Plain Old Dave
03-15-2010, 09:18
I wrote this and posted it Somewhere Else; this is redacted somewhat to be more interesting to collectors.
While given her limited service history and 'low velocity' load, one might think that the Krag would not be particularly suited as a match rifle. In fact the Krag was the rifle of choice for nearly an entire generation of service rifle shooters; from around 1894 until the 1903's first official appearance at Camp Perry in 1908 the Krag was the military rifle to beat. The 1901 sight was the envy of the world's military and most of modern Highpower shooting finds its genesis in War Department General Order 61 issued in 1903 and the Krag.
The National Rifle Matches had been fired for many years at Sea Girt, New Jersey with the Trapdoor Springfield. However, March 1903's General Order 61, authorizing establishment of the Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship and the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, and the course of fire for the National Trophy Matches, made ANY single shot arm impractical; 2 strings of 5 rounds in 20 seconds each is impossible with a single shot arm. Even before this, Krags were apparently in use at the National Matches, and those that "saw no advantage" to the Krag apparently weren't from New York. Following is directly from the September 16, 1900 New York Times:
Although the state rifle team of New York did not come in a winner this year at Sea Girt, it made an excellent showing with the inferior Springfield rifles of .45 calibre, against the .30 calibre Krag-Jorgensen rifle used by the New Jersey men, equipped with the best of sights and possessing advantages in every way.
I have previously mentioned 1907, and the reader/shooter might well be confused by a Model 1903 rifle not being adopted as a match rifle until 1907. Consider:
1) M1903 Serial Number 300,000 was produced in 1907
2) The documentation I have found indicates that the peacetime active Army was only 190,000 strong in 1917 and well under 100,000 in 1907
3) If we assume that there was roughly 1 National Guardsman or State Militia member for every active soldier, and considering reserve pieces to account for breakage, overhaul and draftees/volunteers, that puts us at a requirement for roughly 380,000 long arms to re-equip the Army
4) Conclusion: The Army's official "service rifle" per General Order 61 (the order that authorized both the Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship and the mational Trophy Matches) was not the M1903 until some point in FY1907. Further, COL Brophy states the 1903 was first considered the "official rifle" at the 1908 Matches.
General Order 61 issued back in 1903 was apparently interpreted at the command (brigade/division/squadron/ship/whatever) level to mean that the matches were to be fired with what was in the armory; all the General Order says for weapon to be used is "...the service arm." Until FY1907, this meant Krags for the vast majority of the uniformed services.
This should not be taken as evidence that there were no Krags at the 1908 National Matches, as the 8 August 1908 Pittsburg Press newspaper states that the President's Match ..."must be fired with the Krag or the New Springfield." Further, I have found a May 1909 newspaper article where the Marines were just being issued M1903s and have seen documentation indicating the Corps and the Navy did not completely transition to the M1903 until 1911 (including a pic of USS ILLINOIS Sailors at the range at Gitmo in 1910 here at the Jouster Forum), a February 1915 newspaper article indicates the War Department had just ceased issuing Krags to "civilian clubs", I am sure we've all seen the pic of the first unit of the AEF to arrive in the UK in 1917 with Krags at Stack Arms, and I own a 1917 vintage Remington 220gr FMJ round headstamped "RA 17". This is a military headstamp; civilian Remington ammo of the era was headstamped "Rem-UMC" along with a caliber designator. Given these, we can safely conclude there were more than a few Krags still in service in the Great War; Sgt. York states in his memoirs that he used a Krag in boot camp. Even after the close of the Great War and 1919's experimentation with the M1917 rifle, Krags continued to be competitive; I have seen a 28 March 1919(!) newspaper report fron the Los Angeles Times for a California highpower match where a Krag-equipped team placed third with the "obsolete" Krag.
Modern "Match" ammunition also finds its beginning in the Krag. America's first smokeless powder repeater had pretty serious teething trouble in ammunition, and the civilian shooting community rose to the occasion, both through corporations like Winchester , the US Cartridge Company and Remington-UMC and through private "gun cranks" like Dr. Walter Hudson and Horace Kephart. If only in using less erosive powder than the issue cartridge, I submit that at least the US Cartridge Company's "Match" ammunition was superior to the Frankford Arsenal product, and every rifle shooter that reloads using gas-checked cast lead bullets owes a debt of gratitide to the Edwardian era highpower shooter.
In closing, while the Krag had her teething pains like ANY new arm, these were ironed out and the Krag became a world-class match rifle; Gas Trap Garands, the infamous M1 7th round stoppage, and non-chromed M16 bores and the M16 Forward Assist spring to mind as more modern examples of teething trouble. The M1 went on to be the "greatest battle implement ever devised", the M16 is currently the longest serving battle rifle in American history, and the Krag was the world's envy on the target range. With a proper-sized bore, or even better a barrel made by the legendary riflesmith H. M. Pope, and decent ammunition, the Krag could (and did) beat all comers in the Palma Matches and apparently stayed competitive with the New Springfield at least through the World War One era. The 1903 was not initially equal in sustained accuracy to the Krag due to the prodigious fouling generated by the high velocity M1906 cartridge; about 50 rounds would foul a 1903 enough to require in-depth cleaning. The problem was addressed with the advent of Mobilubricant and the "tin can" ammunition in the 1920s and the 1903 was not consistently superior until the advent of M1 Ball in 1926 which solved the fouling problem conclusively.
