Found a Krag ..... again .

[Jack Stanley]

Was at a show and saw a Krag that someone had made a carbine out of . For the project I have being a cut down isn't a problem but good parts is a must . The downside was the barrel looked horrible and the locking lug looked like it had a crack . Considering all that , the metal being buffed to a high gloss blue on the outside metal didn't seem so bad at all :roll:
I really hate to think of what a new bolt for one of those things would sell for , let alone a bolt .

Jack

[Char-Gar]

Jack... Krag bolts do show up and cost $25.00 to $50.00 depending on all of the factors. With a shot out Krag barrell you have several choices.

1) Rebore the barrel to 35 Krag.. a great cast bullet round.
2) Gun Parts Corp sells newly made Krag carbine barrels
3) Have a gunsmith fit an 03/03A3 barrel
4) Pay a gunsmith to fit a new commercial barrel

I like to see Krags brought back from the dead. They are wonderful example of what Springfield Arsenal could produce (barrels excepted) and the smoothest bolt action every made.

There is something truly geat about sitting in the woods with a good Krag accross your lap, watching the world God created.

People spend great amounts of money rehabing old Winchesters. I think Krags are worthy of the same respect and preservation efforts.

I have two Krag sporters (remodeled military) and am building up my last Krag sporter from scratch now. I started with a good late production action, a Remington 03A3 barrel and a 60 year old Black Walnut blank.

I had to pay more for the action ($200.00) that I wanted. It came with a shot out stump of a barrel and some *** after market stock. I will turn the chamber end of the old barrel into a straight line bullet seater and the stock will burn nicely in the fireplace.

Krags rule!! Springfields are nice also!! Mausers will do for aliens!!

[Jack Stanley]

Hmmmm............... that's the second or third time I've heard somebody mention fitting an A3 barrel . How much of the back of the barrel do they hafta cut off to get the chamber to cleanup back in the 30/40 chambering ? What does the rest of the fitting amount to ?

Jack

[Char-Gar]

You have to shorten the breech end, so the old chamber is cleaned up with the 30-40 reamers. You then have to turn and thread the shank. The Krag uses square threads. If you want to use the 03A3 front sight ramp, care will have to be taken so it indexes up right.

When this is all done, you will loose almost 2 inches of barrel length and end up with a barrel just a hair over 22 inches.

My Smith is using a reamer that is cut tighter than the military specs. The old Krags have a generous chamber. Commercial ammo can still be fired in the new chamber, but ammo from other Krags won't work, unless the cases are full length sized.

This was a very common job years ago. In the 50's you could buy 03A3 barrels with all of this done and ready to go on the Krag rifle from Numrich.

This work will run between $150 and $200 depending on who does the work. This of course does not include the 03A3 barrels. I am using my last barrel on this project. I bought several some years ago for $20.00 each.

Wartime 03A3 barrel by Remington and Smith-Corona run a half to a full thou larger than commercial specs, but I have never seen one that was a bad barrel. The Smith-Corona barrels, were all made by High-Standard. High-Standard also produced some 5 groove barrels under there own name. IIRC these were intended for replacment barrels on 03 Sniper rifles.

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks , that is something I'll have to keep in the back of my mind should a deal on a Krag come along . The project I have in mind would turn into a "carbine" of sorts . I still need to do a little more reseach about both the gun and a stockmaker .

Jack

[KCSO]

John's Trading Post in Allen Nebraska has a good selection of Karg parts at reasonable prices. I know he has both stripped and complete bolts. Around here any Krag seems to go $300 or more, so rebuilding is an option. My current project is restoring an NRA sporter that someone butchered.

[hydraulic]

KCSO; That NRA Sporter is something I have to see. I'll drop by sometime next week if you're home nights.