Which Krag?
- Thread starter sean69
- Start date
Somebody sportered the Krag by shortening the barrel. The only way to re-attach the front sight is to desolder the sleeve, mill a step in the barrel and solder the sleeve back on. The bayonett lug can not be removed without removing the front sight since they are both on the same sleeve. The hole in the frontsight base is for a pin. On top of the original barrels there was a notch. When the sleeve was put on and the pin inserted, the sight would be i line and the sight could be soldered on. I've seen many guys from north America post Krags with barrels cut down and bayo.lugs ground off in a similar fashion. Some 50000+ Krags was surplussed to american dealers in the 1950's. My guess is that some dealer sporterized lots of Krags before selling them.
there is no sleeve on this barrel, besides a sleeve would no longer fit if this was cut down from 30" to 22" due to the taper of the barrel - you would have to re-machine that step in - which appears to be about 2" long - this one is only about an inch. The lug is too short to have been a bayonet lug only about 15mm, it is a guide for a notch.
The sight base has a concave base that matches the barrel curvature, it's just soldered on top - I can see the top of the barrel through the hole. It's location makes it impossible to be anything but a guide for a pin to retain or align something on the end of the barrel.
interestingly enough the mismatched parts have a '.' prefixing the numbers too... i.e. the receiver is 96915 barrel .6915 bolt parts are .707 interesting. Nabs, same deal with your non matching parts?
Useful comment. So do you shoot factory 6.5x55 out of your Krag or roll your own?
The sleeve is there . It's clear from your pic. that the barrel has been cut down and a new step has been machined for the sleeve. You can clearly see how the barrel is thicker than the sleeve. The whole sleeve has also been cut short. I had several loose sleeves with frontsights and lugs, but I'm sold out, 'else I could've shown you a pic. If you see this link and scroll down to pic. #13, you'll see the drawing for the sleeve. As you correctly have noticed, you can see the top of the barrel through the hole. On an uncut barrel there would be a shallow notch on top of the barrel so that the pin would keep the sleeve aligned with the rear sight while being soldered in place.
http://www.kvf.no/artikkel-steyr.html
Serial numbers were sometimes shortended on smaller parts with a "." and the last numbers. On your barrel the first 9 has been omitted.
see below, the muzzle is narrower than the rest of the barrel. it's been turned down. to accept a sleeve of some sort.
there is no sleeve on this gun - the sight base is soldered directly to the barrel.
if the original barrel length was 30" that step and lug should be gone. is it even long enough to accept the 94 sleeves you are talking about? they appear to be about 1" longer than this.
there is no sleeve on this gun - the sight base is soldered directly to the barrel.
if the original barrel length was 30" that step and lug should be gone. is it even long enough to accept the 94 sleeves you are talking about? they appear to be about 1" longer than this.
I also thought these were sportered by a dealer in the 1950s, anyone have a copy of a magazine ad from the period showcasing these Krags ?
The sleeve alingment technique with the hole in the front sight base makes sense otherwise how would you know it is aligned properly ?
I also find it interesting that the shorter rifle front sight blade is still present along with the rifle rear sight with no modifications to the V notch. I initially thought my Krag would be way off target but it is bang on at 100 yards, albeit consistently at the 9 o clock position on the target.
Sean, the non matching parts all have three digits and the font style matches the receiver. Like yours, the cut down stock was cut right at one of the lightning holes in the wood. There was the remains of a wood block being used as a filler but it was loose and wedged at the back of the lightning groove.
The sleeve alingment technique with the hole in the front sight base makes sense otherwise how would you know it is aligned properly ?
I also find it interesting that the shorter rifle front sight blade is still present along with the rifle rear sight with no modifications to the V notch. I initially thought my Krag would be way off target but it is bang on at 100 yards, albeit consistently at the 9 o clock position on the target.
Sean, the non matching parts all have three digits and the font style matches the receiver. Like yours, the cut down stock was cut right at one of the lightning holes in the wood. There was the remains of a wood block being used as a filler but it was loose and wedged at the back of the lightning groove.
see below, the muzzle is narrower than the rest of the barrel. it's been turned down. to accept a sleeve of some sort.
there is no sleeve on this gun - the sight base is soldered directly to the barrel.
if the original barrel length was 30" that step and lug should be gone. is it even long enough to accept the 94 sleeves you are talking about? they appear to be about 1" longer than this.
Your pics. just confirmed what I sayed. The sleeve is there, but it's cut short. On a uncut barrel the sleeve is flush with the barrel, and the joint is so good you can hardly see it's not one piece with the barrel. A cut barrel must be turned down to accept the sleeve, and you'll get the step like on yours.
