Krag Carbine

[blazinsun69]

How much does refinishing a 1896 Krag carbine hurt the selling price. I don't know when it was done...and does look like a good job was done on the refinish.
I have done quite a bit of research on it... all marks appear correct, and overall is in fair to good condition.
I probably will sell it eventually, but need to find out all I can about it first... and my friends, that is proving to be a long drawn out process.... big sigh here... lol
Larry in desert Calif.

Information

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[m1903rifle]

Pictures and/or serial number would help us evaluate your M1896 carbine.

[blazinsun69]

Researching firearms is new to me, and has been a learning experience to say the least...smile. I have some (4) pix of my carbine, but not true close-ups. In my ignorance, I took high resolution pix and they aren't fit to send to the site. I know they can be reduced in size... but honestly, I can't do it.
I do however have the serial number..... 35714 ..... which makes date of manufacture in 1896. Too bad the last two numbers aren't reversed, as there is documentation on that carbine...
I live in an apartment (not too secure) so I have cached my small collection elsewhere. It makes it unhandy tho' to get new pix. ( about 300 miles away )
If anyone is interested enough, I could send the pix I have in an email..... I am not a total idiot...smile
larry

[jon_norstog]

Blazin,

The first thing to do is see if u have a carbine or a "carbine" since there are a lot of cut-downs and out-and-out fakes out there. The S/Ns of the '96 carbines are pretty well known. The 1898 carbines, maybe 500 were made and all 1,000 of them are for sale on GB.

One thing to note is that most of the Krags that were issued were "updated" to the point that the term "correct" has no meaning and a "correct" carbine is likely to have been "corrected" by a collector, whereas the non-correct one is more likely to have seen service and is now in the condition as at the time it left service.

As far as refinishng goes, some Krags were arsenal refinished. The arsenal blueing differed depending on the part of the rifle/carbine and is overall hard to fake. If that's what you have, you're cool. Otherwise, I guess it depends on the market.

jn

[daveboy]

Blazin,

The 1898 carbines, maybe 500 were made and all 1,000 of them are for sale on GB.

jn

That is so funny and so true!

daveboy

[5MadFarmers]

Serial indicates 1896 carbine. What "refinish" means is always open to question. "Not much" as a rule unless it's particularly egregious.