Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896

About the Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896

The Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 is a bolt-action service rifle chambered in .30-40 Krag, an improved version of the U.S. Model 1892 produced at Springfield Armory. It refined the earlier design by relocating the magazine cut-off to operate in the down position, moving the cleaning rod into a butt trap, fitting an improved rear sight, and tightening production tolerances for better accuracy. Famous for its exceptionally smooth side-loading bolt action, it saw service during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War before being superseded by the Model 1898.

The Krag-Jorgensen was America's first bolt-action service rifle and its first to fire a small-caliber, smokeless-powder cartridge, replacing the obsolete .45-70 Trapdoor Springfield. Its silky-smooth action was prized by shooters, but its slow single-round magazine loading proved a liability against the faster charger-loaded Spanish Mausers at San Juan Hill, hastening its replacement by the M1903 Springfield.

Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 specifications

Distinguished from the Model 1892 chiefly by its down-position magazine cut-off, butt-trap cleaning rod, and improved sights. Many Model 1896 rifles were later arsenal-converted to carbines.