Portal:Norway/Selected article/5
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The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States and Norway. A distinctive feature of the Krag-Jørgensen action was its magazine. While many other rifles of its era used an integral box magazine, the magazine of the Krag-Jørgensen was integral with the receiver (the part of the rifle that houses the operating parts), featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. The cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower. This presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with a top-loading "box" magazine, which were often fed using a "stripper clip". While a similar claw type clip would be made that could allow the magazine to be loaded all at once, normal loading was one cartridge at a time. However, the design was easy to "top off", and unlike most top-loading magazines, the Krag-Jørgensen's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. The relative complexity of manufacturing this magazine has been suggested as a reason why many countries did not adopt the Krag-Jørgensen. For others, the magazine's features likely aided adoption. The next major US rifle also had a magazine-lock off. Today, the Krag-Jørgensen is a popular rifle among collectors, and is valued by shooters for its smooth action.
