got an offer to buy a semi sporter Kraig 30-40

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
I know values are next to impossible, without pics...but, curious what you think you would offer ???

original stock, cut to carbine length, recoil pad added, NOS Springfield carbine length barrel, original military sights...

I'm thinking the rifle should still be worth $225 - $250.00... I haven't seen it yet, belongs to my retired gunsmith builder buddy, so I'll likely buy it anyway, just to help him out...

since I got my walk in gun safe room completed & started hanging on the walls ( from all the crated & lockered up guns, that hadn't seen the light of day for years ) I realize I now need to be more picky about what I'm buying... ( running out of room ) I do have a few spots for bolt action US milsurps, & while this is not fully original, it is fully functional, & shoots good... it would mean just as much to me, because of who it came from... could be traded down the road, towards something more original... in essence, saving the place on the wall :o

thoughts ???
 
Whoo Hoo first reply!!!

Before buying any new gun these days the number one question to ask is, can you get ammo or componants for it? No ammo and a gun is just a fancy stick. I buy to shoot, not collect.

But a nice example of one of those guns for that price would be a no brainer for me.
 
$250 for a nice Krag, even one that's been sporterized some, sounds like a bargain, compared what original ones are worth these days.
The nicer ones I've run across seem to be multiples of that.
There's ammo available for them still, and reloading is always an option.
 
I don't currently load for that caliber, but when you already load for as many calibers as I do... what difference does another die set make really... already have plenty of bullets, primers, & powders that will work... & in fact, unless he has another 30-40, I'll likely be able to work out a deal on all his brass, & the dies as well
 
Be sure to check the bore, which on many old Krags looks like three miles of bad road. Often they will still shoot fairly well. Also, check the muzzle crown for wear due to cleaning from the front. There might be some wear there whether or not the barrel is a cut down rifle barrel. I think many Krag shooters cleaned from the front because it is a little harder to get the bolt out of a Krag than most other actions. If you get a decent one, the .30-40 is easy to load, a rather sturdy case with a long neck.
 
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The action alone is worth $250.

I'm not into selling guns, I would get the parts and restore it.

However its not my gun. If you really want to sell it go to the CMP Website and talk to those folks. They'll tell you want its worth and you could probably find a buyer.

I'd buy it myself but I already have an original as issues one, plus I have enough actions waiting to be turned into rifles. I'm getting old, I have more builds on the to do list then I have time left.
 
I have wanted a Krag to build a sporter on for years. $250 would be a very good price if nothing on the action has been buggered. I would jump on that. That is, if you can get it for that price. He may be thinking an entirely different number than you are.
 
I will note that, while the Krag action is very smooth, it does not lend itself well to conversion to any other cartridge. Conversions have been done, but generally when the both the rifle and gunsmith services were very cheap. (Krags sold for as little as $2.50 in the 1930's.)

As much as it saddens me to say so, the Krag should either be used as is, in the original caliber, or considered a collectors' item.

Jim
 
When I was a kid my best friend's dad toted a Krag while deer hunting. I wanted one for many years. Found a badly cut up example at a show around 1992 and bagged it for $85. Looks like this now...


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The Krag is very smooth and has a lot of panache. But only one locking lug so I wouldn't hot rod it. Ammo can be found but not at every small town gun store. Components are not a problem and it's easy to load your own.

I think $250 would be a very good price for a cut down Krag.
 
James is right. The Krag action wont handle high pressure rounds.

When the Army tried to increase the velocity of the 220 gr bullet from 2000 fps to 2200 fps they started cracking bolts.

I stick to the original loadings, 220 gr bullet at 2000 fps and its accurate and matches the original sights on my rifle.

The heavy pill at reasonable distances has been used to kill every animal earth, up to and including the big five.

In Young's book "Alaskan-Yukon Trophy's Won and Lost" Young talks about the Krag being used as back for hunting and dispatching wounded Grizzlies.

