Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 Cadet Rifle

About the Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 Cadet Rifle

The Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 Cadet Rifle is a bolt-action rifle chambered in .30-40 Krag, a scarce short-run variant of the U.S. Model 1896 service rifle produced at Springfield Armory for training cadets at the military academies. It kept the full 30-inch barrel and 49-inch length of the standard rifle but reverted to the Model 1892 pattern of storing a cleaning rod beneath the barrel rather than in a butt trap, and it omitted the sling swivels while fitting spring-retained barrel bands. Only about 400 were made before the configuration was dropped, making surviving examples among the rarest Krags.

The Cadet Rifle was a purpose-built training arm for the corps of cadets, chosen to keep young soldiers drilling on the same .30-40 Krag action that armed the regular Army during the Spanish-American War. Its return to an under-barrel cleaning rod and springy barrel bands proved a short-lived experiment, and its tiny production run has made it a prized rarity among Krag collectors.

Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 Cadet Rifle specifications

Distinguished from the standard Model 1896 rifle by its under-barrel cleaning rod, spring-retained barrel bands, and absence of sling swivels. Roughly 400 produced before discontinuation, and quickly overtaken by the Model 1898.