The Swedish-Norwegian Rifle Commission started its work in 1891. One of their first tasks was to find the best possible caliber for the new weapon, which was found to be 6.5 mm (0.256 in). The round of ammunition is known as variously as 6.5x55 Scan, 6.5x55 Mauser, 6.5x55 Swedish and 6.5x55 Nor, but they are all refering to the same round although the shell dimension on the 6.5x55 Nor is slightly longer (0.15mm / 0.006"). Due to different interprenations of the standard, ie the standards of manufacturing using maximum chamber in the Krag vs. minimum chamber in the Swedish Mauser, a small percentage of the ammuninition prodused in Norway may require a certain push on the bolthandle to chamber in the swedish gun. After the rumor first surfaced in 1900, it was examined by the swedish military. They declared the difference to be insignificant, and that both the swedish and norwegian ammunition was within the spesified parameters laid down. Despite this finding, the swedish weapon-historian Josef Alm repeated the romour in a book in the 1930's, leading many to believe it is true that there is a significant difference in the ammunition. Once the question of ammunition was settled, they started looking at a modern weapon to fire their newly designed round. The processing was modeled on the US selection possess performed in the same timeframe, and considered, among other things, sharpshooting at different ranges, shooting with defect rounds, shooting for speed, and tests to see how easily the weapons rusted. How easy the rifles were to disassemble and reassemble was also tested. After the test, three rifles was shortlisted:
Mannlicher 1892
Mauser 1893
Krag-Jørgensen 1892
About fifty Krag-Jørgensen rifles were produced in 1893 and issued to soldiers for field testing. The reports were good, and a few modifications incorporated in the design. The Norwegian Storting (parliament) decided in 1894 to adopt the Krag-Jørgensen as the new rifle for the Norwegian Army. It is worth noting that Sweden instead adopted a modified Mauser in 1896. A total of more than 200,000 rifles were built in Norway, at a time when the population was less than three million people and Norway had yet to make money of the rich oilfields in the North Sea. The various subtypes of Krag-Jørgensen replaced all rifles and carbines previously used by the norwegian armed forces, notable the Jarmann M1884, the Krag-Petersson and the last remainding Remington rimfire rifles.
Subtypes of the Krag-Jørgensen used in Norway
M1894 "Long Krag". This is the most common Krag in Norway. A total of 122,817 were produced at Kongsberg until 1922 when production ended, as well as approximately 30,000 bought from Steyr weapons factory in Austria.
M1895 Cavalry carbine and M1897 Mountain artillery & Engineer carbine. These differed only in how the strap was fitted to the stock, and were issued in one series. A total of 9,309 were made between the years 1898 and 1906.
M1904 Engineer carbine & M1907 Field artillery carbine. Differed from the earlier carbines mainly by being stocked to the muzzle. The difference between the two models was only in the attachment of the strap, and again they were issued as one series. A total of 3,500 were produced between 1906 and 1908.
M1906 Guttekarabin (Boy's carbine). A simplified M1895 carbine, with a shortened stock and no handguard. They were issued to schools in Norway, and used to train boys aged 14 to 17 to shoot. Special "school ammunition" was developed to allow shooting in restricted areas. A total of 3,321 was made, of which 315 later was modified to fire .22LR. Shooting was on the syllabus for Norwegian teens until WW2.
M1912 - M1912/16 - M1912/18 "Short rifle". As time progressed, it was clear that the long barreled M1894 left something to be desired. After experimenting with shorter, thicker barrels and different projectiles, the M1912 was adopted. It differed from the earlier models by being stocked all the way to the muzzle; the bracket for the bayonet was moved from the barrel to under the stock. It was soon clear that the noseband was too weak, and the /16 and /18 was modifications to the basic design. A total of 30,118 were produced between 1913 and 1926. It was also decided that any further production would be of this model.
M1923 Sniper. The first attempt to produce a sniper rifle, but it failed to be solid enough for use in the field. A total of 630 were built between 1923 and 1926, half of which was sold to civilian sharpshooters. Most later converted to M1930 or hunting rifles.
M1925 Sniper. Basically an improved version of the M1923, built for the civilian market. A total of 1,900 were made from 1925 to the German invasion on April 9th, 1940. A further 250 were built for the Germans during the war, and the last 124 were put together in 1950.
M1930 Sniper. Another improvement of the M1923 and M1925. Featured a heavier barrel, different stock and sights and a fine tuned trigger. Was considered a successful weapon, but no more than 466 were built between 1930 and 1939.
