Quote Originally Posted by butlersrangers View Post
Were they shipped back to the U.S. for recruit training?
Were they simply stored, as reserve equipment, in Europe?
Did some of these Krags get left in Franceicon and become rare collector items?
I'm trying to hypothesize now about that cocking piece. Field expedient maintenance of a worn part from an older rifle being used as parts? By the troops or maintenance by a collector? What does normal wear of a cocking piece look like? Could the sear engagement have become so worn that somebody replaced it?

If only they could talk. My kids and I like playing a dinner game of inventing realistic sounding stories about my old milsurps. Their favorite, which I've posted here about, is a Longbranch No 4 Mk1*, which poor old "Doug" doodled his name upside down and outboard of the butt stock- he put crosses in the D, o, and g. Most stories involve a private Doug falling asleep, lonely on nightwatch in a hole with the rifle in his shoulder. He looks down and uses the tip of a round to doodle his name. Other marks in the stock show poor Doug may indeed have fallen asleep, awaken by surprise by a bayonet slash, which he tried to parry at port arms, leaving rounded gash across the upper handgaurd and forearm where the enemy's muzzle struck. Sorry - daydreaming of these old rifles is just as addictive as working with and shooting them.