Model 1896 followed me home tonight

[Dragonflydf]

little to no finish left on it, but the bore is bright, stock is not cracked, no cartouches, serial 520**


I am new to Krags, what can you tell me about it ?

Information

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[JOHN42768]

Hi, the serial number puts DOB at Jan. '97. It appears to be 30" barrel rifle wearing a carbine stock. Hard to tell you more from the photo. John

[jon_norstog]

Dragonfly,

You have a pretty decent restoration candidate. It still has the '96 rear sight. The stock is a cutdown and is more than likely the original wood - the carbine stocks had a different shape to them and a spring to retain the barrel band.

You can get restoration forearms and hardware from various sources. If the bore is good you could make it into a nice vintaGe match rifle. The sight may be worth more than you paid for the rifle. Most of the Krag guys moved back to the Culver page and you might try posting there to get more info.

good luck with your new Krag!

jn

[Dragonflydf]

I picked it up for $400. The bore is bright with no dark spots.
Here are some more photos

[jon_norstog]

Dragonfly,

That rifle was almost certainly in service during the Spanish American War - the Army went fom tiny to over 150,000 overnight, that's not counting the state volunteer. So they issued every Krag they had. It looks like it saw some use. The Army was pretty fussy about maintenance, so even rifles that went to Cuba or the Philippines may not show a lot of rust or pitting.

For some reason this one appears to have escaped the later modifications, like the revised sight and handguard. There are people like 5MF and Dick Hosmer who could tell youmore about this rifle. I think it's definitly worth restoring.

good luck!

jn

[Dragonflydf]

JN,
Thanks for the info, How would I contact the people you mentioned ? are they on here or ?

[jon_norstog]

Dragonfly,

looks like you posted over at the other site. The moderators are feuding, but us enlisted men don't have a dog in that fight. What Dick Hosmer said, yeah you probably paid high dollar - he's a guy who looks at a doughnut and sees a hole. I think you have the makings of a really good vintage match rifle. Also I would rather have the weapon that could have been in Cuba or the Phillipines than a '98 model that missed the action.

jn

[Dragonflydf]

I took it out to the range today and put almost 60 rounds thru it without a problem, other than without the upper handguard, the barrel just radiates the heat and distorts the sight picture.

I felt the price was reasonable considering I was able to put it on lay away.

Looks like to do a basic restore I will need a handguard, a new forward stock and bayonet mount and screw. Any idea who has the parts ? or is it a scrounge job of a piece here and a piece there ?

[jon_norstog]

I would ask over at the other site. There's a vendor, I forget their name, that sells Krag restoration parts. good luck!

jn

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Dragonflydf,

I think you're on the right track to do a basic restoration and I don't think you got burned and paid a great deal too much. You have an interesting rifle in good condition and rich history and you can shoot it.

I feel bad when any new enthusiast asks about a new rifle and some people immediately begin to pick it to pieces.

You have a great shooter that looks very good and you don't have a fortune tied up in it. We all have to start someplace when collecting and I think you did good, and better that most might have. Have fun, do research, learn from gentlemen such as Jon and the others, and most of all, have fun! (In that order!)

If you fall in love with Krags (or any other collectible gun) it's great to begin with a shooter grade and learn all that you can. You'll learn a lot as you go along, and later if you want to invest in a high priced highly collectible gun you'll have a background of knowledge and friends you'll learn you can trust to help you.

JMO and always -
Harlan