This is to be a future article. I thought you might enjoy reading it.
John
The United States Krag-Jorgensen repeating rifles and carbines deserve to be called classics for three important reasons. First, the M1892 Krags were our first standard military rifles to use smokeless powder. They were also the first widely-issued standard repeating rifles in our service. And perhaps most important, M1896 Krag carbines were used in the assault on Kettle Hill at San Juan Heights in Cuba during the Spanish-American War by Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. In fact, Roosevelt went to great lengths in 1898 to secure the then-new Krags for his 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. Most of the troops in the Spanish-American War were still using the old .45/70 black powder trapdoor Springfield single-shot rifles, and the Krag was a great leap forward in technology.
The U.S. Krag had an international heritage. Two Norwegians, Capt. Ole Hermann Johannes Krag and Erik Jorgensen conceived the basic design for the rifle. Krag, born in 1837, eventually became the head of Norway’s Army Ordnance. Jorgensen was born in 1848 and was a gunsmith who joined the Kongsberg Arms factory in 1882. Denmark produced a military rifle of their design in 1889, and Norway followed suit in 1894. In the late 1880s, the United States, aware of the advantages of the new smokeless powders and European technological improvements in repeating rifles, sought to replace their aging black powder trapdoor rifles and carbines. Accordingly, trials were held to settle on a design that could be adopted for a new standard weapon.
In 1892, the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army conducted tests of many European and American arms. Contestants included the Krag, Lee, Mauser, Kropatschek, Hampden, Durst, Rubin and others. The Krag was selected to be the new standard-issue Model 1892 rifle, but American inventors protested that they were not given a completely fair chance to compete. An Ordnance board then convened in 1893 to test additional American designs, including new submissions by Savage, Russell-Livermore, Spencer-Lee, and Blake. The board’s recommendation was that the Krag was still superior, and instructions were issued for the rifle to be manufactured at Springfield Armory in Massachusetts.
The U.S. Model 1892 Krag began to be issued in the fall of 1894. The cartridge that was used is today known as the .30/40 Krag, but was then officially designated as the .30 U.S. Army. It was a rimmed round, loaded with a 220-grain round-nosed jacketed bullet with a muzzle velocity of about 2000 feet per second. The rifle featured a flip-down magazine on the right of the weapon, which could accommodate up to five singly loaded rounds. The action could be open or closed when cartridges were loaded. There was a cut-off device on the magazine that would keep it in reserve, restricting the rifle to single loading directly into the chamber. When disengaged, it would allow magazine feeding. There was a cleaning rod fitted into the forearm of the stock, projecting from the stock just under the muzzle end of the barrel. The rear sight was adjustable for windage and elevation. The infantry-style barrel measured 30 inches in length, while the rifle itself was nearly 49 inches long. The butt plate was flat. The muzzle was also flat and had no crown. The extractor was smooth and had no provision for the later-designed hold-open pin. The receiver and magazine cover were case hardened, and the barrel, magazine box, trigger guard, trigger and barrel bands were blued. The bolt, except for the extractor and cocking knob, which were blued, was left “in the white.” These were handsome arms, indeed. The bayonets for these arms had blades “in the white” and could be fitted to the later M1903 and M1 Garand rifles. The cadets at West Point used them for parades well beyond the years of the Krag.
However, (as is often the case with new rifles in the Army), the Krag was not well received at first. The ammunition proved spottily inaccurate, and the quality of the first barrels was lacking. The rifle was subsequently modified in 1896 and again in 1898. Most Model 1892 rifles were converted to the 1896 style, with a crowned barrel and the cleaning rod being a jointed type kept under a trapdoor in a slightly curved buttplate together with a small oil can/applicator. Converted Model 1892s can be spotted because of their filled-in cleaning rod channels. Because of the extensive arsenal conversions, unaltered Model 1892 Krags are scarce and very expensive when found. The Model 1898 rifles differed from the earlier guns principally in the sights. One version of the later rear sights was the virtual prototype of the one used on the later Model 1903 Springfield rifle. During the period of Krag manufacture (1894 – 1904), three carbine designs with 22-inch barrels were produced. These were the models of 1896, 1898, and 1899. All measured 41 ¼ inches long. The first two had the classic cavalry sling ring installed on the left side of the stock. The ring allowed the arm to be carried over the shoulder with a wide sling equipped with a large snap-clip. The Model 1899 did not have a ring, as it was designed to be carried in a saddle scabbard. The Model 1896 carbine illustrated was manufactured in 1897 and is in as-issued configuration. While it cannot be documented as once belonging to Teddy’s Rough Riders, it’s a good example of the type that was used.
The Krag action was lacking somewhat in strength, having only one locking lug compared to two on Mauser-pattern arms. It did have a long lug along the bolt which nearly abutted the frame. This served as an emergency backup against lug failure. Also, when in the downward position, the bolt handle itself was another safeguard against this. The slick camming action of the Krag bolt and its frame surfaces were masterpieces of engineering. The Krag action is, even today, regarded as arguably the smoothest to operate of any turnbolt action ever made. Krags were used as training rifles stateside during World War One. My father once related to me that his Jr. ROTC cadet corps was issued Krag rifles at Phoenix Union High School in Arizona during the late 1920s. Many Krags were sold to members of the National Rifle Association and to arms merchants who often had them sporterized. Quite a number of individuals also home-modified their rifles and carbines into sporters.
Although the Krags gave a good account of themselves in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion, they suffered by comparison with the Mauser rifles that could be loaded faster with 5-round stripper clips. U.S. troops first encountered the 7mm Spanish Mausers in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and were impressed by them. Some Krags were experimentally modified in an attempt to allow stripper clip loading, but these attempts were not particularly successful. The famous Model 1903 Springfield, which used Mauser patents, began to replace the Krags in 1904. This rifle allowed clip loading, and its 24-inch barrel was a compromise between the former “infantry” and “cavalry” lengths. As the M1903s were modified in 1906, pointed “spitzer” bullets of higher velocity began to be used.
An estimated grand total of about 480,000 U.S. Krag rifles and carbines were manufactured. Inasmuch as many were lost or destroyed and large numbers were converted into sporters, any Krag in original military configuration is collectable and valuable. Most in demand are original unmodified 1892 rifles (beware of re-conversions and fakes) and Model 1896 carbines. The latter guns are sought primarily because of their association with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry of Rough Rider fame.
Many century-old Krags continue to live on and today they will still be found in the field or on firing ranges. The .30/40 Krag cartridge makes an excellent deer-getter, and the old actions are as smooth today as they ever were. Steeped in history and marking a number of firsts with our military, the U.S. Krag-Jorgensens are true military rifle classics.
(c) 2013 JLM
The U.S. Krag-Jorgensen rifles and carbines
Hybrid Mode
