Greetings all!  I came across this forum  researching a recent purchase (always dangerous, researching *after* the purchase!) and wanted to see if ya'll had any thoughts or info on my 'new' (only 120 years old!) rifle:

Lead- Welcome to the Krag Collector's Association! You have come to and joined a great group of Krag collectors who love everything Krag and always enjoy sharing with and learning from new Krag owners!

Looks like you have made a great first start to your Krag rifle collection. Your Krag rifle serial number 223502 started life as a Krag rifle somewhere around early 1900. The Model 1898 Krag was the most produced Krag rifle and the cartouche on the left side of the stock shows the date the stock was produced but did not always get mated to the receiver at that exact time. So, your stock dated 1899 may be the original stock that was used when this Model 1898 rifle was initially produced at Springfield Armory. The cartouche has the initials of J. Sumner Adams who was an assistant foreman at Springfield Armory when these rifles were produced. The fancy "P" behind the trigger guard is a proof mark. Your rifle's serial number is not listed in the Springfield Research Service manuals of known documented serial numbers for Krag rifles and carbines. Documented Krags have more collector's interest and value but yours appears to be very correct and possibly original as produced at Springfield Armory which makes it quite collectible to many of us Krag purists.

The stock is the original length uncut and the front sight and rear 1902 sight look to be correct for this rifle also. Krag rifles often had different sights depending on when the rifle was built or rebuilt by the armory. This is an area of a lot of confusion to many of us as we start to learn about Krags.

The rear sight screw and trigger guard screws look almost untouched which could mean the sight and hand guard and trigger guard were never removed from your rifle. The patina looks very close to matching on most parts which is good also.

Your bore shows typical signs of some pitting from the corrosive mercuric primers from that era but the rifling looks good and the rifle probably will still shoot well.

cont'd

'Lead_Snowstorm' - Welcome to the KCA Forum. You have purchased a nice example of a U.S. Model 1898 Krag.

My information varies slightly from what 'Whig' has concisely reported.

I believe your Krag was assembled around August or September, 1899. Your stock's 'Acceptance Cartouche', dated 1899, agrees nicely with the probable manufacture period.

The screw 'slots' on your Krag are clean and crisp, a good sign this rifle hasn't been 'messed with'.

Your Krag has a legitimate version of the 1902 (Dickson) sight. Yours is the version that used a re-contoured (1898) eyepiece on a 1902 base.

When first manufactured, your Krag likely had the three "V" notch model 1898 rear-sight and a shorter front-blade.
This sight combination was for the newly introduced 2,200 FPS cartridge.

When bolt-lugs began to crack, the Ordnance Department went back to the 2,000 FPS load. The model 1898 sights became obsolete and were likely removed.

The shorter 1898 sight- bases were likely sold for scrap. The leaf and reshaped 'eyepiece' were used to make some model 1902 sights.

BTW - The front sight blade, that is used with the 1902 rear-sight, measures approximately .413 inches in height, when removed from the barrel mounted base.

Photo attached of an original model 1898 rifle sight:

Butlers:  I have numerous resources that have differing dates of manufacture for Krags. I have never known which one to use and trust. I frequently have differing dates than others state, like you.

Please tell me which resource you use and trust for dates of manufacture. I'd like to use whatever most people agree on. I know there are many inaccurate sights with Krag info. I try to rely on Mallory as much as I can.

Thanks for clarifying this for me!

It would be nice to have the KCA officially adopt an acceptable list to prevent confusion. I trust Mook and Joe Farmer. I know about Bowers but there is still a ton of conflicting info.

I also have been told Poyer's is not always correct.

Thanks for your references though!

Awesome info, especially the rear sight - that had me a bit confused.  Didn't look like the pictures of the 1902 sights I'd seen, but didn't look exactly like the 1898s either.

Glad to hear the opinion about value - I found this one online, and with shipping and transfer fees I'm into it for about $770.  This particular rifle filled the gap in my collection between the 1873 and the 1903.  Have to decide now if I want to focus on getting more of the variants of the cartridge era (1884, 92/96 Krags, carbines, etc) or to go farther back in time...

Alas, the butt trap was empty.  Double alas, I haven't fired it yet.  I have to admit right now I'm in a 'collecting' phase - with a couple of toddlers I have some time to shop, little enough time/space to shoot and clean...! 

Here are some photos of the front sight...let me know if any other photos would be useful:

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Lead- Thanks for the additional pictures. Nothing surprising or concerning. There is honest wear to the barrel and parts but it all looks to be fairly consistent throughout which is something we like to see.

If parts had been changed in the recent past 50 years or so outside of the armory, the wear and patina usually don't match. That makes us suspicious that someone buggered with the rifle who may have done some hidden damage. But, yours looks real good and hopefully will be a great shooter when you get some ammo.

Like you, I bought a Springfield Trapdoor rifle a while ago to add to my collection of Krags because there is a lot of similarity in the Springfield rifles and you can follow the progress made in military firearms by collecting pieces from different times and battles. The Krag has a wonderful variety in its short history to keep you looking and learning for years.

Keep collecting and keep the pictures coming. Thanks.