Any corrections/amplifying historical info are welcomed and appreciated. AO2
While given her limited service history and 'low velocity' load, one might think that the Krag would not be particularly suited as a match rifle. In fact the Krag was the rifle of choice for nearly an entire generation of service rifle shooters; from around 1894 until the 1903's first official appearance at Camp Perry in 1908 the Krag was the military rifle to beat. The 1901 sight was the envy of the world's military and most of modern Highpower shooting finds its genesis in War Department General Order 61 issued in 1903 and the Krag.
The National Rifle Matches had been fired for many years at Sea Girt, New Jersey with the Trapdoor Springfield. However, March 1903's General Order 61, authorizing establishment of the Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship and the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, and the course of fire for the National Trophy Matches, made ANY single shot arm impractical; 2 strings of 5 rounds in 20 seconds each is impossible with a single shot arm. Even before this, Krags were apparently in use at the National Matches, and those that "saw no advantage" to the Krag apparently weren't from New York. Following is directly from the September 16, 1900 New York Times:
Although the state rifle team of New York did not come in a winner this year at Sea Girt, it made an excellent showing with the inferior Springfield rifles of .45 calibre, against the .30 calibre Krag-Jorgensen rifle used by the New Jersey men, equipped with the best of sights and possessing advantages in every way.
I have previously mentioned 1907, and the reader/shooter might well be confused by a Model 1903 rifle not being adopted as a match rifle until 1907. Consider:
1) M1903 Serial Number 300,000 was produced in 1907
2) The documentation I have found indicates that the peacetime active Army was only 190,000 strong in 1917 and well under 100,000 in 1907
3) If we assume that there was roughly 1 National Guardsman or State Militia member for every active soldier, and considering reserve pieces to account for breakage, overhaul and draftees/volunteers, that puts us at a requirement for roughly 380,000 long arms to re-equip the Army
4) Conclusion: The Army's official "service rifle" per General Order 61 (the order that authorized both the Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship and the mational Trophy Matches) was not the M1903 until some point in FY1907. Further, COL Brophy states the 1903 was first considered the "official rifle" at the 1908 Matches.
General Order 61 issued back in 1903 was apparently interpreted at the command (brigade/division/squadron/ship/whatever) level to mean that the matches were to be fired with what was in the armory; all the General Order says for weapon to be used is "...the service arm." Until FY1907, this meant Krags for the vast majority of the uniformed services.
This should not be taken as evidence that there were no Krags at the 1908 National Matches, as the 8 August 1908 Pittsburg Press newspaper states that the President's Match ..."must be fired with the Krag or the New Springfield." Further, I have found a May 1909 newspaper article where the Marines were just being issued M1903s and have seen documentation indicating the Corps and the Navy did not completely transition to the M1903 until 1911 (including a pic of USS ILLINOIS Sailors at the range at Gitmo in 1910 here at the Jouster Forum), a February 1915 newspaper article indicates the War Department had just ceased issuing Krags to "civilian clubs", I am sure we've all seen the pic of the first unit of the AEF to arrive in the UK in 1917 with Krags at Stack Arms, and I own a 1917 vintage Remington 220gr FMJ round headstamped "RA 17". This is a military headstamp; civilian Remington ammo of the era was headstamped "Rem-UMC" along with a caliber designator. Given these, we can safely conclude there were more than a few Krags still in service in the Great War; Sgt. York states in his memoirs that he used a Krag in boot camp. Even after the close of the Great War and 1919's experimentation with the M1917 rifle, Krags continued to be competitive; I have seen a 28 March 1919(!) newspaper report fron the Los Angeles Times for a California highpower match where a Krag-equipped team placed third with the "obsolete" Krag.
Modern "Match" ammunition also finds its beginning in the Krag. America's first smokeless powder repeater had pretty serious teething trouble in ammunition, and the civilian shooting community rose to the occasion, both through corporations like Winchester , the US Cartridge Company and Remington-UMC and through private "gun cranks" like Dr. Walter Hudson and Horace Kephart. If only in using less erosive powder than the issue cartridge, I submit that at least the US Cartridge Company's "Match" ammunition was superior to the Frankford Arsenal product, and every rifle shooter that reloads using gas-checked cast lead bullets owes a debt of gratitide to the Edwardian era highpower shooter.
In closing, while the Krag had her teething pains like ANY new arm, these were ironed out and the Krag became a world-class match rifle; Gas Trap Garands, the infamous M1 7th round stoppage, and non-chromed M16 bores and the M16 Forward Assist spring to mind as more modern examples of teething trouble. The M1 went on to be the "greatest battle implement ever devised", the M16 is currently the longest serving battle rifle in American history, and the Krag was the world's envy on the target range. With a proper-sized bore, or even better a barrel made by the legendary riflesmith H. M. Pope, and decent ammunition, the Krag could (and did) beat all comers in the Palma Matches and apparently stayed competitive with the New Springfield at least through the World War One era. The 1903 was not initially equal in sustained accuracy to the Krag due to the prodigious fouling generated by the high velocity M1906 cartridge; about 50 rounds would foul a 1903 enough to require in-depth cleaning. The problem was addressed with the advent of Mobilubricant and the "tin can" ammunition in the 1920s and the 1903 was not consistently superior until the advent of M1 Ball in 1926 which solved the fouling problem conclusively.
Any corrections/amplifying historical info are welcomed and appreciated. AO2