Krag or 03A3

[fn1889m]

My local pawn shop has a Krag and a Springfield 03A3 (4 grove). Both are original GI stocks, not sporterized. The 03A3 may have some mix-master parts. Some small parts looked blued. Which would be a better rifle for Cast bullets assuming both barrels are good. The price on each is About $1,600. I could probably buy one for less. The Krag looks more interesting but I have not checked the barrel. Will do tomorrow.

Retired so money is tighter. Would $1200 be an ok price for the Krag? I don’t think it has a bayonet.

[samari46]

Before you plunk down your hard earned money on the Krag, check Grafs & Sons website to see if they have any 30-40 Krag brass. Reason I'm saying this, is that early last year or thereabouts Krag brass was unobtanium as in no where to be found. Cases were going for a buck a pop. I have a sporterized 1898 Krag with good to excellent bore and do plan on slugging the barrel and getting a mold for it. $1200 for a Krag. Jeeze I realize prices have gone up but they are sure proud of that Krag. If I told you what I paid for my 1898 you'd either call me a liar of shoot me. And have fun. Frank

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I would look toward the 4 groove O3A3. The barrel was made for the Lyman 311284 cast boolit which is what I used on my rifle to shoot this 10 shot group!


https://i.imgur.com/SabiU6D.jpg

[10-x]

Holy Cow!!!$1,600 for a plain 03 ,03A3 or Kraig is just crazy. Not knowing where you are, you might want to go to a gun show. 03’s are below $1K unless excellent condition late WWI production that are above serial number cut off dates . WWII 03’ are below $1K, some are paying over $1K for really nice 03 A3’s, forget 03A4’s unless you have about$4K-$5K, wish had kept one I had years ago.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I shoot both with cast, and find them both to be excellent shooters. The O3a3 has better sights, especially as you get older. The 06 brass is always easy to find, the 30-40 is around now,but availability is sometimes sporadic. Grafs has some now, as I just ordered some a few days ago. $1200 for a really NICE Krag sounds OK, but $1600 for an o3a3 seems high. Actually I'd offer about $1600 for the pair, as the pawn shop probably only has about $400-$500 in each rifle.

[cub45]

Pawn shop prices are nuts around me, like said offer much much lower, you can always go up but not down.
good luck
kurt

[Larry Gibson]

The prices on milsurps in particular has really skyrocketed. It's simply supply and demand. The number of US milsurp in original configuration is finite, there just aren't anymore available because what has been made is it. In the last 30+ years the US population has increased over 100 million....The population has more than doubled since the end of WWII. That is a lot of "demand" to a finite (limited) number of rifles. Since importation of foreign milsurps has also basically stopped look at the price s of those now. A MN was less than $100 not too many years back. Now they are $300+. The suplly is limited, the demand is very high thus the price will do nothing but increase.

[fatnhappy]

I would look toward the 4 groove O3A3. The barrel was made for the Lyman 311284 cast boolit which is what I used on my rifle to shoot this 10 shot group!


https://i.imgur.com/SabiU6D.jpg

Mine a 5 digit 1903 prefers the 311290 and 32 grains of IMR 4895.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50922628567_76d5b4a118.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kzRMmB)311290 at 100yds (https://flic.kr/p/2kzRMmB)

[fn1889m]

279427
Thank you for the value check. Maybe I will just use a 30-30.

[Scrounge]

Thank you for the value check. Maybe I will just use a 30-30.

I'm really, really fond of the 1903/1903A3 rifles. I paid $100 for the first two of them I got, many years ago. About 4 years ago, my LGS got $860 for the sporter with a 1920 action. I've not seen an A3 anywhere lately for less than a grand, mostly around $1500. Not looked real hard because at that price I'm right out of the game. I'd really like a milsurp 1903Anything, and I may have to pull the action off the one I have to build a frankengun to get something to shoot milsurp. I did find a National Ordinance action with a WWII bbl here recently for money I could afford. If I can find a stock likewise, I might just swap the actions. Not looking real hard for a stock right now, either, though.

Bill

[Rich/WIS]

Good guide to prices is what they go for on the CMP forum, now $800 and up for a decent shooter A3. Krags start a bit higher and a original Krag carbine will cost you a kidney. If you want a shooter Krag keep your eyes open for a decent sporter. Have had both a Krag sporter and a full military A3 that has a replacement C stock. Still have the A3. Both were fun boolit shooters and equally accurate.

