A Krag Jørgensen rifle is not that expensive here in Norway. A nice one costs around 2000 nok. They are all chambered for 6.5x55 mm. Use ONLY low pressure loads for these,since they cannot handle high pressure loads. Fun quote from the German soldiers field manual: A Norwegian rifleman armed with a Krag is lethal up to 1000 meters range.
Jari Kuusisto he said the rifle was good out to one kilometer, which is 1,000 meters. But battlefield apparently nurfed it down to 400 meters. They nurfed all the snipers down to 400 meters max.
My Grandpa brought one back from the Philippines after WW2. I looked up the serial number and it was made in 1898 and wasn't issued during the Spanish-American war, but was issued to troops heading over to the Philippines during the insurrection. It was given to the providential government forces and used during the guerrillas against the Japanese. My Grandpa traded for it and brought it back to the states. I knicknamed it "Thumper" because it kicks hard and will bruise your shoulder after 5-6 rounds. It is heavy as well and would have been hard to carry all day and fight for hours with. However it is my favorite rifle because of the history and is still very accurate even to this day. It has a sight that you can flip up and adjust to 1600 yards.
during the Philippine insurrection the us troops had a hard time killing the Moro warriors due to the Moro warriors binding their bodies tightly with cloth and taking performance enhancing drugs the standard us sidearm a double action revolver was all but useless against them in fact the krag rifles and shotguns were the only small arms that could put them down with relative ease
Rock Island Auction Company Look at these guys, they want to impress me like they even need to. You're getting my money either way! But seriously I'd probably like that. I've seen a few pics and the facility looks *huge*
+TheGoldenCaulk I tried to blow my money with them before, but I failed to do so and only walked away with a big pocket full of money. What a shame, ha. Maybe next time.
1950's? I'm thinking the 70's and 80's. We used to pass around every issue of the Shotgun News till it wore out. Huge amount of surplus rifle and pistol ads. How old do you think I am, lol?
What a beauty! Whenever I see firearms of that era, I think that during that time period guns were the most advanced thing you might have owned. Way ahead of the times.
@@trondala9602 the traitor government ain't it's people,the people fought on the best they could,ether as resistance fighters or joining the British military,spiting on your brothers is just weak.
My uncle just had this rifle passed down to him from my Grandmother's side. This history lesson will help me look really smart and knowledgeable when he shows it to me. My Grandpa used the Norwegian model during the resistance when the Germans occupied Norway. Thanks for the video!
This comment got a lot longer than I planned to. I hope some of you find it interesting. Personally I consider the Danish Krag Jørgensen you got there as a prototype for the later Krag Jørgensen that were developed and produced at Kongsberg Arms Factory in Norway. In this factory alone they produced more than 230 000 Krag rifles. Note: We call Krag Jørgensen "Krag" for short in Norway. Norway is literally loaded with Krag rifles and it's pretty easy to buy one in as most of the rifles produced in Norway were produced for the Norwegian military and the Norwegian marked as hunting rifles. I believe it was only a small number of rifles that were exported. Unfortunately many rifles were worn out or hidden from the Nazis in the woods and not good environment for guns, so some of them are pretty damaged by rust, but compared to it's age it's obvious that they used good quality steel. I think it's a beautiful gun that stand out from the crowd of rifles from that time period. I personally shot at least 300 000 rounds with a Krag before I was 20 years old. I rebuilt my Krag myself at the age of 16 when I could legally buy or build my own gun. Everything except the best parts which is the bolt, receiver and magazine, were replaced. The receiver was built in 1908 and the caliber was 6.5x55 Krag. The "Krag" annotation of the caliber is very important because as you said in the video, Krag had only one locking lug and could only be safe below a specific chamber pressure and in particular the pressure against the locking lug. In practice that meant that you had to keep attention to the chamber pressure, and as a rule of thumb you should not load the rounds faster than 750 meters per second (m/s). This is the pressure reference. Some loaded their rounds to 800 m/s, but then you are decreasing the safety limit, and that is a very bad idea. In this case, most likely lethal if something went wrong because you would get the bolt in your face if the locking lug broke. Every serious shooter loaded the rounds themselves. Not so much because of the money, the ammunition is actually subsidized by the Norwegian Voluntary Shooting Association and were actually cheaper than loading them yourself, but no factory made ammunition can compete with hand loaded ammunition. 750 m/s were fast enough to get a nice flat bullet trajectory, even at 300 meter. Because of the bullet's flying properties with its small diameter, length and shape made it a very precise ammunition. The longest range I've shot at in competition is 500 meters. We called the rounds for 6.5x55 Krag for "pencils" because of the shape and diameter of the bullet. If you had a led tip you could write with it, and many did when they had forgot their pencils. Many scores are written with 6.5x55 Krag cartridges. :-) I rebuilt my Krag from a Krag Carbine to a, at the time, a modern target shooting rifle and it served as my primary competition rifle when I was an active target shooter for the Norwegian Voluntary Shooting Association (Det Frivillige Skyttervesen). It is by far the smoothest bolt action rifle I ever touched in my life. I disagree with Ian that the big reason for the smooth bolts is because it only had one locking lug. I can't speak for the Danish built Krag Jørgensens, but the Norwegian built bolt and the receiver where extremely well crafted. I have never seen such a beautiful manufactured bolt and receiver, ever. I'm pretty sure that they actually polished the bolt and every surface the bolt were in contact with. The machining tolerances must have been very strict because the bolt were very tight which made the bolt operation very precise. An insider source told me once that they had to use more than 600 machinery operations on the bolt, receiver and magazine. Most of the bolt and the surfaces that came in touch with the bolt were polished.. When I rebuilt my Krag I only kept the receiver, bolt and magazine. I don't remember the English words for all the parts, but this is what I did and I followed the de-facto standard for rebuilding Krag at that time. One big problem with only having one locking lug pointing down to the right had a rather uncommon and unfortunate effect on the accuracy. If the cartridges were wet before entering the chamber, it would increase the pressure at the locking lug and make the bullets go up to the left, the opposite direction of the position of the