Need help identifying my first Krag (I assume it is a school gun?)

[cantgrowup]

I only have one Krag and know virtually nothing about them. I have tried to to a little internet research regarding the sights, handguards, etc., but would really appreciate some help. The receiver says it is an 1898 (SN 1636xx), but it has what I've researched to be an 1896 rear sight, and an 1896C ramped handguard? The barrel is 22" and is turned down at the muzzle for a bayonet. It has a 38" stock ending in a barrel band/bayonet lug. It has an inspectors mark one the left above the trigger that is a box with a J and other letters that have been obscured by damage. From what I've read, this may be a "school gun" miss-mash gun that were assigned to drill teams? Or was this a modern attempt to replicate a rare "unicorn" Phillipine Constabulatory Rifle? I've read accounts that virtually all of those PCRs were dumped in Manila Bay before they could be replaced with more modern 1903's.

[cantgrowup]

I found a "Quick and Dirty Guide: Military Krag Jorgensen Rifle" (http://surplused.com/a-quick-and-dir...gensen-rifles/) that discussed the 1899 PRC and says.....

"The Philippine Constabulary rifle was produced to fulfill several standing requests for a shortened Krag rifle for high school and overseas use. The official designation was “U.S. Magazine Carbine caliber .30, Model 1899 altered for knife bayonet and gun sling.” These short rifles were produced from Model 1899 carbines and feature the 1901 rear sight with 1902 protective handguard. They were provided to various colleges and academies and the Philippine Constabulary. Production was from 1906 and carried out at Springfield and in Manila. Examples from other receivers and featuring differing sights and handguards are likely small-batch cadet production."

The last sentence could describe my rifle since it has non-standard receiver/rear sight/handguard for a PC/School gun .

[Dick Hosmer]

Probably a school gun, but nearly all were built on carbines, you have a rifle receiver. Most use a 1901 rear sight, but do NOT have the humped hand guard. The initials should be "JFC" in a small rectangle with no date below. The bayonet lug should be beveled at the front, since the intended 1905 bayonet latches a bit differently than the Krag. Not saying yours is "wrong", because in some cases they used what they had, and your basic configuration is in order. The Kerr NoBukl sling dates to 1917.

[cantgrowup]

Thanks for the info Dick. I guess that shows how mix-matched these guns can be. I was not specifically interested in its value as a correct collectible Krag when I bought it, but as a replica for my Clyde Barrow collection. The famous pics of him holding a Krag in front of the '32 Ford roadster shows a rifle that appears to be in the same configuration as mine... with the possible exception of the barrel length. The enlarged pic shows an upward curving ramp on the rear sight, and the humped handguard. The pic also apparently shows the forward barrel band/bayonet lug. Something that looks odd is that the stock between the rear and front barrel bands appears to be broken. The image seems to show the bottom edge of the stock going up a sharp angle from the rear band to the middle of the forward band, exposing the lower half of the forward band. But, since that particular rifle has never shown up in any documentation other than those pics, its actual specs may never be known.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sour...55334788484066

[Ned Butts]

How do you get the picture big enough to see that detail?? The best my eyes can see is wht looks like a sportreized forend.

[cantgrowup]

I had an enlarged picture in one of my books, and you can see the front barrel band/bayonet lug at the end of the "angled" stock, but there appears to be a gap between the bottom of the angled stock and the bottom of the barrel band as if the stock was split off. It might be a sporterized stock, but the pics aren't clear enough to say. That is one of the mysteries of the Barrow Krag.