what do I need to know about Krag rifles

wd113

wd113

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This weekend I am going to look at some rifles. One of them I'm told ....'has a thing sticking out the side' That and I'm told it says 1896 on it, leads me to believe it a Krag.... What should I look for? I'm not reloading yet, but I still would like to bring it home. I asked if the stock went to near the end of the barrel, and I was told yes. So hopefully it hasn't been chopped up in any way. What kind of ballpark value do these have? It sounds like it will be a decent price, but I have no idea. I scrolled through a bunch of EE pages and didn't see any listed. As always thanks for the knowledge....:)
 
Full military start at $400 and up from there. Usual thing to look for is bore condition. Is it a Norwegian or a US Krag Norwegian is easier to get ammo. US are easier to get parts for. Ensure that the trap is nice and tight. The rest is just function testing.
 
Some of the early (50s imports) Norwegians were re-chambred to 6.5 x 54MS. I have one. Stay away from them as ammo is pricey and not readily available.
 
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Loading-gate on the Norwegian AND American Krags opens downward - flips OUT to the right.

Loading gate on Danish Krag has a BALL on top, opens outward to the FRONT.

Norwegian are 6.5x55

American are .30-40 Krag

Danish are 8x58R

As to 6.5x54MS, it is not easy to BUY but it is very easy to load your own. Trade-Ex has Brass. IF necessary, you can fake it with a bit of care and .220 Swift, 6,5 Carcano or 7.35 Carcano brass

Nice rifles, very smooth action.

STOCK is very weak around the action, cracks and splits are common, also not too difficult to repair. Don't be put off if you run into one with a cracked stock in this area.

Full-military Norwgians are quite scarce, full-military Danish are rare, full-military American are just expensive.

With a decent bore, they all shoot real nice.

Good luck..... you lucky sod!

Go get 'em!
 
Ironically enough... I have 2 boxes of 6.5x54MS that I ordered after I bought a 'eatons' Carcano. The carcano ended up being junk (headspace).... and now I have some really expensive useless ammo on the shelf..... thanks everyone, and thanks smellie again and again... you never fail to help me out...
 
CGS said:
That's the kicker there; if you do happen to find one with a decent bore, you better run out and by lotto tickets.
Click to expand...

Quite true. The bore on mine is crap and the groupings show it. There was nothing left of the first 1 1/2" of the rifleing at the muzzle so I cut it back 2". Slight improvement but it has been religated to a 50 yard rifle.
As mentioned above, the stock is weak. Mine had a bad crack behind the action but easily repaired. It came without a rear sight so I put on a Mosin 91/30 sight. It works. I keep this thing just because I love the action.
Canada Ammo sels 6.5 x 54MS for $27 a box. The best deal in Canada
 
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