locking lug. When the pressure increased on the locking lug at the back of the bolt would not longer rest flat against the cartridge and that in turn made the bullet go up to the left. This was not a problem when used in the military or when hunting, but when shooting at small targets at 300 meters, every millimeter matters, literally! When I rebuilded my Krag I replaced the trigger to an adjustable trigger. The sight was swapped with a Norwegian built non-optical Busk diopter, named after the man who designed and built it. Optical sights isn't allowed. The stock was replaced entirely with a stock a made by Stein Erik Bredvold. I was an early adopter of this Norwegian legend of a stock maker, mainly because I'm a trained toolmaker and had pretty good knowledge of the importance of the small but important details, like that the barrel should never be in touch with the stock because it will give an uneven heating of the barrel that way affect the precision of the rifle. The stock were laminated wood and to be honest, it puzzles that there isn't more laminated stocks out there. They have a huge advantage over whole wood stocks, especially when it comes to temperature and humidity. Bredvold is still active and every stock he made is handmade. He is now the main supplier of stocks for the national biathlon team. He has already received the King's Medal of Merit. The barrels I used in competition were Danish. Barrels were produced in almost every country in Scandinavia, but I found out, the hard way, that the Danish barrels were the best. The precision were pretty much the same, but the Danish barrels lasted much longer. Often more than 10 000 rounds! In the video Ian says that it doesn't use clips, that is not true. We call them "hurtig-ladere" - directly translated: "speed-loaders". You can see on this page they claim that they started manufacturing them in 1920, but not by Kongsberg Arms Factory.They were produced by many different manufactures with small variance in the design. The clips in combination with the magazine design made reloading extremely fast. And I really mean fast! One discipline in addition to target and field shooting is something we call "Stangskyting" - named after Colonel Georg Stang (skyting = shooting) - were goal is to hit a reactive target at a distance unknown the shooter in as many as possible in 25 seconds . In stangskyting it's actually allowed to use Heckler & Koch AG3 in semiautomatic mode. AG3 was the Norwegian army rifle until it was officially announced in 2007 that the AG3 were obsolete. It would love to watch a mud test with the AG3. I think it will fail. The AG3 were never popular among the soldiers. Just to give you some idea of Krag's loading speed: In this instruction video from the late 80's you can see "stangskyting" in practice and also how the clip worked, and how incredible fast it is. I'm, sorry that it's in Norwegian, but I think you'll get the idea: ua-cam.com/video/eC4_g6N3aLA/v-deo.html. Here is an english Wikipedia article about stangskyting: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stangskyting There are not uncommon to manage to shoot and hit 16 rounds in 25 seconds. I have done it myself and I consider myself as an average marksman. That fast and smooth is the Krag Jørgensen receiver is legendary. Thanks for many great videos! Cheers!
I just came across this video regarding the Krag and just finished reading your story. What intimate knowledge you have of this rifle! Its very interesting what you've written here, especially that bit you've mentioned about a wet cartridge flies up to the left due to the single locking lug. Weird! I wouldn't have expected something like that. Did you learn that from your experience with long range shooting or was it a known quirk of the rifle? Something like that would have a tremendous effect on accuracy at 500 meters I'm sure. Like you said, at that distance every millimeter counts! I checked out that video of the stangskyting as well and it surprised me. I was expecting something close to the speed of clips, but that was incredibly fast! The clip was there for what seemed like less than a second and then the man was back to shooting! Also, I've never seen a bolt gun operated like that. Looks like he is pulling the trigger with his middle or ring finger while keeping a grasp on the bolt at the same time. What an insane firing speed for a bolt action rifle! Very impressive. I know I'm responding a whole year after you, but thanks for sharing your story with us. It was really fun to read, and to learn more about this neat gun from an expert like you. Maybe I will get to shoot one someday too.
Am I right that you were doing a shot every 1/2 hour of your life since very birth? Or every 5 minutes since turned 12, every day during an 8-hour working day?
og det at Både Krag og Jørgensen var begge norske. Det var bare han ene som var i danmark og lagde den prototypen(1889) samme med en dansk en. Eng: and that Both Krag and Jørgensen/Jorgensen was both Norwegians it was only 1 of them that was in denmark and made the prototype with a danish guy :) Ther orginally name`s are: Ole Herman Krag (1837-1916), og korpsbøssemaker Erik Jørgensen(Both Norwegians 100% Born and raised).
@@Rayle1993 re: middle finger on trigger & keep hold of bolt - I read some where that this (or similar) was taught / used by the british military - > rapid aimed fire ...
Wow! Thank you! But the deviation physics don't make sense. Gas expands in all directions equally. As in, no matter what shape of the container you put it in, the pressure on every point point of the container will be equal! What am I missing here?
Greetings from Denmark - and thanks for an informative video - as always!! I have both the carbine and the infantry rifle - and the cool-factor is incredible with these rifles - especially considering rifles like these are cheaper than dirt - at least around here.
There was a guy at my grandpa's VFW who talked about owning an old Krag in .30-40. This was back in the 80s. I had no idea there were that many of these still floating around!
Ian, there *is* a secondary "safety" lug on the bolt, it is under the extractor. You can see it matching against the rear tower on the receiver, forward of the bolt handle ( I am pretty sure some one has mentioned this, by now ). Thank you for covering all of the Krag - Jorgensen rifles so nicely. (:
I always liked how the Krag-Jorgensen loads. You just pop open the side and throw your rounds in. I never loaded a Danish one though. I see it is a bit different.
Something Something Something No, you got it wrong. I'm not feeling insecure when confronted by the far superior Finns. It's the Danes that conflict me. :P
+Derufinz I am a simple Englishman. I see English and I think why doesn't my nationality form a simple word and thus have to be followed by a gendered identifier?
This video inadvertently explained to me why the 1903 Springfield shoots a cartridge made after the rifle. Thanks a lot you answered an old question of mine.
Too bad certain folk in Washington DC cant seem to plug into these videos. Very informative and fun you all. I am personally not a gun collector or anything, yet I do have the foresight to recognize the importance of firearms... Keep up the great work!
