PBSmith
08-24-2021, 08:55 PM
This is a follow up to my recent post regarding bullets that members of this forum have found to feed successfully through an 1898 Springfield Krag magazine.
When I started that thread, I believed the failure of my 1898 rifle to feed through the magazine was a result of my bullet selection. That is most definitely NOT the problem. The magazine will not even feed a 220-grain, copper-jacketed, factory round nose cartridge, which is close to what the original military rounds looked like. Nor does it feed any of my round-nose cast projectiles.
When I try to chamber a round from the magazine, the cartridge hangs up about 1/2" ahead of where the bolt first picks it up from the follower.. Only by slamming the bolt handle hard will the bolt kick the cartridge free from the jammed position between the follower and the side plate. Although there is an “edge” where the front of the side plate meets the feed trough of the receiver, bullets pass over this edge freely.
I can free up the jammed cartridge by simply reaching in with a dowel and pressing the follower slightly to the right (toward the magazine gate). The cartridge then slides up and into the chamber with no resistance.
I've disassembled the magazine and found no obvious snags. The magazine and its parts are clean, and the follower pivots freely on the carrier.
Two possible problem causes have entered my mind :
1. My removal of the magazine cutoff (for placement of a Redfield receiver sight). But my other Krag (an 1896 model) has the same sight and feeds as it should.
2. A magazine spring that seems to be much stiffer than it needs to be. That spring is tough as a truck leaf spring, making the magazine door very difficult to open and the hinge pin difficult to remove, even when I clamp the magazine door as suggested by an earlier thread on this forum. There's no way that pushing in on the magazine gate with the fingers would relieve the spring enough to drift out the hinge pin.
I'm wondering if the stiff spring is causing the follower to jam hard against the cartridge, in essence “pinching” the cartridge between the follower and the side plate. As I explained above, if I reach down with a tool and move the follower slightly away from the jammed round, the cartridge slides right on up as it should.
Possibly there’s another cause I’ve overlooked. Has anyone here experienced the same feed problem?
Look forward to your replies.
Edit: carrier/follower terms straightened out.
When I started that thread, I believed the failure of my 1898 rifle to feed through the magazine was a result of my bullet selection. That is most definitely NOT the problem. The magazine will not even feed a 220-grain, copper-jacketed, factory round nose cartridge, which is close to what the original military rounds looked like. Nor does it feed any of my round-nose cast projectiles.
When I try to chamber a round from the magazine, the cartridge hangs up about 1/2" ahead of where the bolt first picks it up from the follower.. Only by slamming the bolt handle hard will the bolt kick the cartridge free from the jammed position between the follower and the side plate. Although there is an “edge” where the front of the side plate meets the feed trough of the receiver, bullets pass over this edge freely.
I can free up the jammed cartridge by simply reaching in with a dowel and pressing the follower slightly to the right (toward the magazine gate). The cartridge then slides up and into the chamber with no resistance.
I've disassembled the magazine and found no obvious snags. The magazine and its parts are clean, and the follower pivots freely on the carrier.
Two possible problem causes have entered my mind :
1. My removal of the magazine cutoff (for placement of a Redfield receiver sight). But my other Krag (an 1896 model) has the same sight and feeds as it should.
2. A magazine spring that seems to be much stiffer than it needs to be. That spring is tough as a truck leaf spring, making the magazine door very difficult to open and the hinge pin difficult to remove, even when I clamp the magazine door as suggested by an earlier thread on this forum. There's no way that pushing in on the magazine gate with the fingers would relieve the spring enough to drift out the hinge pin.
I'm wondering if the stiff spring is causing the follower to jam hard against the cartridge, in essence “pinching” the cartridge between the follower and the side plate. As I explained above, if I reach down with a tool and move the follower slightly away from the jammed round, the cartridge slides right on up as it should.
Possibly there’s another cause I’ve overlooked. Has anyone here experienced the same feed problem?
Look forward to your replies.
Edit: carrier/follower terms straightened out.