VolunteerArmoury Posted December 19, 2018 Share #1 Posted December 19, 2018 Ive purchased an overall fantastic M1898 Krag for $400 but it has a sight like that for M1903 Springfields. Before I restore it I want to insure Im not overlooking a time when that sight couldve been added in the contemporary era & me potentially mess something up by trying to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
268th C.A. Posted December 19, 2018 Share #2 Posted December 19, 2018 post a picture for us too look at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted December 19, 2018 Share #3 Posted December 19, 2018 It sounds like it could be the so-called 'M1901' ladder sight, this was replaced by a modified 1898 sight design in 1902. Photos would tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted December 19, 2018 Unfortunately I’m on the road & the rifle has been sent home. Whilst typing this on my phone earlier I failed to realize I hadn’t specified it it the front sight not the rear. It looks just like the sight that’s on my six M1903s & distinctly not what’s on my other Krags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted December 19, 2018 Share #5 Posted December 19, 2018 Without seeing it there is a good chance it is the aforementioned Krag ladder sight, but photos will be the definitive answer. With a Krag, it never hurts to check since so many have been altered in one way or another in the past 110+ years. A noticeable difference between the Krag ladder sight and the M1903 Springfield ladder sight, is that the Krag sight lacks the large windage knob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted December 19, 2018 It is the front sight not the rear ladder sight. I’m familiar with most of the variations for I’ve had several of them in my collection but just not a Krag with a Springfield style front sight. I don’t see anything in my references regarding a Springfield front sight though I can certainly see that being a period modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted December 19, 2018 It is a Springfield sight just like this one in the photo which I just snagged from Fulton Armorys site. But again Ive already mailed the rifle back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted December 19, 2018 That wasn’t the photo I was trying to select. I’ll just return to this post when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted December 19, 2018 Share #9 Posted December 19, 2018 Hi ok, I missed that you were talking about a front sight. To my knowledge none of them ever came from Springfield with that, and I do not know that it was ever an approved repair. That said, it was not uncommon to see a M1903 Springfield front sight installed after they were sold surplus. The Krag was a very long rifle, and a lot of them were converted into short rifle and carbine configuration during the 1920s by companies like Bannerman. The original front sights required a machined dovetail, and I suspect that the companies just found it simpler and cheaper (and from a sales point of view, probably more desirable to hunters) to use the M1903 front sight. It was probably also a common repair for gunsmiths over the years who did not have the time or equipment to install an original front sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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