Price check and info needed on a Krag 30-40

Noel

Noel

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Hi all,
I came across a nice little carbine Saturday. It is one of those litle Krag-Jorgensen(sp) bolt actions in 30-40/ 30 US Gov't.:cool:

The barrel is quite short but as far as I can tell it is origonal, 20-22" long. It has the flip open magazine on the side that tips open to load er up. Has wood on top of the barrel around the rear sight just like a military Enfield or a Mauser. Rear sight is a leaf that will flip up and has the various ranges stamped in it for a big lob.:)

I would say the finish is about 80%. Wood is the same roughly.
The negatives are a little tab that appears to rotate to allow the top wood to be removed is galled pretty bad. The little tab is serrated on the top and it looks like bubba wanted to use pliers instead of something else.

The barrel band spring loaded lock(?) has a few marks on it as well, no biggy there.

Biggest faux pas is the reciever was D&T'd for a side mount scope, which is included for the deal.

My question is what is this gun worth and how hard are they to find in the 30-40 chambering? They are asking $500 but are open to offers.

I have not seem pics of the side mount to see if it is 'period' or a late model Weaver. I will be calling to find that out tomorrow. If the gun is common I will hold out for a non D&T'd gun, would appreciate your input. I've only seem these guns in 6,5x54MS.

Any experience with this gun would be greatly appreciated too!

Thanks,
Noel
 
Dan,
I might have my terminology wrong or name wrong for the rifle but I know for a fact the one I shot when I was a kid is a 54 Mannlicher Shonear. My other buddy had the x55 Swede and the two are nowhere near the same, as you know.

If this gun was a 6,5 the bullet sure wouldn't seal in the bore well at all as it was clearly a 30 cal bore. I was also thinking in the $350 range.
Are parts very common for these rifles? I've never seen one with the top wood before.

Noel
 
Then I'm pretty sure someone dicked with it (the one you recall from your childhood), I recall no reference to the Krag having been chambered in 6.5x54. This one is most likely in 30-40, although there were some that were rechambered to 308 a few decades ago. Other then that though, they are pretty neat old rifles, with an extremely smooth action. With one locking lug (two if you count the bolt I guess) I wouldn't be hot rodding any ammo for it though. - dan
 
The original norweigan rifles were chambered in 6.5X55. For a while ammo was hard to get so many of them were chambered to 6.5X54 which was easier to come by.The most common ones are the us mititary krag chambered in 30-40. I have both a 6.5x54 and a 30-40. Im thinking of building a 444 out of a krag action like they say in The book of Rifles. They are a slick action.
 
carew said:
The original norweigan rifles were chambered in 6.5X55. For a while ammo was hard to get so many of them were chambered to 6.5X54 which was easier to come by.The most common ones are the us mititary krag chambered in 30-40. I have both a 6.5x54 and a 30-40. Im thinking of building a 444 out of a krag action like they say in The book of Rifles. They are a slick action.
Click to expand...

Do you find the 30-40 easy to find?

I just got off the phone with the shop, apparently the price has already been dropped and he figures the guy is frim on $500. I guess someone else can have it.

At least now I know what to look out for and ad to my wish list. It is a nice little timber gun and I love that action.:)
 
dan belisle said:
Interesting. Did they turn the barrel back a thread? Just curious. - dan
Click to expand...

I haven't seen the rifle in about 18 or so years otherwise I'd go have a look.
If the owner knew we were just out shooting his gun he'd likely kick me in the rump!:redface::slap:

I would have thought they were in the 54MS chambering to begin with and then changed to the 55 Swede but this kid knows very little about the rifle except for being very fun to shoot.:cool:
 
I think for rechambering them to 6.5x54 they did set the barrel back a thread. The 30-40 isnt hard to find if you know where to look. The most i have paid for one was 275 but a fellow saw it and then wanted it more then i did. I let him have it for 400.
 
I'd sure be happy if I did find one for $275! I have learned the hard way it is easier to pay a little more for condition lately but I have never watched the market for Krags. That will change now. I did a little shopping and found this picture, it is near identical to the one I saw, an 1898 Cabine.
189820Krag20Carbine.jpg


What kind of loads are you guys using in these guns? Would be nice to try and copy cat the origonal one the sights are regulated. I haven't much interest in hot rodding this one at all.

