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Have had this for a while now. Inherited it from an old uncle who, like me, was one of the shooters in the family. Dad was too, though mostly .22s and shotguns. Dad's heirloom to me was Grandpa's Belgium Browning Sweet-16, made the Febuary of the year before I was born. I've hunted with it quite a bit it (squirrels, doves & pheasants), but when Dad couldn't get out anymore he gave it to me for keeps.

I know more about that 16ga than I do about this unusual 30-40 Krag or who customized it. Most "sporterized" Krags I've ever seen were carved-up, gun-show crapola.

As far as I've checked, there's no family knowledge or records on this rifle, other than the uncle stating that gramps "shot a deer with it every year" for as far back as he can remember.

Some very interesting custom features on this Krag too ...

For starters, the stock is sleek and light-weight. It has a Schnable forend with a barrel-banded front sling swivel that drops thru the stock itself just back of the forend. It has a steel buttplate with a very fine checkered pattern - maybe off a Winchester shotgun (?).

Sight set-up consists of (1) a Lyman barrel-banded front sight (the pinned blade has a now-faded white dot) and (2) a matching Lyman rear peep sight. The rear sight is removable, after depressing a button on the top, which then allows you to take out the bolt to clean the barrel. When you re-install the sight it does return to zero.

C'mon, guys, let's get serious ... When's the last time you saw a checkered grip cap on a "sporterized" Krag?

... or knurling on the knob of a Krag's bolt handle?

The only items I know that are not original are the stock pack and the old leather sling the uncle added.

Yes, I've shot it and it groups about 2MOA @ 100yds with factory Remington 180grainers. Certainly good enough for minute-of-deer ... or moose, or elk, et al. With handloads that it likes, which includes using bullets like 165gn Spitzers, and Hornady's 170gn RN and 220gn RN slugs, it will stay closer to 1.5 MOA. But that's with me behind the trigger - a better iron-sight shooter, better groups, ... yadda, yadda. This shooting was with jacket bullets, by the way; haven't tried cast loads.

Anyway, ... will accept all speculations as to who this Krag's custom 'smith might've been.

As I said, no one on my end knows, and there's no markings on it anywhere that I could see that might reveal who took a perfectly good military Krag rifle and turned it into a work of art.

Edited by Nick_Adams (18/04/14 01:50 AM)

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