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Krag with Springfield Front sight?


VolunteerArmoury
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VolunteerArmoury

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.

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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.

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VolunteerArmoury

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

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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.

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VolunteerArmoury

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.

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VolunteerArmoury

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.

post-373-0-65445700-1545255924.jpeg

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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.

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