Doco Overboard
Ultimate Member
Decided to throw a Krag sporter together because, well I really don't know why come to think of it but anyway I collected a bunch of parts and picked up a model 96 action only because it had a 94 bolt in it that was worth more than the whole shebang put together and I needed it for another rifle so it all makes sense to me now.
The real reason is, these little numbers which I have no idea what they mean but could be related to heat treat lot, shift, time date really I have no idea I think that info is lost to time,
and the final machine work involved in producing an early industrial work of art, plus 30/40 is a fun round to shoot and load.
Couple things about a Krag if you ever want to piece one together. In this picture you can see two barrels. The one on top is for a 96 or earlier action. It has on the barrel stub where it meets the inner ring a sharp edge. Trying to screw one of these into a 98 or later can lead to difficulty. The one on the bottom is for a 98. It has the edge broken over and will work in the 98 and earlier with no problem. Barrel steel is soft so you can machine and radius or even relieve that edge by hand if you want to fit an earlier barrel to a later action. Or you can buy a new one from the cmp and have a top notch barrel but they still need some work, finish ream, front site solder and relieve the stock channel slightly because of larger profile. I cant remember if I did all that on here or on the Krag forum. It's out there somewhere if you want to see how to do all that in your garage for a full military resto. Ill just be blowing some deer up with this one and killing clay pigeons that hide up on the berm or one of the kids get 75 dollars at a pawn shop for a new climber one day who knows.
I was able to source a barrel with a old Redfield banded site ramp that will pair up with a peep I have and a bright shiny beautiful bore. Some sadist whacked it off at 24" which I may regret not going new but cmp 22" to short and 30" too long 24 just right and I saved $150 but we'll have to see how it goes later.
Because I'm a glutton for punishment I decided to hard fit a 98 side-plate to the 96 body. Not worth it, just get a 96 and use it, there are minor differences in machine work and appearance but the machine work is compound and too time consuming. You have to work more than one surface at a time so its very time consuming. The next image only shows one side of slowly adjusting with a stone. Not worth it at all but I did it anyway. There's a small locating in on the reverse side that supports the ejector plus a longer screw for the peep and well..... you get the picture
Something else, a Krag butt-plate is not the same as an 03 butt-plate. Here you can see the difference. The Krag is a touch longer but very similar.
In this cut down stock, Arggg..... you can see a 96 bolt well which will need inlet into the wood on a m98 stock. It's a complicated affair underneath and on the backside that was prone to chipping at the very end of that little chute and was later changed to reduce production cost/effort but some have claimed it reduced strength a minor bit. I think only PO Ackley really knows for sure all I know is that I have to make this work. This is also one way to tell a 96 bolt from a 98, A 98 bolt has a longer shank and is slightly relieved back towards the flat square root and also helps reduce the chipping.
No going back now! ha ha. Here at the front top of the stock, the barrel channel has been relieved for some purpose. I think it was for a roundel that was fit just in front of the receiver. The barrel is .980 and smaller than the front of the action. I'll make one up later on just to help give a better appearance and fill that little area in. Sort of what can be seen on the newer Savage rifles. It will look like a barrel nut but just be for decorative purposes.
Later on Ill put it together, refinish the metal/ wood and maybe do a light amateur checkering pattern because it's been some time since I did any and my hands dexterity went to hell. This is a later stock so there's a lot of wood left around the wrist. Shame it was cut off to begin with, it was probably an act of desperation so I'm okay with it for now I guess.
O, one more thing. I need to build a band for the fore-end. I might try to use a spring steel shipping band and a steel block radiused for the barrel or just make something else. Not sure yet.
Lapped in barrel stub to receiver web face plus slightly better image of barrel ends. 96 vs. 98
The real reason is, these little numbers which I have no idea what they mean but could be related to heat treat lot, shift, time date really I have no idea I think that info is lost to time,
and the final machine work involved in producing an early industrial work of art, plus 30/40 is a fun round to shoot and load.
Couple things about a Krag if you ever want to piece one together. In this picture you can see two barrels. The one on top is for a 96 or earlier action. It has on the barrel stub where it meets the inner ring a sharp edge. Trying to screw one of these into a 98 or later can lead to difficulty. The one on the bottom is for a 98. It has the edge broken over and will work in the 98 and earlier with no problem. Barrel steel is soft so you can machine and radius or even relieve that edge by hand if you want to fit an earlier barrel to a later action. Or you can buy a new one from the cmp and have a top notch barrel but they still need some work, finish ream, front site solder and relieve the stock channel slightly because of larger profile. I cant remember if I did all that on here or on the Krag forum. It's out there somewhere if you want to see how to do all that in your garage for a full military resto. Ill just be blowing some deer up with this one and killing clay pigeons that hide up on the berm or one of the kids get 75 dollars at a pawn shop for a new climber one day who knows.
I was able to source a barrel with a old Redfield banded site ramp that will pair up with a peep I have and a bright shiny beautiful bore. Some sadist whacked it off at 24" which I may regret not going new but cmp 22" to short and 30" too long 24 just right and I saved $150 but we'll have to see how it goes later.
Because I'm a glutton for punishment I decided to hard fit a 98 side-plate to the 96 body. Not worth it, just get a 96 and use it, there are minor differences in machine work and appearance but the machine work is compound and too time consuming. You have to work more than one surface at a time so its very time consuming. The next image only shows one side of slowly adjusting with a stone. Not worth it at all but I did it anyway. There's a small locating in on the reverse side that supports the ejector plus a longer screw for the peep and well..... you get the picture
Something else, a Krag butt-plate is not the same as an 03 butt-plate. Here you can see the difference. The Krag is a touch longer but very similar.
In this cut down stock, Arggg..... you can see a 96 bolt well which will need inlet into the wood on a m98 stock. It's a complicated affair underneath and on the backside that was prone to chipping at the very end of that little chute and was later changed to reduce production cost/effort but some have claimed it reduced strength a minor bit. I think only PO Ackley really knows for sure all I know is that I have to make this work. This is also one way to tell a 96 bolt from a 98, A 98 bolt has a longer shank and is slightly relieved back towards the flat square root and also helps reduce the chipping.
No going back now! ha ha. Here at the front top of the stock, the barrel channel has been relieved for some purpose. I think it was for a roundel that was fit just in front of the receiver. The barrel is .980 and smaller than the front of the action. I'll make one up later on just to help give a better appearance and fill that little area in. Sort of what can be seen on the newer Savage rifles. It will look like a barrel nut but just be for decorative purposes.
Later on Ill put it together, refinish the metal/ wood and maybe do a light amateur checkering pattern because it's been some time since I did any and my hands dexterity went to hell. This is a later stock so there's a lot of wood left around the wrist. Shame it was cut off to begin with, it was probably an act of desperation so I'm okay with it for now I guess.
O, one more thing. I need to build a band for the fore-end. I might try to use a spring steel shipping band and a steel block radiused for the barrel or just make something else. Not sure yet.
Lapped in barrel stub to receiver web face plus slightly better image of barrel ends. 96 vs. 98
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