The shorter carbine length barrels are probably more handy but I'm and infantry guy, I stuck with the original length.

The Krag action is the smoothest, fastest, bolt action I ever used.

I've used mine in 3-Gun matches, no its not as fast loading as the ARs but the max range we shot was 60 yards, My Krag was as accurate as any rifle out there. To save an additional loading, in one state I was allowed to use the bayonet to engage some close balloon targets. Nothing like a original Krag to make 3-Gun a spectator sport.

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08252013960.jpg
 
I would buy it for that price.

Lots of components available to reload it.

If you have the room and can afford it its a great one to have.

Value will not likely go up but you can sell it for what you bought it for.

I have found the older guns a lot more fun than the newer ones (Pick up a Model of 1917 and a Model of 1903 to go with it!)
 
As long as the action hasn't been compromised, $225-250 is a good price.


Load it with some Hornady 220 gr RNs, and you'll have a great time at the range.
 
thanks for the replies guys... the price is what my buddy quoted me to buy it... having a NOS Springfield barrel, & him telling me it shoots great, tells me, it'll be plenty accurate for what I want... sounds like it's all original ( replica ) of a carbine, except for the recoil pad, & perhaps how the fore end was trimmed down from the rifle stock, may not match the profile of a carbine fore arm ???

I assume if I wanted, I could find a re-pop original contour carbine stock???
 
My dad picked up an old Krag off a boy we were staying with hunting one year. He paid $10 for it. It had been sitting behind a door in the kitchen for years, and wasnt the prettiest. Barrel had been cut to carbine length, an 03 type front sight added, along with a Lyman type receiver peep, which sits where the mag cutoff was, which is missing. The original rear sight was removed and the holes filled. The stock had been cut down at both ends, apparently for a kid, and then repaired later on. Bluing was still there, but with a lot of light rust.

I found a decent cut down stock on EBay for $30, along with another that wasnt as nice, but had the metal the other was missing, that was another $30 or so, but I put it back on EBay and got it right back. Got a nice front band and sling swivel on there too for $15.

It looks like this now......

ry%3D400



This was the first 10 rounds through the gun trying it out, offhand at 25 yards. :)

ry%3D400


Its a good shooter, and pleasant to shoot, which wasnt something I remember shooting my first as a kid.

The first rifle I ever bought with my own money, was a "real" Krag Carbine (ring and all) I got off a kid I went to school with who lived down the road back in the 60's. I paid $15 for it along with two boxes of shells. It was in real nice shape (still is too). I gave it to my youngest brother when he turned 12. He still has it and wont give it up. :)
 
I had a Krag as a kid, couldn't tell you today if it was a rifle cut down, or a carbine. Rode my bicycle the 9 miles to the local gunsmith's shop (old family friend and distant relative), looking for some ammo.

Old Red Johnson rummaged around in the back for a while, then came out and gave me a coffee can about half full of loose rounds. Most of them were GI 220gr FMJ ammo, but there were about two boxes worth of Winchester with that lovely 180gr Open point Expanding bullet. I think Red charged me a whole dollar for the ammo.

I learned a lot about .30-40 Krag performance, penetration with the GI load is startling. Good size trees are not cover, only concealment!:D

That rifle is long gone from me, but could quite possibly still be taking deer in the Adirondacks.

Today, I have both a .30-40, and a Krag. My .30-40 is a Ruger No.3, beautifully restocked. My Krag is a Norwegian Krag, in 6.5x55mm Swede, 1897 manufacture, 3 digit serial number. Sadly for the collector, it was sporterized, most likely sometime before WWII. Its still a beautiful example of a classic sporter of the era though.

If you don't have a Krag, buy it (particularly for that price). It may not be in full GI trim, but until you can find, and afford, one that is, at least you'll have a Krag, something no real rifle guy should be without.
 
They're sweet rifles. There's nothing else like them.
I would still have, and be hunting with mine (1895 DCM carbine), if I hadn't discovered a cracked bolt lug.
 
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