Krag-Jorgensen M1923
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.05 kg
- Introduced
- 1923
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 is a Norwegian sharpshooter and precision rifle (skarpskyttergevær) built on the Krag-Jorgensen M1894 bolt action at Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. Introduced in 1923, it was Norway's first dedicated attempt at a sniper rifle, chambered in 6.5x55mm Swedish and fitted with target aperture sights and a shortened half-stock 610 mm barrel. It retained the Krag's signature side-loading magazine gate, which lets rounds be fed into the internal five-round magazine without opening the bolt. Around 630 were made between 1923 and 1926, roughly half sold to civilian sharpshooters, but the open-top receiver proved insufficiently rigid for field accuracy, leading to the improved M1925 and definitive M1930 designs.
As Norway's first purpose-built sniper rifle, the M1923 exposed a fundamental weakness of the Krag-Jorgensen action: its open-top single-lug receiver flexed under recoil and would not hold a precise zero, sending Kongsberg's engineers back to the drawing board to create the sturdier M1925 and M1930.
The M1923 was the first of Norway's interwar sharpshooter Krags and was judged not solid enough for field use; many were later rebuilt into M1930 rifles or converted to hunting configurations. Gun-level muzzle velocity and energy reflect the standard 6.5x55mm m/94 loading these rifles were sighted for rather than a barrel-specific measurement.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Country
- Norway
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1923 to 1926
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Overall length
- 1117 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.05 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker 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
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 800 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2880 J
- Effective range
- 600 m
- Maximum range
- 2000 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.
Target sights
Aperture rear sight
Side loading gate
Half stock
Match barrel
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 430 sniper rifles | 4.05 kg | 5.40 kg | Lighter than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 429 sniper rifles | 1117 mm | 1150 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 434 sniper rifles | 610 mm | 620 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 sniper rifles | 5 | 6 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Krag-Jorgensen M1923
How much does the Krag-Jorgensen M1923 weigh?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 weighs 4.05 kg (8.93 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Krag-Jorgensen M1923?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 is chambered in 6.5x55mm Swedish.
How many rounds does the Krag-Jorgensen M1923 hold?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Krag-Jorgensen M1923?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 is 1117 mm (44.0 in) long overall, with a 610 mm (24.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Krag-Jorgensen M1923?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 is made by Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk (Norway). It was designed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag / Erik Jorgensen.
When was the Krag-Jorgensen M1923 introduced?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 was introduced in 1923 and discontinued in 1926.
How does the Krag-Jorgensen M1923 operate?
The Krag-Jorgensen M1923 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker 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
- Norwegian Armed Forces
- 1923
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
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-m1923' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "krag-jorgensen-m1923", "name": "Krag-Jorgensen M1923", "manufacturer": { "id": "kongsberg-vaapenfabrikk", "name": "Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk", "countryCode": "NO", "foundedYear": 1814, "website": null, "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": "82608d925f094cc477278b4fee02a76abce31db3df38f56ecd3ebb324d0c6d62" }, "category": { "id": "sniper-rifle", "name": "Sniper Rifle", "description": "Precision rifles optimized for long-range accuracy" }, "country_of_origin": "NO", "year_introduced": 1923, "barrel_length_mm": 610, "weight_empty_g": 4050, "action_type": "bolt_action"}