bit before it was grabbed and assembled into a rifle.

It is believable that your Krag was assembled in late 1898 or early 1899. An 1898 or 1899 acceptance 'cartouche' would more likely be expected.

It would be interesting to know which model rear-sight is now on Krag #153798? Armory updating of most Krag rear-sights required disassembly and removal of stock to change to required hand-guard. Your Krag started its service with the model 1896 sight.

I am not depreciating your Krag. It sounds like you found a nice one! A lot of this "development and updating" is part of what makes them interesting.

butlersrangers wrote on Jul 12^th, 2015 at 1:33pm:

I doubt Armory workers bothered removing stocks to pull off handguards and change sights. If a handguard cracked (possibly less likely when new), there were a bunch more in the parts bins.

A quick examination of the handguard clip contours shows they were probably designed to be pulled up and pushed down with alacrity.

When my 'new' Krag arrives, it may offer an opportunity to test otherwise.

I stand corrected. Parashooter reports having done it.

Armory workers operating under time constraints (and with spare new hand-guards) would certainly have availed themselves of a shortcut and not bothered with unnecessary disassembly.

(I am not in a hurry and can take time with my Krags. It's a bad idea to stress a hand-guard, when good original ones are hard to find, hard to match, and routinely cost $90 to $150).

Still, I am pretty amazed at the nice job Armory workers did in 'matching wood', when a lot of Krags received new sights and hand-guards.

and I'll add some more

Bill: Nice looking Model 1898 Krag. The 1901 rear-sight is a versatile one. It looks like everything has been together for a long time and no 'buggered up' screws. How is the bore?