SRS Request 1898

[rvan84]

Hello Everyone,
New to the forum and looking for some information on a rifle I happened to purchase at auction this past weekend. I stumbled across an 1898 Krag SN 178696. I am wondering if there is any info out there on this rifle. Thank you for any help that you can provide. It is greatly appreciated.

Information

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[butlersrangers]

'rvan84' - Your Model 1898 Krag rifle, #178696, was first assembled at Springfield Armory around March of 1899.

Initially, it likely entered service with a model 1896 rear-sight. In all probability, it was later updated to a model 1901 or model 1902 rear-sight, with adjustment for windage.

It would be interesting to see photographs of your Krag.

[rvan84]

Thank you for the info. I just picked up the rifle this morning. I will try to get some pictures together to post. Are there any key components or areas that are of higher interest?

[rvan84]

Here are a few photos that I took. I tried to find any markings that were readily seen.

[browningautorifle]

Nice polish and reblue on this one. Is this wood what's known as Italian walnut?

[rvan84]

Thanks for the compliment. I am unsure what wood the stock is. I am definitely aware that this is a refinish job. It appears there are some stamps that might have been sanded away. The bluing appears to be really well done. Even with that, there appears to be very little wear on the rifle and the bore/chamber also appear to be in very good shape. This is the very first one I have ever seen in real life and happened to get it for a really good price.

[browningautorifle]

The bluing appears to be really well done

Exactly my point, 555 mirror polish on the magazine plate and the rest is done so the numbers/letters aren't looking like they're melting. I'll bet the bore is stellar as that's the ones that are chosen for retention and refurbishment. Butlersrangers will be able to tell us what the wood is, maybe just straight grain black walnut...don't know. Just looks nicer than I'm used to.

[J-ROD]

Wow! That’s a beautiful rifle…almost sexy. I know if hurts the “collector” value when a rifle is refinished but damn….that is a nice looking rifle. Can you tell if it’s a chemical or rust blued?

[rvan84]

I am actually not sure which it is. I don't know enough to be able to tell the difference. I only paid $600 for it so I feel like I did ok even with the refinish.

[J-ROD]

It’ll be easy to tell if it’s cold bluing if you bump it off something and it scratches easy. To me, cold bluing looks like a thin layer of paint, especially in tiny lines and in corners. Rust bluing is the original finish done by a controlled process that makes the metal rust slightly and then it’s converted to black rust. Weird but they use rust to protect it from rust.