Bought a krag a few years back and haven't really shot it much, just recently took it out to shoot and noticed that I had a hard time closing the bolt.
I bought some go/nogo gauges and tried to see if it was maybe a headspace problem (could be not enough headspace maybe?) but the bolt wont even close on the go gauge.

I looked at the bolt and it seems the extractor is getting in the way of the bolt closing on the cartridge fully. If I load through the loading gate the bolt wont close but if I manually seat the cartridge on the bolt it will close just fine.

The extractor doesn't seem to lift over the cartridge rim when closing the bolt, any tips on how to fix this issue? Seems like a simple issue but I'm not the most gun savvy person.

Will try and add some pictures later.

butlersrangers wrote on Jun 1^st, 2020 at 5:57pm:

Thanks for the help. So I took the bolt apart and tried the headspace gauages again, the bolt wont close on the go guage at all but when I tried the no-go guage the bolt could close most of the way. Shouldnt it be the other way around?

FredC wrote on Jun 1^st, 2020 at 7:29pm:

Yep both gauges are from clymer, the go guage doesnt have any bevel on it but the no-go does. Both guages look identical except for the bevel.

Don't think I have a cutoff selector, I think it was removed in order to fit a sight. The rounds will ride from the magazine just fine but the bolt just wont close due to the extractor not riding up the bevel on the cartridge. If I put the cartridge underneath the extractor it chambers just fine.

The rims are very scared though like you said but I think thats from the extractor.

When your bolt close on a hand fed round the extractor HAS to ride up over the rim. Not sure if one coming in from the side has to ride as high to get over the rim.

There is a recess in the receiver that lines up with the recess in the barrel. Check that and see if it is full of hardened crud. Maybe it is limiting the ability of the extractor to lift over the rims sometimes.

Krag bolts sometimes get some wear in the center of the face. A go gauge with no bevel may have the outside of the rim touch the portion of the bolt face with no wear. If the end of the barrel and the bolt face are both clean, the go gauge should go any way as it did when everything was nice and fresh. If we do not get your problem ironed out soon you could send me the gauge for measurement. I would have thought a gauge with the wrong thickness of the head would be extremely unlikely but your are second in a the last couple of months with the issue. Maybe a handful of gauges escaped final inspection.

Before we go too far do your new unscarred rounds chamber easily with your "naked" bolt ? How about the scarred rounds? New magazine cut offs are relatively cheap, a modified nail maybe needed with your sight.

In all probability, the problem is the fit and relationship of you barrel-notch and extractor "claw".

If your Krag was re-barreled, the notch may not have been shaped correctly or was misaligned and is interfering at the side.

Some pictures to show how things should appear: 1. Cartridge and extractor-engagement. 2. Krag barrel-breech. 3. Cartridge case in chamber.

Study these and compare with yours to see if anything is out of whack.

If you post some pictures, maybe we will spot something.

That last picture seems to show the extractor notch that has been dug out or damaged. The edges are not smooth. Maybe the receiver has been altered or damaged and the extractor does not seat well.

I still question whether or not the barrel has been changed from original.

Might be more than just your "incompetence". We have seen many unusual problems with Krags before. Your's is not the first.

A picture of the 'tip' of the Krag magazine cut-off. The orange arrow points to the tip and it is in the position that allows cartridges to feed from the magazine.

If the cut-off is missing, there are sharp edges that the cartridge rim moves across. This can add roughness to the feed and shave brass off the rim.

Grandpa's is highly recommended. You will probably never need the cutoff function. Applying a little medium strength Loctite could hold the remnant in place and not interfere with the function of no drill sights. Just be sure it is aligned correctly before applying. Blue 242 Loctite will wick in a fair depth if applied to the boundaries after correctly locating the remnant. Once it hardens it will be difficult to remove. The original cut off even though the cut off function is not needed will be easy to remove for thorough cleaning. Kind of depends what your goals are to which way is better.

I do not think we have seen photos of your Krag, seeing what you have and understanding your goals may get you some better answers.