Thanks,
Noel
 
Hey joey! Welcome to CGN. I actually sold your boy one of my beloved Brno 21's, the hardest one to ever box up. But the good part is that money is helping me aquire some of the missing family guns which is why I am looking for the 30-40. I am intrigued tho, let's make medicine.

Noel
 
It would be well nigh impossible to rechamber a 6.5x55 Krag to 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer. The MS cartridge case is smaller in diameter, all the way from head to shoulder, than the Swedish one. Setting the barrel back one thread would not change this. The Norwegian Krags were made in 6.5x55. If one is in 6.5x54, either it has been rebarrelled, or there is the remote possibility that the chamber has been sleeved.
IF this .30-40 is an original US Krag cavalry carbine, it is too bloody bad that bubba got to it. In original unaltered condition, US Krag carbines are not common, and have significant value. Unaltered Krag rifles are also valuable, but if this one was a rifle, and has been altered, it is worth no more than what someone would pay for a shooter. Probably the easiest way to determine if the gun is a carbine or a cut down rifle is to look at the end of the forend. If there was a groove for a cleaning rod, it is a stock from a cut down rifle. If there was no provision for a rod, its a carbine stock, and a tear should be shed, and a curse placed on bubba's head, and his childrens' heads, unto the third and fourth generations.
There are Norwegian Krags that have been converted into sporting rifles in .243 and .308. There are differences of opinion about whether these are safe. The folks who shoot them don't report that they have blown up. The Norwegian Krag action is somewhat stronger than the US Krag action. A US Krag converted to .243 or .308 would probably be considered to be outright dangerous.
.30-40 Krag ammunition is commercially available. The original load was a 220 grain roundnosed bullet at around 2200fps, essentially the ballistic twin of the .303 British 215 grain Mk. VI load.
 
triaq, it was the genuine carbine, so start shedding your tearss and cursing bubba's clan. Like I said, it was all origonal, nothing looked hacked off at all, just four poorly tapped holes across the whole roll mark on the receiver.

So when bubba goes to his Smith to get it chamged to another cartridge, are there magazine modifacations needed? I find it hard to believe one chambered in the MS can be changed all the way up to a 30-40 and still function nicely.

It was mentioned here about rebarreling one to 444, another cool option would be the 405 Winchester. Something that was loaded more mildly and still a period cartridge.
 
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If it is a US carbine, it never was a 6.5x54 or 6.5x55. US krags were made only in .30-40. The US action is not quite the same as a Norwegian one, which is why it is considered to be weaker.
I have no idea what magazine changes would be required to convert a US Krag to another calibre. The cost will likely exceed the value of the converted carbine, after all the work has been done. New barrel, $350, fitting probably another $250 or more, then whatever action and stock work would be necessary.
A fine US carbine would be worth way over a thousand dollars.
Had a quick look, one on the GunsAmerica site with a pitted bore, 50% blue, extra holes in the stock from swivels, $1500. Apparently Krag carbines sell for $1500 - $2500. An exceptional one would likely go higher.
 
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ok, if it's an orginial carbine then $500 would not be considered a bad price if it's a bubba, it's not worth more then $200, and even that is generous. remington and winchester still load .30-40 ammo, and if you handload the brass is easy to make just run a .303 case through the .30-40 full length die. i shoot and load for 3 Krags, a US 1898 Bubba in .30-40 and a pair of bubba'd Norweigians. one in the original 6.5x55, and one 6.5x54 M/S conversion(thanks Slimbo).i'm thinking of getting a 3rd Norske and converting it to 7x57....
 
Hey Kevin, I was hoping you would chime in!

Other than the D&T is is a very nice little gun. It just wouldn't look right with a scope on it. IMO.
Have you found a specific bullet that works best? I was thinking 220 Hornady.
 
i was loading the Sierra 220 over 41 grains of H4350. never chrony'ed it but was happy. with these old timers i'd recommend cleaning the barrel with a good copper cutter like CR10. when i first got mine it wouldn't touch paper at 100 yards and was all over the place and keyholeing at 50. copper cleaned it and a black sludge ran out the barrel. 2 hours later the patches where still coming out blue. by the end of it, it has hunting accuracy enough for 100 yards. bubba chopped it back to 19 inches makes a good little bush gun, stout recoil though, almost as bad as my .358 Norma Magnum!
 
I seem to recall the Mannlicher Shoener(sp) to be enough in the little gun too.

19" barrels are no fun in my books. My ears want to bleed when I just hold something that short. What is the factory carbine length?
 
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