Is there an expert here on the forum when it comes to military rifles? I have been able to find out a little information about this rifle on the internet. It was made for Norway in Steyr, Austria. Low SN 37XX. It is the "long rifle" with no bayonet lug and has not been messed with. They indicate that these early ones had a commercial finish. . .this one does have deep bright blue and pretty wood. Some sites indicate that it is the rarest Krag rifle and few are known to exist in original condition. Is this true? What about all the numbers on it? In addition to the SN it has numbers like .012 on the sight, .867 on the bolt, AA on the safety lever, .736 on the barrel band. At first I was concerned that all these numbers didn't match. Then I read that the only SN on the gun is on the left side of the receiver next to the date (1897). All the other number are meaningless. Is this true? I guess the questions are is it rare, is it valuable, what's it worth, what do all the numbers with the decimal point in front of them mean? I am going to unload it probably in a trade for some Smith & Wesson Revolvers. Is there a Krag expert on this forum?

Attached Images

Krag 1897 M94.jpg (72.4 KB, 82 views)

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Dr. B

It sounds like it may be one of the 4500 M94 rifles gotten from Steyr that were specificly for their Civilian Markmanship Organization.
These were purchased all in 1897 and the ser#'s run in a complete block #3001 to 7500.

The ser# of your rifle matches the bloc, the commercial finish and lack of a bayonet fitting sound correct.
Why the small parts would have different numbers on them I can't answer.
Perhaps being strictly a (civilian) target rifle, the #'s had something to do with precision fitting for it's purpose. Just a guess.

Not to cloud the issue, but there is some thought that some Steyr made Norway M94 Krags made from parts ser#'d above and below the Norwegian contracts went to the Boer conflict.
The small parts on these rifles were mismatched to the rcv'r so it goes.
But I doubt that is in play here as your rifle falls in that Civilian Marksmanship ser# bloc.

Norway had other 'civilian market' M1894 rifles made through the years starting in 1895 right through the late 1930's. But these were separate from the above Steyr mfg group,,and not included in that ser# bloc listed. AFAIK these rifles additional civilian rifles were made at Kongsberg.

Hope this helps

That is some great information. So maybe it was designed to be more of a target rifle with no real military application. I got the gun 40 years ago for $35. . .bought it because I didn't have a Krag in my collection. Never like it because I couldn't put a bayonet on it like all my other rifles.

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Dr. B

Nice toes, Doc.

"Never like it because I couldn't put a bayonet on it like all my other rifles."

Yeah, can't never tell when you might need a bayonet in the Georgia woods!

What caliber is it?

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Jimmy's opinion:
If there is any information on a firearm available anywhere it will be known on this forum

It's a 6.5mm and could be the only one left in the world in unaltered condition. . .never cut down, original barrel, original sights, etc. Since they only made around 4000 and Hitler ran over Norway in 1940, there's not much chance of a reasonable survival rate with this gun. It is a civilian target rifle. It's also an antique since all were produced in 1897.

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Dr. B

Specifically the 6.5x55mm. Very popular, then as now, in the Nordic countries for both military and sporting use. I'd say that rifle is a genuine rarity, the only problem being to find a serious Krag collector to buy it when the time comes to sell. I don't know if there any websites on the topic of collecting Nordic rifles, but there may well be. Before selling it, it might be worthwhile to delve into that before you sell it for what might be 10% of its true value to a serious collector. Could even be a candidate for sale at one of the large gun auction houses. Do your homework first.

Gunboards has a Scandinavian firearms section with a Krag section. Since this rifle was made when the 6.5X55 cartridge was in development there should be some information on it.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

I agree with the above folks. If you decide to sell it, go with one of the auction house. Your not talking about putting a grandchild through college here, but in front of the right crowd, maybe a nice vacation to where it was made.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner