Need gunsmith for Krag in S.E. PA

[Kypt]

A friend of mine inherited a Krag recently, but is unsure of what caliber it is. He needs someone that can determine it so he can shoot it. It's been sporterized and all markings removed so I think this is his only option.

Any recommendations?

[AR-15 BUILDER]

The Krag was made for Norway,Denmark,and the US Military .If its US its.30-40 cal.If by any chance it was made for Norway its 6.5x55 If used by Denmark its 8x56R.The Krag Jorgenson was developed in Norway and adopted by the US in 1894.In June of 1893 the last of the trapdoor springfields were made and the US Springfield Armory tooled up for the manufacture of the Model 1892 Krag- Jorgenson rifle.In my 40 yrs of gunsmithing I have only ran across the cal .30-40.The barrel should be inspected for pitting and cracks and it should be checked for headspace.

[Flash3x]

The U.S. Krag rifle was modified from the original European design a little bit. The caliber was changed of course but the also the magizine door was modified to open down on the U.S. rifles. On the Euro versions it opens to the front. Its not un-common to run into a Euro version but the U.S. version is far more ordinary. Most were "sporterized" after they were sold off as surplus. If you have one in original condition they can bring a good bit of money. All of the U.S. rifles were made by Springfield Armory and are very well finished for a service rifle. The U.S. version also has a magazine disconnect switch that makes the rifle fire as a single shot.

It probably shoots the .30 Government, .30 U.S., or the .30/40 Krag cartridge unless it has been rebarreled or reamed to something different but that is unlikely. Even though they are different names they are all the same thing. I have brass marked as all three. Remington and Winchester both still make ammo with 180gr. bullets. Expect to pay about $25 bucks a box if you can find it. The .30 in the name means .30 caliber and the 40 means 40gr. of smokeless powder. The original military bullets was a 220gr. round nose at around 2000 to 2200 fps.

I kinda collect these rifles. Between my father and I, we have seven of them. I still hunt with one and they are a great deer killer. They are known to have the smoothest bolt action of any rifle ever produced. As mentioned before have the barrel checked out by a gunsmith but more importantly have the bolt checked for cracks around the single locking lug. The bolt in this rifle is case hardened and this is the major problem area with these rifles. I have never personally seen a cracked bolt in a Krag. The one I use for hunting was made in 1897 and still works like a champ. If it still has a serial number, P.M. me with it and I can give you the model number and manufacture date.

Your buddy is going to love shooting it. They are pretty accurate and the recoil is not that bad. If you reload you can get these thing to throw a 150 or 180gr. bullet at decent speeds.