Gun Show Coup............

[Herb in Pa]

Scored an original Redfield peep sight for my uncut Krag. Uses the sideplate screw and hooks into the hole where the magazine cutoff goes. It's even got about the same patina as the rest of the rifle!

Now I can see to shoot it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Four Fingers of Death]

Nice bit of kit mate. Good shooting with it. I have a Redfield that I an going to fit to my pre 64 Mod 70 Winchester one of these days when I get a front sight for it. MIck.

[Jack Stanley]

Congrats on the find sir ! It really goes well with the rifle huh? :drinks: cheers

Jack

[Bob S]

Pretty slick system, ain't it? Mine have the "target knobs".

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[waksupi]

I do like the Redfield's. I picked up one last spring at a gun show, for my current Mauser project. They are built!

[hpdrifter]

Nice find. About the onliest reason I might go to a gunshow anymore; to find those odd's n end's that I'm a lookin fer. And to see all those perty rifles and pistols and revolvers that everyone is so proud of. Of course, as I get a tad older I realize that it's only money and there will be more next week.

[PatMarlin]

Definite [smilie=w: on that one Herb.. :drinks:

[Herb in Pa]

Unfortunately I now need a taller front sight, I'm shooting a light cast load that's about 18" high @ 100 yards. I have a taller front sight on my scoped Krag Sporter that should do the trick. Now I'm looking for a peep for my first 22 a Stevens Model 53.........the quest never ends!

[Bob S]

Herb:

Lemme get this straight ... you've got that Redfield sight down as low as it will go, and your light cast load is shooting HIGH? That's very bizarre. Both of my Krag/Redfields will easily zero at 100 yards with 220 grain service-load equivalents, and need to be cranked up quite a bit with 311291 and 15 grains 2400, which is pretty mild. Does your rifle still have the service barrel and front sight? If so, and you really need a higher front sight, you can make one from an 03A3 sight blade. The Krag blades are .055 wide, the '03 blades are .050: make up the difference with a bit of epoxy.

I am still perplexed by this problem, though.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Herb in Pa]

Herb:

Lemme get this straight ... you've got that Redfield sight down as low as it will go, and your light cast load is shooting HIGH? That's very bizarre. Both of my Krag/Redfields will easily zero at 100 yards with 220 grain service-load equivalents, and need to be cranked up quite a bit with 311291 and 15 grains 2400, which is pretty mild. Does your rifle still have the service barrel and front sight? If so, and you really need a higher front sight, you can make one from an 03A3 sight blade. The Krag blades are .055 wide, the '03 blades are .050: make up the difference with a bit of epoxy.

I am still perplexed by this problem, though.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Bob
I believe the front sight had been lowered in a previous life as it only stands .110" above the sight base at it's highest point. I've been fooling around with some 135 grain cast with about 18 grains of 2400. I've also got to dig up a smaller aperture as this one came with a hunting aperture.

[PatMarlin]

A friend of mine used to build up his sights with silver solder, and hand file then match the finish, and you could never tell the difference.

Anyone done that?

I've got to do that with my 1911.

[Buckshot]

..............I have one on my Krag too :-) Neener, neener, ha!

http://www.fototime.com/D0D7166B1E9D8B1/standard.jpg

................Buckshot

[Bob S]

Herb:

That sure looks like it could be an 1892 sight. Does it say 1894 or 1895 on the side of the receiver, behind where it says "Springfield Armory"?

Someone else must have had the same problem, or asked a similar question before, because I have this pic in my "file footage":

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Krag03A3frontsights.jpg


The drawing is from Brophy's book on the Krags, and the sight blades superimposed are M1903A3 "A" height blades. If you can't find one of those (even they are getting hard to find since the glut of 03A3's on the market from the CMP), you can use a framing bracket from the local hardware/home improvement store for raw material. They are galvanized steel, and the ones I get are about .060" thick. Once you stone the galvanizing off of them, they make great raw material for front sight blades for M1903, M1903A3, and Krags. Even though it was our service rifle for less than ten years, the Krags had more dadgum different front and rear sights than you could shake a stick at.

I think that short blade of yours would put my wimpy 311291 load well in the black at 100 yards, but my service-equivalent loads would be way high.

This is the little stub of a blade that I put on my 03A3 when I shoot the .30 cal 311291 load. Compare the height with 03A3 blades above:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/03A3_refined_sights.jpg

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Herb in Pa]

I guess then that it fits the rifle.....it is a '92 Krag.........94 date on the receiver, serial # under 10,000. It also has the fillet where the original ramrod bayonet had been.

[Bob S]

I guess then that it fits the rifle.....it is a '92 Krag.........94 date on the receiver, serial # under 10,000. It also has the fillet where the original ramrod bayonet had been.

Herb:

Explain "the fillet where the original ramrod bayonet had been"? Is there still an open channel on the bottom of the forestock and a ferrule on the upper band for a rod?

The M1892 never had a ramrod bayonet, but did have a cleaning rod under the barrel, like a Mauser. The cleaning rod under the barrel was deleted in the M1896, and a segmented cleaning rod was provided that was stowed in a hole under the buttplate. Nearly all of the M1892 rifles were altered to the M1896 pattern after that rifle was adopted ... the channel for the cleaning rod was routed out and a walnut filler piece was glued in; the upper band with ferrule was either altered to remove the ferrule, or a new M1896 upper band was installed; the original plain flat buttplate was replaced with a buttplate having a trapdoor for the segmented cleaning rod and a curved toe (toe of stock altered to suit); the barrel received a rounded crown instead of the flat crown of the original .... AND ... the M1896 sights, front and rear, replaced the M1892 sights.

What I'm getting at here is, if you have a M1892 that *has not* been altered to the M1896 pattern, you have a very, very rare (and valuable!) piece!

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Herb in Pa]

Bob......I meant to say the channel where the cleaning rod went. The fillet I was referring to is where it had been filled in. Front band has been replaced and barrel crown is rounded. Buttplate has the trapdoor for the cleaning rod. Here's a pic of the rear sight............

[Bob S]

Herb:

That's the 1896 rear sight. Mod 1892 was similar, but had "steps" instead of the smooth curve of the elevation surfaces. OK, it's not a rare multi-thousand "collector", but *any*uncut Krag is worth high hundreds to low thousand these days; the 1892/96's are more, especially in the condition of yours. I had two of them, including a 3-digit serial number, but they were both pretty ratty compared with yours. And that was before the divorce; all I have now is one 1898 long rifle and one 1896 "Benicia carbine".

Congratulations on your "find". Make a high front sight, and go shoot 'em all in the middle!

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Herb in Pa]

Thanks for the info Bob, this one was GIVEN to me along with a pretty nice 1917 Eddystone by an old buddy. The 03A3 is one of the early ones (?) with the 4 groove barrel.