Krag-Jorgensen M1898
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 762 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.08 kg
- Introduced
- 1898
About
What it is, and why it matters
The U.S. Magazine Rifle, Model 1898, commonly called the M1898 Krag-Jorgensen, was the standard service rifle of the United States Army from 1898 until replaced by the M1903 Springfield. It was a Norwegian-designed bolt-action rifle chambered in the rimmed .30-40 Krag (.30 Army) cartridge, with a unique side-loading horizontal box magazine that could be topped off with the bolt closed. Famously praised for its smooth bolt action, it served U.S. forces during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War.
The Krag's defining feature was its silky-smooth bolt action, which generations of shooters considered the finest ever fitted to a service rifle. Yet it was also its undoing: the single locking lug couldn't safely handle the higher pressures of newer smokeless cartridges, and U.S. troops who faced Spanish 7mm Mausers in Cuba came home demanding a stronger rifle.
The Krag's relatively slow loading (no stripper clips) and limited cartridge pressure capacity led the U.S. Army to adopt the Mauser-derived M1903 Springfield after experiencing Spanish Mauser fire in Cuba.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Springfield Armory (US Government)
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1898 to 1904
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 762 mm
- Overall length
- 1247 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.08 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 610 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2650 J
- Effective range
- 900 m
- Maximum range
- 1800 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Side loading magazine
Smooth bolt throw
Magazine cutoff lever
Windage adjustable rear sight
Stripper clip unfriendly
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 4.08 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1247 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 762 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 5 | 5 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Krag-Jorgensen M1898
How much does the Krag-Jorgensen M1898 weigh?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 weighs 4.08 kg (8.99 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Krag-Jorgensen M1898?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 is chambered in .30-40 Krag.
How many rounds does the Krag-Jorgensen M1898 hold?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Krag-Jorgensen M1898?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 is 1247 mm (49.1 in) long overall, with a 762 mm (30.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Krag-Jorgensen M1898?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 is made by Springfield Armory (US Government) (United States). It was designed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jorgensen.
When was the Krag-Jorgensen M1898 introduced?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 was introduced in 1898 and discontinued in 1904.
How does the Krag-Jorgensen M1898 operate?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1898 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- 1898
- United States Marine Corps
- 1898
- Philippine Constabulary
- 1901
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/krag-jorgensen-m1898' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "krag-jorgensen-m1898", "name": "Krag-Jorgensen M1898", "manufacturer": { "id": "springfield-armory-us", "name": "Springfield Armory (US Government)", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1777, "website": "https://www.springfield-armory.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "b9dd0910a7c8bee7c58786e8b0a8f572a1d60da9a0b15c41d155cb38023c6bd8" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1898, "barrel_length_mm": 762, "weight_empty_g": 4080, "action_type": "bolt_action"}