Krag-Jorgensen Model 1899 Philippine Constabulary Carbine

About the Krag-Jorgensen Model 1899 Philippine Constabulary Carbine

The Krag-Jorgensen Model 1899 Philippine Constabulary Carbine is a bolt-action carbine derived from the U.S. Army's M1899 Krag cavalry carbine and chambered in the rimmed .30-40 Krag cartridge. Beginning in 1906, standard Model 1899 carbines were altered for service with the Philippine Constabulary by turning down the muzzle to accept a knife bayonet, fitting the Krag rifle's front barrel band with bayonet lug, lengthening the fore-end with a shortened M1898 rifle stock, and adding an upper handguard and sling swivels. This gave the compact carbine a rifle-like bayonet capability while retaining the Krag's distinctive side-loading horizontal box magazine that could be topped off with the bolt closed. Roughly 5,000 were altered at the Manila Ordnance Facility, with additional 'school gun' conversions produced at Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal.

The Philippine Constabulary needed a compact yet bayonet-capable arm for jungle and counter-insurgency service during the pacification of the islands. Rather than issue full-length rifles, ordnance officers adapted surplus M1899 cavalry carbines, marrying the handy carbine with the rifle's bayonet, sling and handguard to create a distinctly Philippine hybrid Krag.

Krag-Jorgensen Model 1899 Philippine Constabulary Carbine specifications

The official designation was 'U.S. Magazine Carbine, Caliber .30, Model 1899, Altered for Knife Bayonet and Gun Sling.' Manila-made examples frequently differ in sights and handguards from those altered at Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal, and are prized as scarce collector variants.