I picked up a fairly nice 1898 Krag rifle at a gunshow yesterday. The only problem is the stock has been lost from just in front of the middle band. I feel the gun is worth restoration, so, any Krag folks here??

Numrich offers what they are calling a "forestock". It's 17 + inches long, so I assume that it is intended to be spliced in behind the middle band. Anybody have any experience with this?
If I can figure some way to grow new wood I will also need a front band, stacking swivel and handguard, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.................

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I did that, spliced in a new forend to a Krag stock. It came out fine but was more work than it looks like. I used a dowel to join the two pieces and epoxy glue. I had to strip the finish from the rear portion and then stain it all to match. Most folks can't tell it.
Bob Ray 1815

Of course the rifles are worth about half as much as a carbine, but there are enough rifles floating around that you might could pick up a surplus stock and give your rifle much more value than trying to "piece" one together which will do nothing for the value. You need to try and find a surplus stock that has the appropriate cartouche and Proof marks, or that won't be much help either.

Make the splice so if falls underneath the band. With the band hardware in place, you can't see the wood joint.

Cut and square the pieces and then use either wood dowels or I like to use threaded rod as dowel pins.
Drill the holes for the dowel pins in both pieces (stock and new forend) a little oversize. No need for a precision fit.
You're going to use epoxy bedding type conpound to glue everthing together and a little extra room for some epoxy and adjustment is helpful.

Fit the new forend bbl channel to the rifle while still a separate piece.
Get the separate forend piece to go on the rifle and slide into position in the splice with the band in position and able to be tightened.

Now epoxy the unit together. If you use pieces of threaded rod for reinforcement,,degrease them. I use 1/4" threaded rod for stuff like this. However deep drilled into each piece you feel comfortable with. 3 inches is good as far as I'm concerned.

** drill one or two small pressure release holes from the inside of the forend bbl channel down into the holes just drilled for the dowels. Don't go thru to the outside of the stock!
These small holes will allow air pressure and excess epoxy to bleed out in the glue process and avoid problems in allainment.

Put release compond on the band & screw and the bbl.
Epoxy the thing together. Tighten the band and tap the forend back into position tightly. Clamp the forend to the bbl in a couple of places to it doesn't wander around while the glue sets.
Check for straightness,,sometimes I make a small 'witness mark' or two between pieces w/a pencil so I can see if pressure is backing parts off or twisting them while they are setting.

It usually won't give you a hard time if you've done a decent job inletting & fitting and also drilled those small bleeder holes inside the forend.


Once it's all set,,carefully remove the clamps and the band (you did use enough release agent hopefully!.
Remove the wood from the metal. Inspect the joint to make sure it's solid.
You may have to reglue some voids if they appear in there. That can be done now as you close it back up again for the next step or later on.
Then replace it, put the band back on and tighten.
I'd put one clamp onto the new forend piece & bbl to keep the free hanging piece (at this point) in check.

Now go ahead and inlet the forend cap.
Once the cap is in place & straight,,then shape the excess wood between the two points (band and cap) to give the new forend the right profile.
Then stain or bleach and then stain, and finish to match the original.

Lot's of sporterized Military rifles can get their old look back with this process. I've done quite a few, though it does feel odd sometimes as I also remember the times when it was fashionable to do the cutting & sporterizing in the first place.

2152hq,
That almost sounds do-able, except I can be somewhat of a klutz when it comes to working with wood....

So far I have found two sources for the "replacement" forestock... One is Numrich which they advertise as
"machined and inletted very close to the original specs" at $57.40. The other is S&S Firearms at $45.00. (S&S also has repro handguards complete with spring keepers at $90.00)

Know anything about quality on these?

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I've bought Krag handguards from S&S in the past and they were fine. But that was probably 7 or 8 yrs ago now. Can't vouch for the quality now as their supplier may have changed.
They do have a lot of Krag parts.
Bought other small parts including Krag rear sight screws fom them (there's a couple different heights and the thread size is an odd one you won't find off the shelf)
All Krag rear sights have the same hole spacing regardless of the Model. But the screws vary in overall length & head heigth for the specific sight.

The handguards are cut for the specific rear sight also.
Make sure the sight on the rifle is correct for the Model/era and then match the handguard to it so it's cut out correctly.

Front and rear 'guard' screws are the same as an '03 Springfield. So if you need replacements don't pay a premium for Krag parts.


Never bought any Krag parts from Numrich.
But they can be either a gold mine or a mud puddle when buying parts from them.
Very hot and cold when it comes to quality and even getting the right part.
But sometimes thay have just what you need and for a great price.

Good luck on your project.
With a semi inletted forend piece, it isn't a real tough job to put things back together again.
Inletting the bbl channel is the tough part.
Having to start with a block of walnut used to be real enthusiasm killer.

One of the nicest shooting rifles I have is a '98 Krag. Great cast bullet shooter w/180gr RN.