I have always liked the Krag, the first rifles I ever worked on as a gunsmith were some old 30-40 Krag rifles that were the former property of our local American Legion Post and were damaged in a fire. My partner on the PD Picked up 2 of them with partially burned stocks, just around the barrel ends, I cut off and sporterized the ends of the stocks, and gave them a good cleaning. They had been Chromed at some time down the line as they were used in the salutes to the fallen at graveside for many many years. They turned out well, and while I advised my partner on the PD not to fire them because of exposure to the heat of the fire, he said a simple screw that, if the wood was good around the receiver, then the gun was good to go. Must have been as he used them for years hunting deer with great success. Oh, in the TV Series Hogan's Heroes, many time old Schultz is shown holding a Krag Rifle, any idea if this is an error by the producers (since many of the firearms on that show are not German at all!) or did the guards receive captured rifles from, say Denmark to use leaving the K98's for the fighting soldiers?
Thanks for all vids so far man, i learned a lot since i found the channel a month ago and i am always looking forward to new ones even though i won't be able to purchase any of the items, because i love learning about them guns. I especially love the polish and german ww2 guns, so just keep 'em coming!
"Krag-Jørgensen" would in Danish be pronounced [ˈkʁɑːwˈjørənsən], for any who might be interested. :-) If you don't like IPA, the G at the end of "Krag" is not a hard one, but soft. Kind of like the W in the beginning of an English word.
+Tsar Deans From a forgotten weapons perspective it features a lot of rare weapons and vehicles. Including the Krag Jørgensen rifle, the Madsen light machine gun, the Madsen 20 mm automatic cannon, panzer I and II's. And equipment and uniforms too. Only misfit is a few seconds of MG 42, probably because they couldn't locate a working MG 34.
Huh. This one takes me back. Years ago I got ahold of a sporterized dane Krag for practically pennies on the dollar in 8x58R. CH4D was the only game in town for dies, brass was a big headache to make, and I ended up unloading it on a trade. The fire bluing on the extractor and straw on other miscellaneous parts was exceptional. I wish I hung onto it. Truly beautiful craftsmanship. Gorgeous rifles. The only gripe I had with mine is that for the effort it would have taken to make it go bang, I could have very well been well on my way with my U.S. Krag which is a delight.
I've seen alot of mechanisms in rifles and pistols but i just love how elegant everything is in this rifle. Ive wanted a krag for years but 30-40 is definitely a reloaders cartridge and i don't have a reloading setup yet. Luckily as much as I love the feel of the original military setup I'm more interested in mechanics so sporterized is fine by me as long as it still shoots. One day I will own a 30-40 krag!
I have fired the Danish Krags, The guy who owned it held the rifle side ways when dropping in the rounds, I guess that is to prevent dropping em, he did it in a smooth motion, I believe you can top of the mag without opening the bolt and still keep a round in the chamber, which other designs couldn't as it would eject the round so you would have to take hold or re insert it. Very nice rifle, hope I can own one, one day, rather hard to get license here in Denmark tho :(
Danish Krags had 2 locking lugs. You can see the second lug under the extractor. It bears against the receiver bridge when the bolt handle is down. In the American version,that lug does not touch the rear of the receiver. There is a slight clearance.
I just posted a comment yesterday or the day before on another Forgotten Weapons video asking if Ian had done a video on a Krag-Jorgensen. I've thought these were the coolest guns since I read an article in Guns & Ammo Magazine on them some 25 or better years ago. I think they were testing the accuracy at long ranges.
Someone can show me their $7000.00 custom sporting rifle, and I'm yawning, But show me ANY vintage milliary arm (particularly if it's manually operated), And I go "ga ga"!!! I've been fortuate to work the bolt of a US Krag, and even at 100 years old, probably the "slickest" bolt on a military rifle!
I have an 1894 model 6.5x55 Krag - made under German Occupation - It still has the Wehrmacht stamps and ALL the plate #'s match - which is absolutely amazing...
Love this vid. I have the identical rifle, only it’s marked Haerens Tojhus, and dated 1915. This vid was more informative than anything else I’ve found on the web yet. I’d love any info on how I might measure headspace on this crazy thing so I can know it’s safe to shoot. Buffalo Arms makes some 8x58RD ammo, for two different headspace values, depending on your rifle. I’m nearly done cleaning mine up and verifying function of everything. Mines not nearly as clean, but I think it’ll do just fine, as it’s not excessively worn or pitted. Keep up the great vids!
In a fairly recent BBC version of Hamlet (Prince of Denmark) staring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, the Danish guards (this was set around 1890 or so) were armed with these rifles.
Designed by a Norwegian and invented by a Dane. The Dane came up with the system but the Norwegian made it all work and function and did his job very well.
@@schatzilodskou8446 uhm, all you Danes did, was saying it was too heavy for you. So the NORWEGIANS had to make it lighter for you guys. NOTHING about this rifle is Danish 😂
Interesting bolt removal drill. Not sure if the American Krag is like that, as i have yet to fire mine :) (1898 full length rifle). Great rifles. Nice to see the differences in the Danish one. Great videos as always. Thank you
+Bernard Bruinsma he shows it in this video.... its EXACTLY the same, jsut with a top folding vs side folding loading door. mag is just a semi-C shape under the receiver, and spring tension is applied by the follower in the loading door.....
Wow as dane am quite surprised to see the upload - Ik now it abt krag Jørgensen but thog was a norwegian - but produced in Copenahgen Denmark - what a nice gun - thnaks for the nice opload. interestign very
That wood looks like tiger stripe maple?I've always found the Krag to be interesting.I've read that it had the shortest inventory life of any service rifle in the US arsenal.
+JohnLeePedimore I have heard that some of the gunsmiths also lit the rope on fire. That seems as though it would be less than effective, though. Have you heard of this practice, too, and do you think they really did that?
I'm sure these guys tried just about everything.Some ideas were obviously more successful than others but there's not much literature on the technique.Back in the days of apprenticeship you learned everything hands on.
Dadburn Germans came up with a world beater the Mauser 98 and we just had to have a rifle like it, so much like it we got busted for patent infringement
I don’t see much of a big deal that the US adopted a Scandinavian weapon. We’ve done it before already. During the civil war, the first Ironclad to use a turreted gun in combat, the USS Monitor, was designed by a Swedish American fellow named John Ericsson.
my uncle has a few of this pattern gun, one of them is (According to him) the rifle a relative used in world war one, i shot one of them, very fun and an interesting gun to load and shoot
QUESTION! How safe is a krag chambered for smokeless if it has only one locking lug? Most smokeless bolt-actions iv'e seen have at least two locking lugs.
