I just picked up a new to me Krag and wanted to see if this one is an authentic carbine. 

The serial number 77295 puts it as an 1897.  The receiver date does look to me like it says model 1896, but the 6 is not really clear.  The stock seems correct to me, there is a spring on the lower hand guard vs a pin on fakes.  There isn't a cleaning rod channel in the front end of the stock.  There aren't any swivel cutouts and only the saddle bar on the side.  The barrel is 22" and doesn't appear cut to me.  It is the exact same length as my 1900 carbine.  Front sight appears to me correct, but the rear sight does not have a "C" that I can see anywhere.

Thanks in advance for any help.   I'm attaching pictures, some of them aren't very clear unfortunately. 

More pictures again

Ora,

Welcome to the KCA and the wonderful world of Krags!  We welcome you with open arms and open Krag bolts.

Your pictures look like a real 1896 Krag carbine with a switched out rear sight like Paul mentioned. The original rear sight should be an 1896 carbine sight which is well marked with "c"s and it fits closer to the rear barrel band. The saddle ring is correct, the front sight, barrel, bolt, stock all looks good from what I can see. The model "1896" stamp on the receiver looks like the "9" and the "6" are double stamped but the "6" actually looks like there was a die stamp fragment when it was stamped which added some debris into the stamping. The rest of the markings on the receiver look good, so, I don't think it was altered in any way. There are some odd stampings on Krags we see sometimes.

Is there a cartouche stamping on the left side of the stock behind the saddle ring? This helps to authenticate the stock to that exact carbine.

Also, what condition is the bore in? This is real important for valuing the carbine. Is there anything in the butt storage area/ This is for the cleaning rods and oiler.

Unfortunately, the 1896 rear carbine sight is very expensive if you can even locate an orphan. They are running north of $600 currently and I haven't seen any for sale for quite a while. I searched for one for about a year for a nice 1896 carbine that needed it before I found one.

But, regardless of any of the above, you have a nice carbine that can be a great shooter and an excellent addition to your growing Krag collection.

Please post some more pictures such as where the cartouche should be and the action with the bolt open.

Thanks for sharing! More information will come from other experts when they chime in.

The lower of the pictures I posted shows an 1896 rifle and carbine sight on two different Model 1896 carbines. The official carbine sight, in addition to having two "c" marks on it, is calibrated to "20" instead of just to "18" as is the 1896 rifle sight. Yes, these two sights are interchangeable using the same hand guard.

It is important to look at the pictures of the different sights in the "pictures" section of this forum. Go to the home page and the pictures link is at the bottom of the page. These pictures can show you the different sights (and respective hand guards which are different for different sights) as well as many different features on the various models of rifles and carbines.

Since Model 1896 carbine sights are so expensive and have been in big demand for years, there are fakes out there. Some people have stamped a "c" at the top of a Model 1896 rifle sight. It is obviously a fake since it will be calibrated to "18" only.

Read and learn before wasting money on the wrong stuff.

We'll always do what we can to help along the way, also!

Specific hand guards are difficult to find but we have seen a rash of people buying Krags cheap from different sources and tearing them apart to sell the parts and make a profit. Many of these parts are substandard because they often come from cheap Krags that are damaged or messed up in one way or another. So, you have to have a discriminating eye and know what you are looking for and what you are potentially buying.

That's where we can sometimes help. If you are interested in a specific deal, you can post pictures here before you buy and we can help you figure out if it looks good and might be worth the investment. Many of us have bought parts and fixed them up to repair a damaged or incorrect Krag. We always do this above board and not to misrepresent a firearm as correct and original. Repairs are acceptable if they improve the Krag in some manner, for appearance or functionality, but repairs are not acceptable if you are going to try to convince yourself or others that it is original, as issued, from Springfield Armory. Many of us know how to spot fakes but anyone can be fooled, sometimes.

So, hand guards are available and, as you stated, often expensive. Keep up the search and you will eventually find something that will work. We do wish someone was making good repros for many of these Krags we have but nothing reliable is out there right now. It's hit or miss and some of the people selling repros are not reputable.

Good luck!

You have referenced your "1900 carbine" that has a Redfield sight on it. Is this a cut down sporterized Krag? Why not post pictures of that Krag, also, so we can enjoy it.

Great off hand shooting at 300 yds!

Here it is.

(You need to Login to view media files and links)

I guess it is a Marbles rear sight.  The peeps were redfield.