Removing Magazine Cut-Off, 1898 US Krag

[PBSmith]

I read elsewhere that this requires only that the the pin in the thumb piece be depressed and the cut-off pulled out.

Tried - no go. The thumb piece moves and functions as it should but the pin spring is quite stiff. However, I was able to press it into the thumb piece.

Is there more to this operation than what i've read?

Thanks. PBSmith

[vzerone]

Yours must be tight. To remove cutoff, insert small screwdriver to depress the plunger and spring into the cutoff handle while moving the cutoff toward the rear and out of the reciever.
caution: the plunger and spring will be released as they clear the end of the receiver . Restrain them and ease them out.

They say never to take the magazine cutoff assembly totally apart as it wasn't meant to be. It has a pin that is staked in it.

What is your reason to take it out?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

That's what I do--use a small screwdriver and force the plunger into the lever. Sometimes you have to tap the lever rearward with a brass or plastic hammer due to gumminess from many years of oil and dirt. But, it should come right out.

[PBSmith]

Okay. I'll give it another try after a shot of Kroil. If I'm doing this correctly, with the thumb piece in the "up" position, the end of the plunger will be chisel-shaped? Correct?

Yzerone, I believe you must have posted your instruction on another site because your wording is familiar. The reason I want to remove the cut-off is that I just acquired the Redfield 102K "No gunsmithing" sight. Installation of this sight requires the cut-off to be removed.

Thanks for the help.
PBSmith

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Yes, the top of the plunger is chisel shaped. I've had my best luck removing them with the thumb piece at the half-way point between all the way up and down. I've done many of these, in fact have a parts drawer about half full of takeoffs, and it's really no big deal. A small screwdriver like one of the larger sizes used to repair eyeglasses is about right. Just jam it in the slot to hold the lever down and then tap the lever toward the rear. Like you, the reason for removing them has almost always been to install one of the "no gunsmithing" sights that were made by several manufacturers many years ago, and the hole resulting from removal of the mag cutoff lever is needed as one of the points necessary to attach the receiver sight with a little "L" shaped clamp. You are fortunate to have obtained such a sight, as they are becoming expensive and harder to locate, and Redfield was one of the better ones. If your model requires a longer sideplate screw, I hope it came with your sight as legitimate replacement screws are virtually unobtainable. I seldom buy one of these sights unless the screw comes with it.

[PBSmith]

Gebirg,
Got it with the hammer. Thanks for that good tutorial.

The thumb piece looks a bit tortured, long ago, around the pin - either a previous hack at work or else the original staking that folks say holds the plunger pin and spring in place. I have no reason to mess with that and will not do so.

No, my sight did NOT come with the longer screw. Various solutions underway there. Will report back.
Happy Thanksgiving

[Clark]

I show how to do it between 0:45 and 0:57 seconds

[J257]

PB, I've had a couple Krag's with the Redfield 102's on them. Both rifles didn't run smooth with the cutoff removed. I put the cutoff's back in and used a little red locktite on the side plate screw. I never had one loosen a bit. The side plate screw is a big healthy screw with deep threads.

[madsenshooter]

In some Krags, but not all, if there's not something in the cutoff hole, the rims will hang up in the slot the cutoff shaft normally occupies in the top of the magazine. A friend of mine who installed a 102 on his had to make a duplicate of the cutoff's shaft to keep his Krag feeding right.