+Ironstorm Using the ammuntion it was chambered for within spec, no problems are to be expected. Most of the explossion of Norwegian Krag rifles we know about was wisth poor handloads in rifles that had shot many 10 000's of rounds in competition. Not to mention that Krags in 8mm Mauser might no be safe over extentended use with German MG ammo. Its worth noting that none of the nightmares concernig the Krag was known in its service life, and all such incidents was investigated by the factories, and without exception the shooter admitted wrongdoing. That it unsless you have a WW1 Norwegian Krag, the ones dated 1920-21 are known to have faulty heat treatment and was recalled in the early 1920's, but a few might still be out there.
That Krag has 2 locking logs, has do ALL Krags, one on the bolt head and the guide rib on the bolt is a second locking lug at the rear, just like the lugs on an Enfield bolt.
The Danish 8x50mm of 1908 is typical of heavy bullet 8mm's of its day, 198 grains at around 2400fps. So apparently the Krag can handle more power than it's given credit for.
I hate auto correct just sayin.... I own an 1898 Krag in VG condition absolutely beautiful rifle and April 9th will be viewed I also collect US and foreign war movies another addiction lol
The circular brass sign on the side of the butt means 7. Regiment, rifle no. This is one of the old original infantry regments which can be dated back to 1678. It has served in almost all wars waged by the Danish Army ever since. It was even "rented out" to the British Army 1689-1707. The "Jyske Fodregiment" was disbanded in 1991 at the "end" of the cold war.
If you don't cant the rifle to the left when opening the magazine door, the rounds that were in the magazine will now be on the ground. And you must also be careful that the rim of each cartridge is to the rear of the one in front of it, otherwise they will bind and not feed properly into the bolt-way.
ammo aint a problem - just go with 45/70 or 45/90 and size to 5x58rd and either live with em bein a little too short or trim to length works like a charm both options :S
Man, I remember when my buddy inherited a bunch of guns without instructions or manuals. Before the internet they were the original puzzle boxes. "How do you think you get the bolt outta this thing?" "Dunno, can you make this bit move without forcing it?"
Out of curiosity Ian how difficult would it be for me to get ahold of one of these Danish Krag's? I'm aware that it would not be cheap but they are a particularly cool version of a cool gun
i own a real carbine version 1896 not a cut-down and it's an absolute beautiful rifle.I shot it regularly. It will only be sold after my death. I'll let u know when i die !
It seems to me that the Krag has two locking surfaces, the forward lug and the rib on the bolt, which bears against the rear receiver ring, after the manner of the Winchester Hotchkiss, Kropatchek, Lee-Enfield, and various others.
A Krag Jørgensen rifle is not that expensive here in Norway. A nice one costs around 2000 nok. They are all chambered for 6.5x55 mm. Use ONLY low pressure loads for these,since they cannot handle high pressure loads. Fun quote from the German soldiers field manual: A Norwegian rifleman armed with a Krag is lethal up to 1000 meters range.
takker for info, henger en 1897 på veggen her :)
That's what you learn when you have to confront an army of marksmen !!! Cheers!!!
Then why in bfv is it only good up to 400m approx?
And with high loads, it has an 5 meter kill radious...
Jari Kuusisto he said the rifle was good out to one kilometer, which is 1,000 meters. But battlefield apparently nurfed it down to 400 meters. They nurfed all the snipers down to 400 meters max.
My Grandpa brought one back from the Philippines after WW2. I looked up the serial number and it was made in 1898 and wasn't issued during the Spanish-American war, but was issued to troops heading over to the Philippines during the insurrection. It was given to the providential government forces and used during the guerrillas against the Japanese. My Grandpa traded for it and brought it back to the states.
I knicknamed it "Thumper" because it kicks hard and will bruise your shoulder after 5-6 rounds. It is heavy as well and would have been hard to carry all day and fight for hours with. However it is my favorite rifle because of the history and is still very accurate even to this day. It has a sight that you can flip up and adjust to 1600 yards.
during the Philippine insurrection the us troops had a hard time killing the Moro warriors due to the Moro warriors binding their bodies tightly with cloth and taking performance enhancing drugs the standard us sidearm a double action revolver was all but useless against them in fact the krag rifles and shotguns were the only small arms that could put them down with relative ease
This'll get those damned O'Driscoll's.
We just need some more money
HAVE SOME GODDAM FAITH!
I HAD A PLAN
Ha its the bolt action rifle from the popular video game red dead redemption 2
Stop with the r/wooshing what does it mean?
Every video is like a history lesson. It's awesome
If you ever have the Chance could you make a Video on the Norwegian Version?
It's official, I'm going to be at RIA finally
And as planned, I'm going to lose all of my money
Something Something Something Not on this particular lot, though it is tempting
+TheGoldenCaulk If you ask to speak to the "social media guy," I'll give you a tour of the place.
Rock Island Auction Company Look at these guys, they want to impress me like they even need to. You're getting my money either way!
But seriously I'd probably like that. I've seen a few pics and the facility looks *huge*
+TheGoldenCaulk Good hunting sir
+TheGoldenCaulk I tried to blow my money with them before, but I failed to do so and only walked away with a big pocket full of money. What a shame, ha. Maybe next time.
Love my Krag's, I own several. Was lucky enough to buy guns when you could order out of magazines.
I knew a guy who had over a hundred Krags. His reason? "I like them." Good enough reason I guesd.
over one hundred? at some point just collecting becomes hoarding
@@SexyFace the most I'd ever need is maybe 3, so I could have danish, american, and norwegen model
U mean back in 1950's?
1950's? I'm thinking the 70's and 80's. We used to pass around every issue of the Shotgun News till it wore out. Huge amount of surplus rifle and pistol ads. How old do you think I am, lol?
That tiger stripe on the butt stock looks real cool. It must have been absolute flashy when it was new and shiny!
What a beauty! Whenever I see firearms of that era, I think that during that time period guns were the most advanced thing you might have owned. Way ahead of the times.
Still used in WW2 by the Danes. Great shots of these in use in the film' 9th April' about the German invasion of Denmark, worth watching realistic!
