Krag-Jorgensen Carbine Model 1899

About the Krag-Jorgensen Carbine Model 1899

The Krag-Jorgensen Carbine Model 1899 is a bolt-action carbine adopted by the United States Army as a shortened version of the M1898 Krag rifle, chambered in the rimmed .30-40 Krag cartridge. Built at Springfield Armory for cavalry and mounted troops, it retained the Krag's distinctive side-loading horizontal box magazine that could be topped off with the bolt closed, but used a shorter barrel and revised stock with no upper barrel band. The Model 1899 corrected handling issues of the earlier M1896 and M1898 carbines and saw service during the Philippine-American War before the Krag family was retired in favor of the M1903 Springfield.

The Krag's famously smooth bolt made it a favourite among cavalrymen, but the carbine's light weight and short barrel amplified the muzzle blast of the .30-40 cartridge. Many surviving Model 1899 carbines were later sold off as surplus and prized by hunters and collectors for their handy size and slick action.

Krag-Jorgensen Carbine Model 1899 specifications

The Model 1899 carbine differs from the earlier 1896 and 1898 carbines chiefly in its longer forend and revised handguard. It lacks the rifle's stacking swivel and uses a saddle-ring bar on the left side of the receiver for cavalry carry.