Basic Krag cavalry carbines had 22″ barrels and the same type open sights (on ’96 versions) but graduated from 700 to 2,000 yards. Carbines were made in Models 1892 (only a couple of prototypes), 1896, 1898 and 1899. An unaltered Model 1896 carbine is immediately evident by the raised hump on the barrel band put there to protect the rear sight. LSB#: 170314JS04 Make: Springfield Armory Model: 1899 Krag Carbine Serial Number: 348854 Year of Manufacture: September, 1901 (see page 236 of The American Krag Rifle and Carbine by Joe Poyer) Caliber:.30-40 Krag Action Type: Bolt Action, Fed by Side Mounted Magazine Markings: The left side of the receiver is marked “U.S. / MODEL 1899.SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
![1898 1898](/uploads/1/1/7/7/117780714/534834116.jpg)
- Guns
- The Galleries
- Museums
- Gun Info & Research
The Galleries
- Theodore Roosevelt and Elegant Arms - 1880s to 1920s
The Model 1899 Krag Carbine, which was manufactured until 1902,was the final variant of the Krag-Jorgensen rifle to bemanufactured by the U.S. Armory at Springfield. Approximately36,000 were produced before production was halted due to theadoption of the Mauser-patterned Model 1903 Springfield rifles.
Named for its inventors, Norwegian Royal Artillery officer OleHermann Johannes Krag and civilian Erik Jorgensen, theKrag-Jorgensen rifle was the first small-caliber smokeless powerrepeating long arm to be adopted by the U.S. Army. This rifle alsomarked the beginning of the change from large-caliber/low muzzlevelocity ammunition to smaller caliber/higher energy rounds formilitary applications, and the demise of the Springfieldsocket-style bayonet, which was finally replaced by a knife-styleblade. Although invented in Norway, the U.S. version was patternedafter the Model 1889 rifle which was then the standard infantry armof Denmark.
The Norwegian government did not adopt this design for itsmilitary forces until 1894. Some of these rifles continued inservice with Norway's armed forces through the Second World War,long after they had been replaced elsewhere. The U.S. Army held aseries of trials beginning in 1878 in hopes of finding a suitablemagazine rifle that would replace the single-shot .45-70 caliberTrap Door rifles and carbines that had entered service shortlyafter the Civil War.
Fifty-three different models that were tested and rejectedbefore the Army's 1892 adoption of the Krag-Jorgensen. Aside fromits superiority in ordnance tests, the Krag, as it is commonlyknown, was extremely reliable and could easily be field-strippedand re-assembled without the need for tools. Despite its successduring initial field trials, American armsmakers opposed theselection of a foreign design and successfully agitated for asecond round of tests against American-made magazine arms,including the Remington-Lee, the Chaffee-Reese, and the HotchkissBolt Action Rifles. Once again, the Krag emerged as the winner.
The U.S. government purchased manufacturing rights for the newrifle, then set about improving the original Danish model toproduce a nearly-perfect military arm. Aside from the original U.S.Model 1892 Rifle and Carbine, subsequent modifications yielded theModel 1896 Rifle, Cadet Rifle, and Carbine, the Model 1898 Rifle,Carbine, and .22 caliber Gallery Practice Rifle, the Model 1899Carbine, and Model 1899 Philippine Constabulary Carbine, withadditional variants appearing within these primary modelclassifications. Chambered for the jacketed 220-grain .30-40caliber (.30 Army) cartridge, the Krag-Jorgensen design utilized afive-shot box magazine that was loaded via a large bottom-hingedloading gate located on the right side of the receiver. Inaddition, the Krag featured a magazine cut-off that allowed it tofunction as a single-shot arm, with the magazine's ammunitionsupply kept in reserve.
In a later effort to increase this arm's rate of fire, 200 Model1898 Rifles and Model 1899 Carbines were modified at SpringfieldArmory to accept the Parkhurst Clip Loading Attachment. Thismodification consisted of a machined 'T'-shaped steel block withguide lip that was fitted into right side of the receiverimmediately behind the magazine cover for the purpose ofaccommodating a Mauser-type stripper clip.
This experimental alteration was later abandoned, and mostmodified rifles were subsequently stripped of usable parts anddestroyed. In addition to military service, special Krag riflesequipped with eight groove Stevens-Pope barrels were used by theU.S. 1903 Palma Team, which defeated British marksman at their homerange of Bisley to claim the international long-range championshipin a match that was later protested by Britain on the grounds thatthe Pope barrel had not been adopted for military use.Approximately 160,000 Krag rifles and carbines were produced atSpringfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal between 1892 and 1899,and all Regular Army units were re-equipped with these arms by late1895.
Krag Serial Number Registry
During the Spanish-American War, Krags first saw combat whileserving with U.S. troops, but this conflict also brought about thecombat debut of another new arm, the German-designed Mauserbolt-action repeater. Although the Krag continued in servicethrough the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, thesuperiority of the Mauser design eventually brought about itsdemise as the Army's primary-issue arm after the brief span ofeleven years.
Springfield Model 1899 Krag Carbine
With the exception of approximately 850 .22 rimfire caliberGallery Practice Rifles, production of the Krag-Jorgensen wasdiscontinued after the U.S. Army's adoption of the Mauser-patternedModel 1903 Springfield rifle. Many Krags were sold as governmentsurplus through the 1920s, including a group of modified examplessold through Benicia Arsenal to National Rifle Association membersin conjunction with the office of the Director of CivilianMarksmanship. While standard military-style rifles and carbineswere sold as-is through various firms including Francis Bannerman,some were later converted to sporting configurations.