@@trondala9602 the traitor government ain't it's people,the people fought on the best they could,ether as resistance fighters or joining the British military,spiting on your brothers is just weak.
@Eric Hartmann of curse the fear of the soviets was bigger then fear of the Germans
My uncle just had this rifle passed down to him from my Grandmother's side. This history lesson will help me look really smart and knowledgeable when he shows it to me. My Grandpa used the Norwegian model during the resistance when the Germans occupied Norway. Thanks for the video!
This comment got a lot longer than I planned to. I hope some of you find it interesting.
Personally I consider the Danish Krag Jørgensen you got there as a prototype for the later Krag Jørgensen that were developed and produced at Kongsberg Arms Factory in Norway. In this factory alone they produced more than 230 000 Krag rifles. Note: We call Krag Jørgensen "Krag" for short in Norway. Norway is literally loaded with Krag rifles and it's pretty easy to buy one in as most of the rifles produced in Norway were produced for the Norwegian military and the Norwegian marked as hunting rifles. I believe it was only a small number of rifles that were exported. Unfortunately many rifles were worn out or hidden from the Nazis in the woods and not good environment for guns, so some of them are pretty damaged by rust, but compared to it's age it's obvious that they used good quality steel. I think it's a beautiful gun that stand out from the crowd of rifles from that time period.
I personally shot at least 300 000 rounds with a Krag before I was 20 years old. I rebuilt my Krag myself at the age of 16 when I could legally buy or build my own gun. Everything except the best parts which is the bolt, receiver and magazine, were replaced. The receiver was built in 1908 and the caliber was 6.5x55 Krag. The "Krag" annotation of the caliber is very important because as you said in the video, Krag had only one locking lug and could only be safe below a specific chamber pressure and in particular the pressure against the locking lug. In practice that meant that you had to keep attention to the chamber pressure, and as a rule of thumb you should not load the rounds faster than 750 meters per second (m/s). This is the pressure reference. Some loaded their rounds to 800 m/s, but then you are decreasing the safety limit, and that is a very bad idea. In this case, most likely lethal if something went wrong because you would get the bolt in your face if the locking lug broke. Every serious shooter loaded the rounds themselves. Not so much because of the money, the ammunition is actually subsidized by the Norwegian Voluntary Shooting Association and were actually cheaper than loading them yourself, but no factory made ammunition can compete with hand loaded ammunition. 750 m/s were fast enough to get a nice flat bullet trajectory, even at 300 meter. Because of the bullet's flying properties with its small diameter, length and shape made it a very precise ammunition. The longest range I've shot at in competition is 500 meters. We called the rounds for 6.5x55 Krag for "pencils" because of the shape and diameter of the bullet. If you had a led tip you could write with it, and many did when they had forgot their pencils. Many scores are written with 6.5x55 Krag cartridges. :-)
I rebuilt my Krag from a Krag Carbine to a, at the time, a modern target shooting rifle and it served as my primary competition rifle when I was an active target shooter for the Norwegian Voluntary Shooting Association (Det Frivillige Skyttervesen). It is by far the smoothest bolt action rifle I ever touched in my life. I disagree with Ian that the big reason for the smooth bolts is because it only had one locking lug. I can't speak for the Danish built Krag Jørgensens, but the Norwegian built bolt and the receiver where extremely well crafted. I have never seen such a beautiful manufactured bolt and receiver, ever. I'm pretty sure that they actually polished the bolt and every surface the bolt were in contact with. The machining tolerances must have been very strict because the bolt were very tight which made the bolt operation very precise. An insider source told me once that they had to use more than 600 machinery operations on the bolt, receiver and magazine. Most of the bolt and the surfaces that came in touch with the bolt were polished.. When I rebuilt my Krag I only kept the receiver, bolt and magazine. I don't remember the English words for all the parts, but this is what I did and I followed the de-facto standard for rebuilding Krag at that time.
One big problem with only having one locking lug pointing down to the right had a rather uncommon and unfortunate effect on the accuracy. If the cartridges were wet before entering the chamber, it would increase the pressure at the locking lug and make the bullets go up to the left, the opposite direction of the position of the locking lug. When the pressure increased on the locking lug at the back of the bolt would not longer rest flat against the cartridge and that in turn made the bullet go up to the left. This was not a problem when used in the military or when hunting, but when shooting at small targets at 300 meters, every millimeter matters, literally!
When I rebuilded my Krag I replaced the trigger to an adjustable trigger. The sight was swapped with a Norwegian built non-optical Busk diopter, named after the man who designed and built it. Optical sights isn't allowed. The stock was replaced entirely with a stock a made by Stein Erik Bredvold. I was an early adopter of this Norwegian legend of a stock maker, mainly because I'm a trained toolmaker and had pretty good knowledge of the importance of the small but important details, like that the barrel should never be in touch with the stock because it will give an uneven heating of the barrel that way affect the precision of the rifle. The stock were laminated wood and to be honest, it puzzles that there isn't more laminated stocks out there. They have a huge advantage over whole wood stocks, especially when it comes to temperature and humidity. Bredvold is still active and every stock he made is handmade. He is now the main supplier of stocks for the national biathlon team. He has already received the King's Medal of Merit.
The barrels I used in competition were Danish. Barrels were produced in almost every country in Scandinavia, but I found out, the hard way, that the Danish barrels were the best. The precision were pretty much the same, but the Danish barrels lasted much longer. Often more than 10 000 rounds!
In the video Ian says that it doesn't use clips, that is not true. We call them "hurtig-ladere" - directly translated: "speed-loaders". You can see on this page they claim that they started manufacturing them in 1920, but not by Kongsberg Arms Factory.They were produced by many different manufactures with small variance in the design. The clips in combination with the magazine design made reloading extremely fast. And I really mean fast! One discipline in addition to target and field shooting is something we call "Stangskyting" - named after Colonel Georg Stang (skyting = shooting) - were goal is to hit a reactive target at a distance unknown the shooter in as many as possible in 25 seconds . In stangskyting it's actually allowed to use Heckler & Koch AG3 in semiautomatic mode. AG3 was the Norwegian army rifle until it was officially announced in 2007 that the AG3 were obsolete. It would love to watch a mud test with the AG3. I think it will fail. The AG3 were never popular among the soldiers.
