The '96 proved to be a smooth, reliable shooter. Rounds were chambered and ejected with ease. The rifle's recoil, incidentally, was very pleasant.

Theodore Roosevelt called the Spanish-American War's Battle of San Juan Hill "my crowded hour." On July 1, 1898, the redoubtable Teddy, his Rough Riders and members of the 9th and 10th Regular Cavalry, among others, fought their way through a fusillade of Spanish Mauser bullets to capture a fortified blockhouse on top of Kettle Hill. While Roosevelt carried a .38 Colt New Army and Navy revolver recovered from the sunken battleship Maine, the majority of his 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry and regular cavalry units carried carbine versions of the Army's first general-issue bolt-action repeating rifle, the .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen.

Though this well-made, reliable arm was somewhat outclassed by the Spanish Mausers, it still performed yeoman duty and was in no small part responsible for carrying the day.

Despite the fact that many European powers had adopted small-bore magazine rifles as early as the mid 1880s, the United States felt content issuing single-shot black powder "Trapdoor" rifles to its troops well into the era of superior smokeless powder arms. Finally, the disparity in firepower and ballistics could not be ignored, and, after extensive trials, in 1892 the War Department chose a modification of the Norwegian-designed Danish Krag-Jorgensen.

This bolt-action arm was fitted with an unusual side-mounted box magazine that (in the Danish Model) was opened by means of a long pivoting gate hinged at the front of the magazine. When the gate was opened, the follower was held back and five rounds could be placed into the aperture. Closing the gate released the follower and put pressure on the cartridges, forcing them, one-at-a-time, into a position where they could be chambered by the gun's bolt. The system was sure, reliable and extremely smooth. Only the single locking lug on the bolt head effected any limitation upon the gun, as it was too fragile to handle really hot loads.

The U.S. authorities generally were happy with the overall Krag-Jorgensen design; however, for American usage they felt compelled to incorporate a few changes. The magazine gate was modified to open downward rather than laterally, the bolt handle was turned down, a cutoff was incorporated so the gun could be fired single-shot (with rounds in the mag being held in reserve for emergency use) and a more positive safety was added to the rear of the bolt. The caliber was reduced from .32 to .30.

The first M-1892 Krags were issued to troops in 1894, and various other models of Krag rifles and carbines were introduced in 1896, 1898 and 1899. In 1898 there was even a .22 Rimfire Gallery Practice Rifle offered to allow troops to become familiar with their arms without expending the more expensive centerfire service ammunition.

Our evaluation Krag carbine turned in excellent 100-yard groups, though because of the lighter-than-service-spec 150-grain bullet, they came in a little high.

The cartridge developed for use with the Krag was popularly known at the time as ".30 U.S." or ".30 Government," but its more common designation ".30-40" (denoting .30 caliber backed with 40 grains of smokeless powder) is the one familiar to modern shooters and collectors. Initial velocity of the 220-grain service load was 2,000 feet per second (fps)--a considerable gain in speed over the black-powder .45-70. In 1898 the velocity was increased to 2,200 fps, but given the hot, fast-burning powders and soft steels of the era, the boost did not work out--barrels were rapidly eroded and actions battered and damaged. Because of this, by 1903 the velocity was reduced to its original level.

The Krag was issued in time to see service in the Spanish-American War where it was used side-by-side with the Trapdoor Springfield, still in the hands of volunteers. While it performed well, it was noticed early on that the slow side-loading magazine system was no match for the stripper-clip arrangement of the Spaniards' Model 1893 Mausers. This was most dramatically shown at the Battle of San Juan Hill, where some 700 Spanish riflemen inflicted 1,400 casualties on the attacking Americans (though in all fairness, it must be remembered that the Yanquis were attacking uphill, in the open against a fortified position).

Two years after the Spanish-American War, the Krag further distinguished itself in the hands of U.S. relief troops during the Boxer Rebellion in China, where it drew favorable comparison with the Enfields, Nagants, Lebels, Carcanos and Steyrs used by the other allied troops.

The Krag was also the principal military rifle of the long and bloody Philippine campaign. "And beneath the starry flag/ Civilize 'em with a Krag," went a line in a popular song of the period.

As noted earlier, the Krag-Jorgensen came out in a number of different models. Variations included changes in sights, furniture, etc., but generally maintained the integrity of the original piece. The subject of this piece, the Model 1896 Carbine, was a handy little repeater, well-suited for use on horseback. With a barrel length of 22-inches, and an abbreviated fore-end, the '96 was the first of the Krag carbines (a Model 1892 never went further than a prototype).

It had a ring bar on the left side of the stock for the attachment of a carbine sling, as well as a trap in its butt to accommodate a screw-together cleaning rod. The rear, ladder-style sight was graduated to 2,000 yards, and the non-adjustable front blade was left unprotected, in the style of the period. Almost 20,000 Model '96 carbines were manufactured, but as many were altered to accommodate later changes, today it's hard to find an unaltered specimen. This, coupled with the gun's use by the Rough Riders, have made it one of the most collectible of the Krags.

The Krag's safety is situated on the rear of the bolt. All the way to the right, the gun is ready to fire, and to the left, "ON SAFE."

Our evaluation '96 was in about 85 percent condition with a bright bore and much original bluing. A thin inspector's stock cartouche can still be seen on the wrist, and the gun even had its original three-piece cleaning rod and oiler in the butt trap. Ammunition used for the shoot was some handloads put up by my colleague Jeff John, which employed a 150-grain Sierra SP bullet backed by 42 grains of IMR 4895 giving us a muzzle velocity of some 2,400 fps.

Five rounds were duly dumped into the open magazine, the mag door shut and a round chambered. The Krag carbine certainly lived up to its reputation as having the smoothest bolt actions ever, Throughout the session feeding and ejection was superb, and rounds could be fired in relatively rapid succession--I think only the Lee-Enfield can be worked faster. Accuracy was excellent, though as might be expected with the lighter bullets, groups were high. Average 100-yard, bench-rested spreads ran about 21/4 inchesÂ…not bad from a sub-2-foot-long barrel.

Following the run-through, my general observation was that despite the reputation of the Mauser, American troops in Cuba were anything but underarmed if they were carrying a Krag rifle or carbine. Granted, the Mauser could be charged more rapidly and efficiently, but neither the Krag's action nor its round could be found seriously lacking. In fact, if one compares the ballistics of the 7mm Mauser and .30-40 rounds that were used in the Spanish-American War, he will find that the muzzle energies of the two rounds were pretty darned close.

While not as fast as the justly-revered Mauser stripper-clip system, five rounds can be dumped into the Krag's side-mounted box magazine with relative ease.

Despite the obvious merits of the Krag, the U.S. authorities decided that to achieve parity with other military rounds and rifles of the period, it would be a good idea to adopt a Mauser-style system and a more powerful cartridgeÂ…and this we did just after the turn of the century with the superb Model 1903 Springfield. Still, the Krag continued to be used by militia units and thousands were issued as training rifles during World War I. Following the conflict most were sold surplus and provided many a hunter (including my father) with a low-cost, effective deer gun.

Fortunately for today's shooters and collectors, there are still a lot of Krags currently on the market, and a good specimen of one of the more common models can still be had for under $600. It's a gun well worthy of rediscovery.