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Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a series of bolt-action repeating rifles designed by Capt. Ole Herman Johannes Krag and gunsmith Erik Jørgensen of Norway. In 1884, Krag and Jørgensen decided to develop an alternative magazine design for the existing Norwegian service rifle, the tube-fed Jarmann rifle. They designed a 10-round spring-loaded magazine that sat horizontally beneath the bolt action and wrapped up around the left side of the receiver to feed cartridges into the action. A hinged gate on the right side of the magazine swung open for loading, simultaneously retracting the spring-loaded magazine follower.
In 1886, the pair submitted a prototype to the Danish military service trials. The design was revised over the course of the test, eventually becoming an entirely new design with a single forward locking lug, elongated safety lug/bolt guide, and external claw extractor on top of the bolt. The magazine was reduced to 5-rounds, and featured a cutoff switch that prevented cartridges from feeding from the magazine; thus making the rifle into a single-shot action. The design also incorporated cock-on-opening, wherein as the bolt rotates into the unlocked position the cocking piece cams against a spiral-cut ramp in the wall of the bolt body pulling the firing pin backward and compressing the mainspring. The rifle proved successful, being selected for the Danish armed forces in 1889 chambered for the Danish 8x56mmR cartridge.
In 1892 the United States Army held a competition to select a new bolt-action repeating rifle to replace the Model 1873/1884 Trapdoor Springfield Rifles . The Krag-Jørgensen was selected from 53 competing rifle designs. It was chambered in the .30USG cartridge (now known as the .30-40 Krag), which was specifically developed for the trial rifles by the US Army. The rifle featured two-position safety on the rear of the bolt, and the magazine door hinge was made horizontal, so the door would open upward. The Krag design was chosen due to its ability to be reloaded without opening the bolt, and the magazine cutoff, which was seen as necessary to prevent soldiers from firing too rapidly and wasting ammunition. A carbine version with a 22" barrel was developed for the US Cavalry.
Production at the US Springfield Armory lasted from 1894-1904, when the rifle was replaced by the M1903 Springfield after the Krag's poor performance against the Spanish M1893 Mauser during the Spanish-American War.
Designed in Norway, this rifle was adopted by the Danish (chambered in 8x58R)and Norwegian (chambered in 6,5x55) armies . It was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1892, chambered in .30-40 Krag (a.k.a: .30 U.S./.30 Army/.30 Government). This rifle had a distinctive magazine, that was integral with the receiver, featuring an opening on the right hand side for loading, with a hinged cover.
This rifle can be seen in the following movies:
Film
- American troops in The Real Glory (1939)
- Sailors from the Venture in King Kong (1933) - Rifle versions of 1898 U.S. Krags.
- Brian Keith as President Roosevelt in The Wind and the Lion (1975)
- United States Marines in The Wind and the Lion (1975)
- U.S. Army soldiers in Ironweed (1987)
- Used by the Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and U.S. Infantry Units in the made for television mini-series Rough Riders (1997)
- William Katt as Edward Marshall in Rough Riders (1997)
- Lee Marvin as R.C.M.P. Sgt. Millen in Death Hunt (1981)
- Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). It appears to be a "Sporterized" Danish Model 1889.
- Local police in Public Enemies (2009), both rifle and carbine versions.
- Hunters in Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)
Television
- Curly Howard in "Spook Louder" The Three Stooges
- Hogan's Heroes - Oberfeldwebel Schultz and various other German guards are equipped with Krag-Jorgensens in lieu of Mauser rifles.
- Used by Theodore Roosevelt in Deadliest Warrior