Just to give you some idea of Krag's loading speed: In this instruction video from the late 80's you can see "stangskyting" in practice and also how the clip worked, and how incredible fast it is. I'm, sorry that it's in Norwegian, but I think you'll get the idea: ua-cam.com/video/eC4_g6N3aLA/v-deo.html.
Here is an english Wikipedia article about stangskyting: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stangskyting
There are not uncommon to manage to shoot and hit 16 rounds in 25 seconds. I have done it myself and I consider myself as an average marksman. That fast and smooth is the Krag Jørgensen receiver is legendary.
Thanks for many great videos!
Cheers!
I just came across this video regarding the Krag and just finished reading your story. What intimate knowledge you have of this rifle! Its very interesting what you've written here, especially that bit you've mentioned about a wet cartridge flies up to the left due to the single locking lug. Weird! I wouldn't have expected something like that. Did you learn that from your experience with long range shooting or was it a known quirk of the rifle? Something like that would have a tremendous effect on accuracy at 500 meters I'm sure. Like you said, at that distance every millimeter counts! I checked out that video of the stangskyting as well and it surprised me. I was expecting something close to the speed of clips, but that was incredibly fast! The clip was there for what seemed like less than a second and then the man was back to shooting! Also, I've never seen a bolt gun operated like that. Looks like he is pulling the trigger with his middle or ring finger while keeping a grasp on the bolt at the same time. What an insane firing speed for a bolt action rifle! Very impressive. I know I'm responding a whole year after you, but thanks for sharing your story with us. It was really fun to read, and to learn more about this neat gun from an expert like you. Maybe I will get to shoot one someday too.
Am I right that you were doing a shot every 1/2 hour of your life since very birth? Or every 5 minutes since turned 12, every day during an 8-hour working day?
og det at Både Krag og Jørgensen var begge norske. Det var bare han ene som var i danmark og lagde den prototypen(1889) samme med en dansk en.
Eng: and that Both Krag and Jørgensen/Jorgensen was both Norwegians it was only 1 of them that was in denmark and made the prototype with a danish guy :)
Ther orginally name`s are: Ole Herman Krag (1837-1916), og korpsbøssemaker Erik Jørgensen(Both Norwegians 100% Born and raised).
@@Rayle1993 re: middle finger on trigger & keep hold of bolt - I read some where that this (or similar) was taught / used by the british military - > rapid aimed fire ...
Wow! Thank you!
But the deviation physics don't make sense. Gas expands in all directions equally. As in, no matter what shape of the container you put it in, the pressure on every point point of the container will be equal!
What am I missing here?
Greetings from Denmark - and thanks for an informative video - as always!!
I have both the carbine and the infantry rifle - and the cool-factor is incredible with these rifles - especially considering rifles like these are cheaper than dirt - at least around here.
There was a guy at my grandpa's VFW who talked about owning an old Krag in .30-40. This was back in the 80s. I had no idea there were that many of these still floating around!
Ian, there *is* a secondary "safety" lug on the bolt, it is under the extractor. You can see it matching against the rear tower on the receiver, forward of the bolt handle ( I am pretty sure some one has mentioned this, by now ).
Thank you for covering all of the Krag - Jorgensen rifles so nicely. (:
The M89 was also made as a marksman rifle. It had a monstrous heavy barrel and diopter sights.
Got this in bf5 and just love the reload animation for it. Pretty cool rifle.
I always liked how the Krag-Jorgensen loads. You just pop open the side and throw your rounds in. I never loaded a Danish one though. I see it is a bit different.
I am a simple Dane. I see Danish, I press like.
+Derufinz I'm a simple Swede, I see Danish, I feel conflicted
Something Something Something No, you got it wrong. I'm not feeling insecure when confronted by the far superior Finns. It's the Danes that conflict me. :P
+Regolith Ohh you Americans, you still think that pastry has origins in Denmark...it was originally made in Vienna, Austria.
+Sir Greggory Groda Swedes are conflicted about a lot of things. Be happy!
+Derufinz I am a simple Englishman. I see English and I think why doesn't my nationality form a simple word and thus have to be followed by a gendered identifier?
amazing wood on this rifle, just look at the flaming, I'd love to have a hunting rifle with such a stunning stock
+Jesus von Nazaret
Whats 'the flaming'?
the bright and dark lines perpendicular to the grain direction of the wood, search for flamed walnut
Jesus von Nazaret
I learned something new, thanks ;)
This video inadvertently explained to me why the 1903 Springfield shoots a cartridge made after the rifle. Thanks a lot you answered an old question of mine.
Too bad certain folk in Washington DC cant seem to plug into these videos. Very informative and fun you all. I am personally not a gun collector or anything, yet I do have the foresight to recognize the importance of firearms... Keep up the great work!
Always loved this rifle so to how unique it is when compared to other bolt actions.
I have always liked the Krag, the first rifles I ever worked on as a gunsmith were some old 30-40 Krag rifles that were the former property of our local American Legion Post and were damaged in a fire. My partner on the PD Picked up 2 of them with partially burned stocks, just around the barrel ends, I cut off and sporterized the ends of the stocks, and gave them a good cleaning. They had been Chromed at some time down the line as they were used in the salutes to the fallen at graveside for many many years. They turned out well, and while I advised my partner on the PD not to fire them because of exposure to the heat of the fire, he said a simple screw that, if the wood was good around the receiver, then the gun was good to go. Must have been as he used them for years hunting deer with great success. Oh, in the TV Series Hogan's Heroes, many time old Schultz is shown holding a Krag Rifle, any idea if this is an error by the producers (since many of the firearms on that show are not German at all!) or did the guards receive captured rifles from, say Denmark to use leaving the K98's for the fighting soldiers?
Thanks for all vids so far man, i learned a lot since i found the channel a month ago and i am always looking forward to new ones even though i won't be able to purchase any of the items, because i love learning about them guns. I especially love the polish and german ww2 guns, so just keep 'em coming!
"Krag-Jørgensen" would in Danish be pronounced [ˈkʁɑːwˈjørənsən], for any who might be interested. :-)
If you don't like IPA, the G at the end of "Krag" is not a hard one, but soft. Kind of like the W in the beginning of an English word.
