Author Topic: Krag-Jorgensen 1898 Cavalry Carbine (Read 1182 times)

leverfan · « **on:** October 25, 2003, 09:21:06 PM »

Howdy, all. My neighbor and I were talking guns today, and he dragged out a Krag-Jorgensen Model 1898 cavalry carbine that appears to be in original, if somewhat battered, condition. It's mechanically sound, as far as I can determine, but he's never fired it. The original finish is worn off, and it has a nice patina with no major pitting. Rifling is sharp, and the bore looked good overall, but I don't have a borescope to examine every detail of it. It's missing the buttplate, and it's missing the contents of the butt trap (a 3 piece cleaning rod, I believe). There have been no modifications from the as-issued rifle, according to my references, so it was not part of the recall in the early 1900s. Since only about 5000 of these were made in this configuration, my neighbor was wondering if they have any collectors' value above the standard Krag. As I don't have a Blue Book, I was wondering if any folks could give me some ball park figures on this rifle in NRA "fair" condition.

Thanks,

Kevin

1911crazy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 26, 2003, 01:24:15 AM »

I would estimate somewhere between $400 to $750+ some of these go higher too. I would checkout gun broker, gunsamerica and auction arms to see exactly what they go for. Gun prices do vary alot across the country. BigBill

leverfan · « **Reply #2 on:** October 27, 2003, 08:55:10 PM »

Bill-

Thanks for the reply. Another fellow that posts in here lent me a Blue Book, and I'm leaning towards the $400 end of the price scale. It appears to be a perfectly safe shooter, but it traded "pretty" for "character" long before I was born.

S.B. · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2003, 02:30:30 PM »

Go to the Krag Collectors Ass. There are an awful lot of NRA conversions and plane old fake carbines in circulation. Check these experts out and you'll find a wealth of the correct info. They even list the serial number ranges of each year that the carbines were made.

leverfan · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2003, 03:53:25 PM »

S.B.-

Thanks for the info, it'll help to nail down the specifics. I doubt that anything is faked or changed on this one, as my neighbor is able to account for much of its history (and he's not trying to sell it to me, and wouldn't know how to fake one himself, so I suppose his history of the gun is reliable). Anyway, I'll check out what the experts have to say, and thanks again.

Kevin

S.B. · « **Reply #5 on:** December 02, 2003, 02:25:17 AM »

Kevin, you could also go to www.csp.com (Culver Shooting Page)and click on the Krag forum link. These guys do nothing but discuss Krags all day. HTH