[stubshaft]

If it is any help, I sold my O3-A3 and kept my Krag.

[Drm50]

I sold my Krag last summer for $750 and it was sweet. I sold another one here on forum cheap because it had been stock Bubba. I let nice 1895 Win go for $2k because barrel had been shortened
I would look hard before dropping that kind on money on Krag or 03. ( Win 95 was 30/40 )

[fn1889m]

Someone sold this pawn broker 30 mil surplus rifles, and a few modern quality rifles - his father’s collection. I helped the store owner inventory, identify, and categorize the rifles. They were almost all in original condition - or as they left the armory. A couple Martini, one cadet, several Lee Enfields, Springfields, Mausers, and older rifles. One FN 49. And some older European rifles. The cadet was interesting. He has been selling them on GB. Will look at the others.

My casting is exclusively handgun bullets. But I want to get into a rifle. Maybe the 30-30 is a better way. I have two. The older one has very high/deep rifling that looks like it was made for lead bullets. The newer one (1946) is more modern rifling.

[Baltimoreed]

Sounds like my kind of pawn shop. Cadets are very nice. Be leery of Grafs headstamped .30-40 brass. My bud is getting single use out of the .30-40 brass he bought from them. They are splitting at the base of the neck. His Winchester and hornady brass is fine. I only shoot cast 193 gr gc boolits in my ‘03s and krags with no issues but I load them on the easy side. Here’s an ‘03 that I rebuilt from a bubba’ed sporter. Don’t have an A3.

[zarrinvz24]

I've heard it said that 30-40 is the epitome of the thirty-cal rifles for cast boolits. My vote would be Krag. Bonus is that you can probably fine one that is older than 1898, and thereby requires no FFL!

[GregLaROCHE]

03A3 hands down. Much easier to find ammo and parts if you should need them. .30.06 was one of the most used in the twentieth century and is still quite popular in this century too.

[SSGOldfart]

Any ideal what the serial number is on the 03A3? I have three at this time.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've heard it said that 30-40 is the epitome of the thirty-cal rifles for cast boolits. My vote would be Krag. Bonus is that you can probably fine one that is older than 1898, and thereby requires no FFL!

I agree with everything stated above ^^^

BUT, if the OP doesn't have a 30-06, then I'd advise getting the Springfield 03A3 (4 grove), because everyone should have a 30-06. The Krag should come after having a 30-06 ;)
that's my 2¢

[smithnframe]

I’d offer $1200.00 for both depending on condition!

[Winger Ed.]

Pawn shop prices are nuts around me, like said offer much much lower, you can always go up but not down.
good luck

Typically- if something sits there awhile, the price will come down.
They normally have a very small fraction of the asking price in something.

Back when a new S&W 'L' frame .357 was a little under $400, I was in a pawn shop and watched a guy trying to sell one.
The shop offered $35., and the guy was holding out for $40.
It would have gone in the display case tagged at around $350.

That's their idea of a 10% mark up.

[TimD]

Those prices seem very high to me. I would start loading for your 30-30 and search for less expensive rifles.
The 30-06 is hard to beat for versatility.

My first rifle was a sporterized 03A3, I had allot of fun with it and learned to handload and cast with it, but accuracy was not great. I traded it for a new Remington 700 in 30-06 which was much more accurate and allowed me to refine my loading skills.

I picked up a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 when they first showed up for $75. Later I found a Mosin Nagant for $110. My last mil surplus was from a co-worker, an 03A3 2 groove for $125. The 03A3 is the most accurate of the bunch.

If I were starting today I would not even consider milsurps given the prices.

[Krag 1901]

As much as I love Krags, that is to much for even a New 1898 of any year. I realize prices have gone up but WOW that's too much.

The Krag is great to load for and a blast to shoot with Cast Boolets, but Hey Buy an new Savage or Ruger in .308 and you will have a much better chance of having an accurate rifle. Look for a sporter Krag and have fun. I shot a couple of CMP matches to qualify to buy a new Krag barrel and put it on mine, but you know what, the pitted original shot just as well but harder to clean.