This is the shortened Krag manufactured during the german occupation of Norway. These were made up from parts or by cutting down long rifles. The barrel is cut and machined down to a size that fit the sleeve. Here you can see it clearly. http://www.kvf.no/vaapen.php?type=Rifle&weaponid=RIF0265
I found a loose sleeve in my parts, so if you provide me with an e-mail adress, I'll send you some pics. I'm not able to post pics. here straight from my computer.
I don't think either of our rifles were "Stomperuds" as the fit and finish are drastically different. The sleeve is very clearly identifiable on the reference pictures where as on my rifle it was certainly remounted with care and delicate brazing work. Lastly I did notice the double step and clear lathe marks on the "Stomperuds" rifle and on mine it is a moderate taper from the receiver to the sleeve.
I was going to post on the Krag rifle association's forum and see if anyone on there may be able to identify the variant that we have. I will also see about sharing some pictures of my Krag on here for comparison to Sean's example.
I was going to post on the Krag rifle association's forum and see if anyone on there may be able to identify the variant that we have. I will also see about sharing some pictures of my Krag on here for comparison to Sean's example.
BMF is right.
the sneaky part of the shortening is that the sleeve is cut *behind* the sight base, i.e. they removed about an inch from the back making the bayonet lug look too short/like something else and then milled the lug off. (or probably milled then cut it) the shortened barrel diameter is larger than the original so the sleeve is no longer flush leaving that step because they couldn't increase the outer diameter of the sleeve to get a flush fit.
Further confusing me, my muzzle is worn enough that you can't see the sleeve/barrel join looking head on like you can here:
looking really close at my muzzle... yea ~ it's there.
My apologies BMF - I actually thought you might be trolling us
haha
So I guess this means I don't have to worry about finding original carbine bits - a nice sporter stock will be just fine!
-sean
the sneaky part of the shortening is that the sleeve is cut *behind* the sight base, i.e. they removed about an inch from the back making the bayonet lug look too short/like something else and then milled the lug off. (or probably milled then cut it) the shortened barrel diameter is larger than the original so the sleeve is no longer flush leaving that step because they couldn't increase the outer diameter of the sleeve to get a flush fit.
Further confusing me, my muzzle is worn enough that you can't see the sleeve/barrel join looking head on like you can here:
looking really close at my muzzle... yea ~ it's there.
My apologies BMF - I actually thought you might be trolling us
hahaSo I guess this means I don't have to worry about finding original carbine bits - a nice sporter stock will be just fine!
-sean
It's OK. a lot of guys misjudge the size of their barrel by 6" (or more).
neat thread and thanks for the read. my krag has that lug milled off too in the exact same way and size. barrel is prettymuch pooched but i really like the action. anyone know another round that would cycle nicely in that action but not be as pricey as 6.5?
I always wondered about 444marlin...still not cheap but lower pressure?
Hey guys,
Got busy with work and forgot to share these images of my Krag that looks very similar to Sean's example. She certainly has some character and is quite accurate at the range with hand loads on iron sights. The wood filler piece for the lightning cut fell out so I have to replace this and keep an eye on the surface crack behind the receiver but otherwise she is in great shape. I took some extra photos of the front sight as well.
My research on the Kongsberg Vapenfabrik website and a Norwegian weapon museum website doesn't show any matches to these conversions nor any mention of modifying long rifles to a carbine configuration. My thoughts are Sean, and mine, examples were part of a bunch of commercially converted Krags probably in the 1950s or 1960s. I cannot find any commercial markings whatsoever on my rifle, only the Kongsberg and other working markings.
Does anyone know what the three brass "dot" markings on the rear sight signify ?
Hope you guys enjoy the images.
Got busy with work and forgot to share these images of my Krag that looks very similar to Sean's example. She certainly has some character and is quite accurate at the range with hand loads on iron sights. The wood filler piece for the lightning cut fell out so I have to replace this and keep an eye on the surface crack behind the receiver but otherwise she is in great shape. I took some extra photos of the front sight as well.
My research on the Kongsberg Vapenfabrik website and a Norwegian weapon museum website doesn't show any matches to these conversions nor any mention of modifying long rifles to a carbine configuration. My thoughts are Sean, and mine, examples were part of a bunch of commercially converted Krags probably in the 1950s or 1960s. I cannot find any commercial markings whatsoever on my rifle, only the Kongsberg and other working markings.
Does anyone know what the three brass "dot" markings on the rear sight signify ?
Hope you guys enjoy the images
.
