.22 Hornet Improved

A Highly Rare Krag Conversion

- Layne Simpson

When it comes to rounding-up a turn-bolt action for a new varmint rifle build, our cups runneth over. The Remington 700 and Savage 110 series are prime candidates simply because so many are out there on the used gun market with prices sometimes low enough to allow robbing the action and dumping everything else at blue-light special prices. Both companies also sell new actions alone. For shooters who can afford them, there are custom actions such as the Stolle, Borden, Stiller, Farley, BAT and Surgeon.

Long before those became available, varmint rifles were commonly built on single-shot actions, with the Winchester Model 1885 High Wall one of the more popular due to its low price and availability. Then came the Krag-Jorgensen. Soon after the 1903 Springfield was adopted as America’s primary battle rifle, Krags became available on the military-surplus market at very affordable prices. Rifles in the original .30-40 chambering became quite popular among American hunters, and it was not unusual to spot a few in elk, moose and deer camps as late as the 1960s. An original Model 1898 carbine with a 22-inch barrel was a favorite of one of my father’s hunting pals who was a Baptist preacher. How I lusted for that fine little deer-slayer!

Some Krags underwent amateur modifications while others were transformed into fine custom rifles by knowledgeable gunsmiths. Some were rebarreled to various wildcats on the .30-40 case, with the Niedner .25 Krag being one of the more popular among western hunters. Some Krag actions were converted to single shot for cartridges the magazine could not handle. Among them were varmint cartridges such as the .219 Zipper in factory and Improved form, the .22 Hornet, the .22 Hornet Improved, the .22 Niedner on the .32-20 Winchester case, the .22-3000 R2 Lovell on the .25-20 Single Shot case and the .22 Niedner Magnum on the .25 Remington case.