Albeit only slightly relevant if you guys want to see a good Danish war movie, 'April 9' is very good for telling Denmark's story in World War Two
That was a good movie....
+Tsar Deans From a forgotten weapons perspective it features a lot of rare weapons and vehicles. Including the Krag Jørgensen rifle, the Madsen light machine gun, the Madsen 20 mm automatic cannon, panzer I and II's. And equipment and uniforms too. Only misfit is a few seconds of MG 42, probably because they couldn't locate a working MG 34.
I've been looking for that movie. where could I find it (and for free if possible?)
I can also recommend "Flammen og Citronen" (The Flame and the Lemon) which touches upon the resistance in Copenhagen against the Nazis.
1865 is a good Danish military tv series..
Just for info: The markings shown at 1:39 reads "Geværfabriken Kjøbenhavn 1903" which translates into "Rifle Factory Copenhagen 1903".
Ian, thanks so much for making a video on this rifle I absolutely love this gun
Huh. This one takes me back. Years ago I got ahold of a sporterized dane Krag for practically pennies on the dollar in 8x58R. CH4D was the only game in town for dies, brass was a big headache to make, and I ended up unloading it on a trade.
The fire bluing on the extractor and straw on other miscellaneous parts was exceptional. I wish I hung onto it. Truly beautiful craftsmanship.
Gorgeous rifles. The only gripe I had with mine is that for the effort it would have taken to make it go bang, I could have very well been well on my way with my U.S. Krag which is a delight.
My grandfather bought a Krag that was surplus. Now it is mine and I love it. I wish the magazine was used on more modern weapons.
I've seen alot of mechanisms in rifles and pistols but i just love how elegant everything is in this rifle. Ive wanted a krag for years but 30-40 is definitely a reloaders cartridge and i don't have a reloading setup yet. Luckily as much as I love the feel of the original military setup I'm more interested in mechanics so sporterized is fine by me as long as it still shoots. One day I will own a 30-40 krag!
It is nice to get a closer look at the follower mechanism.
I have fired the Danish Krags, The guy who owned it held the rifle side ways when dropping in the rounds, I guess that is to prevent dropping em, he did it in a smooth motion, I believe you can top of the mag without opening the bolt and still keep a round in the chamber, which other designs couldn't as it would eject the round so you would have to take hold or re insert it.
Very nice rifle, hope I can own one, one day, rather hard to get license here in Denmark tho :(
Danish Krags had 2 locking lugs. You can see the second lug under the extractor. It bears against the receiver bridge when the bolt handle is down. In the American version,that lug does not touch the rear of the receiver. There is a slight clearance.
I just posted a comment yesterday or the day before on another Forgotten Weapons video asking if Ian had done a video on a Krag-Jorgensen. I've thought these were the coolest guns since I read an article in Guns & Ammo Magazine on them some 25 or better years ago. I think they were testing the accuracy at long ranges.
Someone can show me their $7000.00 custom sporting rifle, and I'm yawning, But show me ANY vintage milliary arm (particularly if it's manually operated), And I go "ga ga"!!! I've been fortuate to work the bolt of a US Krag, and even at 100 years old, probably the "slickest" bolt on a military rifle!
My uncle has a Krag that he got from my grandfather, who fought for the Norwegian resistance in WW2.
A beautiful and cool, well engineered rifle.
That's a very interesting one. Lots of very clever ideas going on with that bolt.
That is a clever little thing. You always keep me watching
Ian, have you ever bidden on something you've shown on the program? If you have, did you win?
+Kenny VanCleave Yes, on both counts. I won the Type 30 Arisaka that I did a video on a few auctions back.
+Forgotten Weapons That's awesome. I bet your dad was proud that you are keeping up the legacy and bought a quality Japanese type 30
Forgotten Weapons did you win the bid
+John Grewe Umm, he said yes he did, ha.
+CaboosyMamusi What
Had to rewatch this today as i got to fire my krag to day for the first time
FINALLY! I have been waiting years for this to be made.
I have an 1894 model 6.5x55 Krag - made under German Occupation - It still has the Wehrmacht stamps and ALL the plate #'s match - which is absolutely amazing...
Love this vid. I have the identical rifle, only it’s marked Haerens Tojhus, and dated 1915. This vid was more informative than anything else I’ve found on the web yet. I’d love any info on how I might measure headspace on this crazy thing so I can know it’s safe to shoot. Buffalo Arms makes some 8x58RD ammo, for two different headspace values, depending on your rifle. I’m nearly done cleaning mine up and verifying function of everything. Mines not nearly as clean, but I think it’ll do just fine, as it’s not excessively worn or pitted. Keep up the great vids!
In a fairly recent BBC version of Hamlet (Prince of Denmark) staring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, the Danish guards (this was set around 1890 or so) were armed with these rifles.
Dr Nansen had a custom Krag with scope mounted later , it was a Danish Krag and in .45-90 Wcf, that was well liked by him, sadly it was later stolen .
this brings a tear of joy to my danish eyes :.)
It's true that there were different versions of the Krag-Jørgensen rifle, but it is actually a Norwegian design and invention...
Designed by a Norwegian and invented by a Dane. The Dane came up with the system but the Norwegian made it all work and function and did his job very well.
@@mablo88123 YES
@@schatzilodskou8446 uhm, all you Danes did, was saying it was too heavy for you. So the NORWEGIANS had to make it lighter for you guys. NOTHING about this rifle is Danish 😂
this rifle is a masterpiece by itself
That is quite a bit different than my 1896 Springfield Krag
I don't know much about guns, but this one is a beauty.
At 7:38 the words on the top: Geværfabriken Kjøbenhavn means Rifle-factory Copenhagen.
Its a work of art really
Interesting bolt removal drill. Not sure if the American Krag is like that, as i have yet to fire mine :) (1898 full length rifle). Great rifles. Nice to see the differences in the Danish one. Great videos as always. Thank you
Had to come check this video out after watching the movie "9 April".
Hello Ian, my dad has one old Krag jorgensen with out the safety switch, sorry for my english and i'm a Big fan of you'r Channel🇩🇰
I was hoping you'd take a look at a Krag, I always wondered how the magazine worked.
Thanks!
