Introduction
If you found yourself part of the United States Army during the American Imperialism wars, you probably would be very familiar with today’s subject. While I’ve never been property of Uncle Sam’s green team, I often wonder how previous generations of American servicemen would feel about modern armament. Fortunate we are to be in the position to analyze both modern military rifles and those of generations past as well. Today we will share the same walnut grip with nineteenth-century Americans, as we walk through the Springfield Armory Model 1898 30-40 Krag.
The 1898 Krag
I had always wondered where the strange name of this rifle came from, as it turns out it came from Norway. Which if you like guns and hunting is a pretty cool place. The US adopted the design from the Krag-Jorgensen rifle that was also in use from Northern Europe to eventual places like Rhodesian forces and Asia.
This US Model 1898 was manufactured by Springfield Armory just after the turn of the last century in 1902. Despite its age, this old rifle still feels fantastic. The bolt-action that is famously smooth feels better than many modern rifles. The interesting bolt lug design is much different than our modern prescription. There is a single bolt-lug that rotates down engaging the receiver in the six o’clock position, but there is another at the rear of the bolt-body that also engages the receiver at three o’clock. A spring-claw extractor runs the length of the bolt on top, and the ejector pops-up from where magazine followers typically are.
There is a bolt-shroud safety on top, very similar to the Springfield Model 1903 that replaced the Krag rifle. There is also a magazine disconnect switch that we’ll get to in a moment. The large and obtrusive magazine stands out on the right-side of the rifle. It’s spring-loaded door and follower hinge open to allow cartridges to be deposited within.
The long thirty-inch barrel is partially covered by the walnut stock that extends almost all the way to the muzzle. There are three sling-mounting rings placed along the underside of the stock, which seemed normal in those days. Also typical for the time, there was a ramped adjustable rear notch sight, with a very thin front blade sight.
How to Feed the 30-40 Krag
Krag cartridges come from a time when it was simply the caliber and powder charge that named the cartridge. The original Krag fired a 30 caliber bullet with 40 grains of powder, a step up over the 30-30’s thirty grains of powder. I load mine with 150 grain round-nose bullets, though you can use spitzer type bullets in the Krag due to its interesting magazine.
The magazine feeds in an almost rotary design, circling from the bottom right up and to the left side of the action where the bolt pushes them into the chamber. With the magazine folded open the cartridges are dropped into the loading gate. The spring follower folds out of the way during this process, but as soon as the gate is closed the follower pushes up to five cartridges into line.
During the loading process the fresh cartridges are presented on the left-side of the bolt to be pushed into battery. The magazine disconnect switch allows the rifleman to operate the bolt without feeding these cartridges from the magazine. This was likely used for single feeding cartridges dropping them in from the top of the action. And with the flip of a switch you could rapidly shoot the five rounds from the magazine.
Shooting a Relic
There is something interesting about shooting firearms from another epoch. I imagine the early Americans who shot these rifles appreciated the smooth bolt and feeding the same way I do. Taking up the first stage of the trigger I imagine the countless shots taken by Krag rifles over the last century.
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