Either way, manual opening of the gate forces spring-loaded feed arm to withdraw, allowing single cartridges to be slipped or dropped into opened magazine one by one. In Danish rifles, loading gate opens forward in Norwegian and US rifles, loading gate opens down. Loading window is closed by a hinged cover, or gate. When looking from behind, magazine has opening on the right for loading, and is curved up on the left, guiding leftmost cartridge towards the feed path in the receiver. Magazine is made integral with the receiver. Krag – Jorgensen rifles feature unique magazine design, in which cartridges are located in single horizontal row (side by side) below the bolt. Base of bolt handle, positioned inside the cut in the receiver (but not touching it) provides some additional safety measure in case of locking lug failure. In Norwegian and Danish Krag rifles, bolt guide rib provides additional locking surface, resting against the receiver bridge when bolt is closed. It has single locking lug at the front of the bolt, which locks into the receiver. Krag – Jorgensen rifle is manually operated, rotary bolt action rifle. The slow single-loading feature of the original Krag – Jorgensen magazine was solved by clip-loading adapter, developed and patented in USA by Parkhurst, but it was never adopted for service use. Krag rifles also are known for very smooth, fast-cycling action, which made them popular as a basis for sporting / hunting rifles in USA and Northern Europe. While these rifles, especially those of US origin, are considered not strong enough for more modern ammunition, Danish and Norwegian rifles are of slightly stronger design, and those made during 20 th century also probably feature better, stronger receivers and bolts due to advancement in chemistry and steel heat treatment processes. It must be noted that quality and strength of the Krag-Jorgensen rifles varied from country to country. These rifles served with Norwegian army until the end of WW2. Most of Norwegian issue Krag – Jorgensen rifles were produced at Kongsberg arms factory between 18, although some were also ordered from Steyr arms factory in Austria.
Norwegian army adopted its own version of the Krag-Jorgensen in 1894, chambering it for an excellent 6.5×55 rimless cartridge, better known today as 6,5mm Swedish Mauser (at this time Norway was united with Sweden under Swedish rule). Most of US service Krag rifles and carbines were retired from first-line service by 1910 some were withdrawn from storage during WW1 to be used for training and guar purposes, and many were sold as surplus shortly after the end of WW1. American Krag rifles were declared obsolete in 1903, as a result of experience gained during Spanish-American war and Philippines campaign, and subsequent adoption of more powerful and slightly faster-firing M1903 Springfield rifle and its. Most US Krag rifles and carbines were eventually converted to M1898 standard. Total production of Krag rifles by Government-owned Springfield armory is slightly less than half million number of carbines produced is estimated as 60 000 or so. Initial deliveries of the US Model 1892 Krag rifles began in 1894, and it was produced in several slightly different models, such as M1896 rifle and carbine, M1898 rifle and carbine, and finally M1899 carbine. 30 caliber ammunition, developed in USA by Frankford arsenal and known as. After extensive trials, intended to find the best possible small-bore rifle adapted for newest smokeless powder ammunition, in 1892 US Army selected slightly modified Krag – Jorgensen rifle. Second country to adopt Krag – Jorgensen rifle was USA. Danish Krag-Jorgensen rifles, chambered for 8x58R ammunition, stayed in front-line service with Danish army until German occupation of 1940. The first country to adopt these rifles in 1889 was Denmark, which had long historical links with neighboring Norway. The Krag – Jorgensen rifle was developed during late 1880s by two Norwegians: Ole Krag, director of Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (Kongsberg weapons factory), and gunsmith Erik Jørgensen. Krag – Jorgensen US Krag – Jorgensen carbine M1899ĭiagram from US patent issued to parkhurst for his clip-loading adapter for Krag – Jorgensen rifle Norvegian Krag – Jorgensen rifle, close-up view Norvegian Krag – Jorgensen carbine, M1894/12 Danish Krag – Jorgensen carbine, M1889/24ĭanish Krag – Jorgensen rifle, close up viewĭanish Krag – Jorgensen rifle, close up view with magazine loading gate opened and bolt retracted