+Bernard Bruinsma he shows it in this video.... its EXACTLY the same, jsut with a top folding vs side folding loading door.
mag is just a semi-C shape under the receiver, and spring tension is applied by the follower in the loading door.....
+Bernard Bruinsma hihkok 45 has done a video on the american version of this rifle i think. Same gun design, just different magazine angle.
Could you try to find a Norwegian krag? Most only know of the American version
I like sound of that bolt, very crisp
Watching again. It is so cool of a rifle.
Wow as dane am quite surprised to see the upload - Ik now it abt krag Jørgensen but thog was a norwegian - but produced in Copenahgen Denmark - what a nice gun - thnaks for the nice opload. interestign very
That wood looks like tiger stripe maple?I've always found the Krag to be interesting.I've read that it had the shortest inventory life of any service rifle in the US arsenal.
+JohnLeePedimore I have heard that some of the gunsmiths also lit the rope on fire. That seems as though it would be less than effective, though. Have you heard of this practice, too, and do you think they really did that?
I'm sure these guys tried just about everything.Some ideas were obviously more successful than others but there's not much literature on the technique.Back in the days of apprenticeship you learned everything hands on.
Dadburn Germans came up with a world beater the Mauser 98 and we just had to have a rifle like it, so much like it we got busted for patent infringement
It's interesting that this thing still has the profile of an old flintlock musket.
I don’t see much of a big deal that the US adopted a Scandinavian weapon. We’ve done it before already. During the civil war, the first Ironclad to use a turreted gun in combat, the USS Monitor, was designed by a Swedish American fellow named John Ericsson.
I got excited and thought it was a Swiss Vetterli from the thumbnail. Krags are cool too, though.
Clint from Thunder Ranch (TFB Channel) sent me here. Clint claims it’s the “coolest rifle” in terms of technological leaps.
Love your videos! Thank you
my uncle has a few of this pattern gun, one of them is (According to him) the rifle a relative used in world war one, i shot one of them, very fun and an interesting gun to load and shoot
We can own these rifles in the UK - without licence now, No ammo allowed though if without license.
I want the one John Banner carried in nearly every episode of Hogan's Heroes- that's got to be the most famous Krag of all.
I love that loading mechanism
I love the patina on those old guns
QUESTION!
How safe is a krag chambered for smokeless if it has only one locking lug? Most smokeless bolt-actions iv'e seen have at least two locking lugs.
+Ironstorm Using the ammuntion it was chambered for within spec, no problems are to be expected. Most of the explossion of Norwegian Krag rifles we know about was wisth poor handloads in rifles that had shot many 10 000's of rounds in competition. Not to mention that Krags in 8mm Mauser might no be safe over extentended use with German MG ammo.
Its worth noting that none of the nightmares concernig the Krag was known in its service life, and all such incidents was investigated by the factories, and without exception the shooter admitted wrongdoing.
That it unsless you have a WW1 Norwegian Krag, the ones dated 1920-21 are known to have faulty heat treatment and was recalled in the early 1920's, but a few might still be out there.
That Krag has 2 locking logs, has do ALL Krags, one on the bolt head and the guide rib on the bolt is a second locking lug at the rear, just like the lugs on an Enfield bolt.
The Danish 8x50mm of 1908 is typical of heavy bullet 8mm's of its day, 198 grains at around 2400fps. So apparently the Krag can handle more power than it's given credit for.
That's a beautiful rifle!
Another excellent video.
The long cam on the bolt locks too
Can you do one on the Norwegian Krag, please?
I have a bayonet for the rifle, serial number puts the date to 1899. Very cool to see the matching rifle to my bayonet.
Just got mine lastnight and my Norwegian krag as well and 2 us krags
by far the most satisfying rifle to watch being shot and loaded.
The Krag Rifles are very cool.
This is really cool!
grew up with this rifle and a mauser 1998 , hanging on the wall .they are very simular
I hate auto correct just sayin.... I own an 1898 Krag in VG condition absolutely beautiful rifle and April 9th will be viewed I also collect US and foreign war movies another addiction lol
The circular brass sign on the side of the butt means 7. Regiment, rifle no. This is one of the old original infantry regments which can be dated back to 1678. It has served in almost all wars waged by the Danish Army ever since. It was even "rented out" to the British Army 1689-1707. The "Jyske Fodregiment" was disbanded in 1991 at the "end" of the cold war.
Agree...it looks super cool.surely enough I will chose that for fun shooting over the awkward bullpup design if got the money
If you don't cant the rifle to the left when opening the magazine door, the rounds that were in the magazine will now be on the ground. And you must also be careful that the rim of each cartridge is to the rear of the one in front of it, otherwise they will bind and not feed properly into the bolt-way.
ammo aint a problem - just go with 45/70 or 45/90 and size to 5x58rd and either live with em bein a little too short or trim to length works like a charm both options :S
Even the wood is gorgeous, it looks like flamed mahogany, which is really rare !!.
Man, I remember when my buddy inherited a bunch of guns without instructions or manuals. Before the internet they were the original puzzle boxes. "How do you think you get the bolt outta this thing?"
"Dunno, can you make this bit move without forcing it?"
Out of curiosity Ian how difficult would it be for me to get ahold of one of these Danish Krag's? I'm aware that it would not be cheap but they are a particularly cool version of a cool gun
Hello 5 years later. Search for Krag Jorgensen Brugt. Should be able to find some danes Willing to sell. Found one for 3700 Dansih Crowns/kroner
This is a very cool rifle
"These are fine rifles, I'm going to keep one just for myself." - Arthur Morgan
The stock on that is very nice
Considering this rifle's age, a very remarkable design. And I take it it served into WW2 just like it's Norwegian half brother, Ian?
i own a real carbine version 1896 not a cut-down and it's an absolute beautiful rifle.I shot it regularly. It will only be sold after my death. I'll let u know when i die !
Has anyone got a cross section picture of how the bullets go from the trap door up into the bolt area? Was there a spring?
The follower pushes the rounds forward and there's a ramp for the rounds to go up
It seems to me that the Krag has two locking surfaces, the forward lug and the rib on the bolt, which bears against the rear receiver ring, after the manner of the Winchester Hotchkiss, Kropatchek, Lee-Enfield, and various others.