SRS Check Request 1896 Krag Carbine R. Rider? 32809

[Dick Hosmer]

Since it creates distraction, I will refrain from posting on the 'Krag' page. I do look forward to 'thek98snipers' pictures. Good luck Sirs!

Quite un-necessary, and I certainly hope you reconsider.

Joe, in addition to being extremely intelligent, at the near genius/savant level, has a mercurial personality. This is not the first time he has picked up his marbles and gone home, nor, sadly, will it probably be the last. He will be back. I really like the guy when he stays on topic, but at times his attitude can be maddening. He has, literally, amassed a ton of data, and artifacts, but he did it as a mental exercise for himself. I believe he is fully capable of printing one copy of each of his books for his own library (in fact he once said exactly that) and moving on to some other challenge. I sincerely hope he does otherwise, but only time will tell.

[Dick Hosmer]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/herbsgunshop/slideshow/

Hope you enjoyed your coffee - but, see - that wasn't so hard, was it? Nice looking carbine!

One thing that has not yet been mentioned is that "1896" (as opposed to "Model 1896") is the scarcest of all the Krag receiver dates. Only 5000 arms were so marked - some are rifles, some are carbines. I own carbine 32383, in very similar condition to yours, and rifle 37045, which is, at present (and for the last 40 years or so) the highest known "1896". The word "Model" is thought to have been added around 37100. If any one can refine that, please post a picture (not a Photoshopped one of course!!!!!!). As an old fart, my brain was shaped at the time when "photographic evidence" was a valid and useful tool. Now, when every pixel can be dicked-with, a lot more care is required.

[CJCulpeper]

Hope you enjoyed your coffee - but, see - that wasn't so hard, was it? Nice looking carbine!

One thing that has not yet been mentioned is that "1896" (as opposed to "Model 1896") is the scarcest of all the Krag receiver dates. Only 5000 arms were so marked - some are rifles, some are carbines. I own carbine 32383, in very similar condition to yours, and rifle 37045, which is, at present (and for the last 40 years or so) the highest known "1896". The word "Model" is thought to have been added around 37100. If any one can refine that, please post a picture (not a Photoshopped one of course!!!!!!). As an old fart, my brain was shaped at the time when "photographic evidence" was a valid and useful tool. Now, when every pixel can be dicked-with, a lot more care is required.

My very first Krag was a full dress 1896 rifle with serial number 34036. I bought at an antique mart while passing through Maryland. I thought it was 84038 until there was a post from another fellow on the forum had confused the serial number on his krag too. Every thing was fine until I showed it to a buddy. The rim on the bolt face was missing and half broken and half hammered inward. Something was wrong and smelled of dead fish. We were looking at the bolt and began to think. For whatever reason I grabbed a fired 30-06 case and dropped it in the chamber. It chambered perfectly. It became very clear what had happened. The rifle was used to fire blanks. At least we hoped it had been used to fire blanks.

I took it back to the seller and he tried to tell me it was a rare arsenal modification. By then I had been reading Jouster's Krag forum for a year or so and knew better. The guy returned a bunch of money and sold it to me for what he claimed he had in it.

I figured it was done as a shooting gun so I contacted a good gentleman in NY to spin the barrel off for me. He asked me what I was going to do with the receiver and told me he did not have that range in his collection. His very big collection. I figured if he wanted it it must be something semi-special. I kept the receiver.

And that, gentlemen, is how I got hooked on Krags. Now I own sixteen of them and two thousand rounds of ammo. My krags are not what you would call collector grade or super rare krags but they are mine and I like them.

[jon_norstog]

One thing about this thread. You can't get very deep into Krags without learning some history, maybe a lot of it. And you don't have to learn much history before you have to ask yourself why the US not only quit putting black soldiers into combat, but pretty much stuffed the history of the "coloured" units down the memory hole. And ask yourself why the US military forgot everything it learned about small wars in the jungle during the Krag years, and had to learn it all over again in Vietnam. Learn it the hard way.

You can call it hijacking, but questions of history are just below the surface of any discussion of historic artifacts, like those rocks that lurk just below the surface of the water, waiting to eat your ship.

jn

[SgtSki]

Simple explanation is they all died and no body was left to impart the knowledge.

[madsenshooter]

I like k98sniper's carbine. I also wish I'd paid more attention to the two Kerr slings he just sold on ebay. I'll bet they're sturdier than the repros.

[thek98sniper]

Stay tuned...I've got several more Kerr slings that are D-flawless coming out soon, never saw ones nicer. Also, one of my clients just did a buy from the local Sherriffs department that destroyed some real old Colt 1911's. I got all the old "good" parts except the frames...the SNs were shaved anyway.
Good get on my ID, BTW.

[madsenshooter]

I'll do that, I like the way they look on a Krag, but the repros aren't tough enough for match use, the clothe pulls apart at the rivets. Back when the local Legion had Krags, they all had Kerr slings on them.

[dave]

I once owed OALW serial 189319, 98 rec., 1900 stock, rifle sight, OAWL #118. For any one recording such things!

[Dan Shapiro]

One thing about this thread. You can't get very deep into Krags without learning some history, maybe a lot of it.

When I first started collecting, my kids became interested; being more "computer savvy", they were a big help. Years later, #1 Son told me that he and his sister learned more about US History, helping me in my research before purchasing an item; then they'd ever learned in their school courses.

Because they were interested?

Don't know, most probably. But it wasn't limited to firearms research. There were times when we went off on interesting tangents. Manufacturing processes, labor strife (unions), politics, even poetry!