Greetings,

I am new to the Board. Some years ago i inherited an 1898 Rifle that belonged to my Great Grandfather. He purchased it from DCM or the NRA at some point. It was sporterized but cutting down the original stock but the barrel was left intact. I have never messed with the rifle but always thought i would like to restore it to original military configuration. So i got excited and started looking at Krag stuff online. Well a 1899 Carbine came up for sale on a local AZ gun enthusiast sight from C&R dealer. It was advertised as an exceptional 1899 Krag Carbine. I was not very smart and did not do any homework. I agreed to buy the rifle for 700.00. When i looked at it it did seem very nice. Since acquiring the rifle i got Poyers book and started collecting parts to restore the 1898 Rifle. Upon further inspection i noticed the following things about this carbine. I is an 1899 receiver S/N 230513. The stock appears to be a Carbine stock but it is inletted for a rear swivel and has a rifle lower band and swivel installed. The carbine spring is there to hold the lower band. The barrel has a 1905 front sight which i now know is not correct. So i dont know if the barrel has been changed to a 1903 Springfield barrel or a rifle barrel cut down to replace a bad carbine barrel. I guess i thought i was safe in getting a 1899 carbine as from what i can tell all 1899's were carbines. But this appears to be a modified unit with many anomalies. The rear sight and hand guard appear to be 1902 rifle sights and hand guard. No C on the sight body that i can find. So i think i was duped a bit. As i am finding this is common in the military arms collecting world. Just looking for insight, how bad was i screwed. Any idea what this is and what its origin might be. I will get to the 1898 rifle restoration in another thread. I have acquired a very nice stock and hand guard but it wont fit the 1902 sights installed on the rifle. I am having a time determining what the hand guard is for.

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From what I can see of the rear sight, it appears to be a 1902 carbine sight.  Some carbines had swivels installed, so don't get get the idea you got burned just yet.

'h8pvmt' - It is hard to tell, but, you might have a valuable sling, if it is an original.

Your rear sight appears to be a model 1902 sight 'top' on a model 1898 rifle base. (IMHO - Practical, but, not a Springfield Armory combination).

Your hand-guard (for the model 1902 sight) is a reproduction. It covers too much of the 'receiver ring'.

You have a model 1899 carbine receiver and stock. The oddly attached butt-swivel reduces the value of the stock.

Your front sight appears to be a commercial W. Stokes Kirk sight.

It is likely your barrel is a cut-down Krag rifle barrel. It appears it may be over 22 inches long to me. (Krag carbine barrels were 22 inches, when measured from the muzzle to the closed bolt face. FWIW - Unaltered, 1903 Springfield barrels are about 23 1/4 inches long). If your barrel is over 22 inches long, it is made from a Krag rifle barrel.

I am attaching two pictures that may help you tell if you have a Krag barrel. The 1st picture is of the "P" (proof) mark that was put on Krag barrels. The 2nd picture shows the 'index' mark on Krag barrels and receiver.

Enjoy this Krag as a good looking 'shooter' and for lessons learned.

Actually after re-reading the Culvers post that may have been someone else smarter than me that was looking at the same gun. But he did some homework first and did'nt buy it.... IDK either way its mine now.

'h8pvmt' - Thank you for acknowledging my response to your query. ('RickM' did not).

I think you got a nice looking sling. (How long is it? Any markings?).

I am attaching a photo of the longer, (72" - too long for Krag), model 1887 sling for the 'trapdoor' Springfield. It will show you how the Krag sling should be 'threaded' on your Grandfather's Krag.

Also, attached is a photo of the muzzle area of a model 1899 carbine. The original front sight base mounting is, (thankfully), hard to replicate.

It is real easy to invest too much money in "restoring" a Krag and in reality, you end up with a Fake.

Your wood repairs and a carbine barrel-band sound sensible. (Movieman630 has '99 carbine bands on ebay).

Front sight issue gets trickier and easily borders on Fakery.

Original Carbine rear sights start at $200 (model 1901) and climb quickly for model 1896, 1898, and 1902 versions. The mixed '98/'02 hybrid you have is a good practical 'shooter' remedy.

Nice original hand-guards are bringing $125-plus, now.

You can invest a lot of money to make it 'right', but, it won't be 'right'. There is a lot to be said for enjoying a Krag, as is, or with minor tweeks.

Spend $20 and get Joe Poyer's book, "The American Krag Rifle and Carbine". It is not perfect, but, it is informative and enjoyable.

The CMP is (IMHO) the way to go for a Garand.  Far too many collectors out there looking for "Correct" and "Original" Garands... and it just doesn't happen anymore.  Arsenal rebuilds put the kybosh to that for most military rifles!  My Garands are CMP also... except for my Dad's (which my brother has) which was a DCM request... and came packed in cosmoline. 

Do you shoot in CMP sponsored matches?  If so, when you restore your grandfather's Krag, as long as it's in "As Issued" condition (all of the bits and pieces are correct), you can shoot that as well.  I shoot my 1898 in matches throughout the year!

Cheers

Fear not....  We'll get you headed in the right direction.  I find the matches I shoot with my 1898 far more rewarding than any I shoot with other rifles (Garand, K31, 1903, Arisaka, etc.)!