now i am no expert, but what does a krag carbine(one that isn't bubbasized) look like compared to a rifle.

serial numbers? 1898 or 1899?
i don't know, but i'd like to learn.

thanks!

".... what makes a krag carbine?" - The Springfield Armory!

IMHO - It is always a good idea to read and start a library, before investing in collectable firearms. Even as a young gun enthusiast, I quickly learned that there was a lot of bogus information concerning Krags.

Over the years at gun shows (and now on the internet) lots of people try to pass off cut-down rifles as Krag cavalry and "Philippine Constabulary" carbines. It has long been profitable to misrepresent altered rifles, (that should have been devalued), as legitimate carbines.

Fact - Because the Krag carbine was such a handy arm for 'Hunting', when eventually sold off by the government, many Krag rifles were shortened to carbine length by various parties.

The KCA website is a very good and helpful resource. There are other websites which are far less reliable. There are other websites that are very poor and offer erroneous data.

Krag books worth owning: "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine", by Joe Poyer and Craig Riesch, (cost about $20). It has lots of good, basic information and photographs. There are some mistakes and assumptions, that have upset some advanced authorities, but, you get a lot for your 'Buck'.

"The Krag Rifle Story", by Franklin Mallory, is an out-of-print classic and will cost around $200, used. I prefer the 2nd Edition, which was an 'upgrade' and has some SRS serial number data.

"The Krag Rifle", by William Brophy, is another out-of-print classic and seems to go for around $150, used. It nicely complements Mallory's book and has better photographs and European Krag data.

Some knowledgeable, advanced collectors are reporting positively about Joe Farmer's, self published, work advertised in the KCA classifieds.

In studying Krags, one should develop a trained eye, so that refinished wood and metal becomes pretty obvious. This comes with experience gained by looking at lots of examples, (from 'Mint', to 'Well Used', to 'Bubbaed').

Krags have a rather complicated array of finishes that were applied to the various metal components. Krags were not given a uniform 'Blue/Black' like more modern guns.

Some of the metal part finishes, applied to the Krag components, are quite fragile. The finish wear on parts and patina that comes from use is a 'clue'. Screw head shape, fit, and correctness is a 'clue'. Buggered screws, incorrect screws, parts that appear too new and inconsistent with the rest of the arm, serve as clues that things were messed with.

The barrel muzzle 'crown' and front-sight base, (both rifle and carbine), were very expertly and consistently done, at Springfield Armory. The sight base is almost invisibly dovetailed and bronze brazed into the barrel. (A Krag cavalry carbine will never have a banded front-sight).

Krag rifle and carbine barrels have the same taper, (so barrel outside-diameter is the same for both, 22" from the breech). Rifle barrels are 30" and carbine barrels are 22", exactly, when measured from the muzzle to the 'closed-bolt' face.

Photos - List of Krag model 1898 metal part finishes, model 1899 carbine front-sight, and model 1898 rifle front-sight:

i don't know when the barrel from my krag was cut off. there is nothing on the stock either. who ever did that must have been a true gunsmith.

i know that the krag was produced in 1903. where it goes from there no one knows until it becomes my great grandfather's(about 1920-30"s maybe before that). he hunted with it until he died(1955). then it became my pappy's(who occasionally hunted with it). my dad and my late uncle both hunted with the krag. but it stayed with pappy until he died. well the krag stayed with pappy until he gave it to me(about 3 months later he died).

pappy did what he thought was a favor, he put on a bishop stock(early 1960's?), yuck. my dad and my late uncle had to deal with that. after my pappy died, my dad and his friend were at the house(pappy) cleaning up, when all of the sudden my friend reaches up to the rafters and he pulls out the krags stock! it saved me alot of hassle.

i haven't shot it since i put on everything, but before deer season begins, i will. it will be a 165gr ranch dog over 25.5gr of h4198. for only going about 1800fps it sure does smackdown on a deer.