Bubba Done Been Here

[Stephanie B]

A Bubba'd-up `98 Krag that I picked up at a gunshop a few yeas back for $160:

26209

I shot it in a club 3-gun match a few years ago.

It makes me want to have an un-Bubbba'd model. It'd probably be cheaper to find one than to restore this one. I'm guessing that when it was "worked on", the barrel was replaced, for it's too new.

[okie john]

It could be far worse...


Okie John

[Malamute]

Can you post a picture of the front sight and muzzle? Does the barrel have any markings?

The Krags used to be popular for target and hunting when they were sold cheap through DCM I believe (or whichever was the organizations name in the early 1900s). There were quite a few that were rebarreled with 1903 Springfield barrels I believe. They were set back to clean up the chamber to be able to make a good 30/40 chamber, but were an affordable barrel to work with. I dont know what the length ended up being but 1903s were 24" to begin. Having a 1903 type front sight is an indication its a 1903 barrel.

There was a site with some good Krag info, I'll see if i can find it, or you may be able to find it in a google search. It may have been attached to or linked from a 1903 site, its been years since i looked at it.

Edit: this wasnt what I had seen before, but may be on interest

http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

[entropy]

Oooo....bet that kicks a bit....

[Pacioli]

A few years ago a friend was gifted an old Krag that had been sporterized. This site was helpful...

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/index.php

[Stephanie B]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180511/53d8744a309efa535ae462f1ffd211d4.jpg

There are no markings on the barrel that I can see.


Damn the iPhone Typos!

[Stephanie B]

Oooo....bet that kicks a bit....

Loud, too.


Damn the iPhone Typos!

[Malamute]

OK, its not an original Krag or 1903 type front sight, neither the band and bead or dovetail. How long is it, measured with a rod down the bore from the bolt face to muzzle?

It may be replaced, or may just be a decent barrel. You may be able to tell by the rifling type and number of lands/grooves, but if its shorter than 22", its either been cut or not original.

I'm a sucker for projects, but finding a barrel and stock may not be as pricey as finding a clean original gun. You probably deduced the stock has been cut down, even the carbines had a couple inches or so of wood ahead of the band. Finding a cut down rifle stock to proper carbine size may be an affordable way to get it closer to right. Id not be too upset with a 1903 barrel as a replacement if original or good repro barrels were priced too high. The 1903 barrel would need to be set back about 2" to clean up the chamber and re-contoured and chambered. If the barrel is anywhere close to 22" and in good shape, Id also be tempted to fill the dovetail and put a repro of the original front sight on it and call it good. I think the Krag carbines are one of the best looking of US small arms.

Making a fore end tip out of another cut stock would also be a way to get it looking more correct. It could be spliced in under the band to give the correct tip shape and length. I may have an old stock that could be used as a donor piece for that.

Not sure what the current market is for Krags. I suspect close to original are going to be fairly pricey, altered ones are still seen for relatively cheap, such as $300-$400 range.


The Krags had a small base silver brazed to the barrel with a blade pinned into it. 1903s had a thin band with base dovetailed onto the upper band extension and blade pinned into that. Some pics

https://www.google.com/search?q=krag+front+sight&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibppaB-f7aAhWnrFQKHU2GC6sQsAQINg&biw=1242&bih=579&dpr=1.1#imgrc=_

[MistWolf]

Your Krag still has a lot cool, Stephanie. How does it shoot?

[Kyle Reese]

How difficult is it to source modern ammo for one of these?


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[Stephanie B]

Your Krag still has a lot cool, Stephanie. How does it shoot?

Be ok for hooved rats and Spaniards. Hits about 6” high at 50 yards.


Damn the iPhone Typos!

[Stephanie B]

How difficult is it to source modern ammo for one of these?


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It’s kind of seasonal, but it’s still made. And not cheap, about $30+ a box of 20 hunting riunds.


Damn the iPhone Typos!

[Stephanie B]

Malamute, to avoid having to edit your post: The barrel is 19”.


Damn the iPhone Typos!

[scott]

I've seen hunting loads from hornady on the shelves locally at ~30/box. Most of the usual suspects online have one or two loads in stock as well.

[Malamute]

A simple way to get it zeroed and looking a little nicer would be to use a dovetail filler with screw hole to attach a small front ramp like a Williams Shorty. Another simple thing would be to use a 1903 front sight band over the dovetail. Theres still bucket loads of them around.

Yeah, I'll bet its a bit loud with a 19" barrel. Do you have anyone local that does affordable barrel work? I may have a barrel that could work if set back and turned to correct diameter for a Krag.

30-40 is probably at its best as a handloaded round. It uses any common 30 cal bullet. Once some cases and dies are in hand, you can do about anything with it from the factory hunting level loads to cast plinkers or round ball loads for basement or back yard plinking. Brass would likely last a long time with mild loads or cast loads.

[Hambo]

I wouldn't be in a rush to dump kilobucks into a $160 rifle, so I'd just have that awful front sight replaced and buy .30-40 dies. IIRC Krags either had a couple of bore sizes over the years, or the bore size runs larger than .308.

[Stephanie B]

A simple way to get it zeroed and looking a little nicer would be to use a dovetail filler with screw hole to attach a small front ramp like a Williams Shorty. Another simple thing would be to use a 1903 front sight band over the dovetail. Theres still bucket loads of them around.

Yeah, I'll bet its a bit loud with a 19" barrel. Do you have anyone local that does affordable barrel work? I may have a barrel that could work if set back and turned to correct diameter for a Krag.

30-40 is probably at its best as a handloaded round. It uses any common 30 cal bullet. Once some cases and dies are in hand, you can do about anything with it from the factory hunting level loads to cast plinkers or round ball loads for basement or back yard plinking. Brass would likely last a long time with mild loads or cast loads.

I don't, not now. My `smith is moving his shop, he'll be closed for awhile. Doing something about the rifle is down on my priority list. I'd like to put in a little longer barrel, though. It looks, off, in some way.