1896 carbine...o the irony

U.S. Military Krags
Lead Snowstorm
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:20 am

1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

Another gunbroker purchase (https://www.gunbroker.com/item/902853830) hit my door today, and upon opening the bolt I felt a little like Doc Holliday looking at his toes in Tombstone..."I'll be d***ed, this is funny." (Well, only funny if you've seen my recent 1899 thread.)

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Yup, '98 bolt handle. But! At least the extractor looks correct...

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...for a gun of this vintage:

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I think the safety is the later embiggened version too.

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Everyone's waiting to see it, right?

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The stock has been updated and has the oiler cut.

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I have not scrubbed out, nor even looked in the bore yet, but the muzzle gauges right at 2...!

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There is a ghost of a cartouche. The bright flashlight I use died while I was trying to decipher it, so that'll have to wait for the batteries to recharge.

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Looks like there's an older proof...I imagine overstamped when a re-arsenal occurred, and the later bits got added, and was somehow never touched again until sold to me. Hey, it's *my* imagination.

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Anyhow, I spied it on GB and saw all sorts of carbine hits around it in the SRS. I was a little surprised to win it, I'll admit...I was prepared for a bit of a bidding war right up at the end, with all those interminable additional quarter-hours whilst trading bids.

Lead Snowstorm
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:20 am

Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

Flashlight back up and working. About the only thing I can say for certain is...not 1897.

Maaaaaaaaaybe 1896? Maybe 1898?

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butlersrangers
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by butlersrangers »

Nice model 1896 carbine and one of the early '1895' marked variants, to boot!

The Bolt in your photo looks like a correct model 1896 bolt-handle to me. (Not model 1898)

Lead Snowstorm
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

It might be, I'm still calibrating my eyes...but I think the flat is longer than the one in the 99:

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Either way this one must have had an interesting story to tell - I think the stock is the updated thicker-wrist one and the markings + oiler cut suggest a trip or two back through the arsenal, albeit ones that did not result in loss of all the early bits.

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butlersrangers
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by butlersrangers »

Lead Snowstorm - Your first photos fooled me. The last posted photo looks like your '1895' marked carbine came with a model 1898 bolt.
(BTW - The flat area of a model-1898 bolt-handle measures around one inch).

You now have the option of just switching your carbine bolts, (especially, if you have a Field gauge to check 'head-space').
Although, during a rebuild, it is real possible that your model 1896 carbine was given a model 1898 bolt.
Attachments
early 1896 bolt.jpg
early 1896 bolt.jpg (45.58 KiB) Viewed 1643 times
1898 bolt.jpg
1898 bolt.jpg (60.15 KiB) Viewed 1643 times

Lead Snowstorm
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

butlersrangers wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:47 am Although, during a rebuild, it is real possible that your model 1896 carbine was given a model 1898 bolt.
That’s kind of what I’m wondering given the updated stock. I may just keep it as is and imagine it is the way it came out of its period of service. Seems a shame in a way to break up what might be a more than century old configuration.

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butlersrangers
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by butlersrangers »

Oh bother ..... another thing to loose sleep over .... :shock:

Lead Snowstorm
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

butlersrangers wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 12:21 pm Oh bother ..... another thing to loose sleep over .... :shock:
True enough :lol:

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Dick Hosmer
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Dick Hosmer »

VERY nice find! FWIW, I read cartouche as 1896. I'm not sure the stock has been replaced - just had the oiler cut added.

Lead Snowstorm
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Re: 1896 carbine...o the irony

Post by Lead Snowstorm »

Dick Hosmer wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:07 pm VERY nice find! FWIW, I read cartouche as 1896. I'm not sure the stock has been replaced - just had the oiler cut added.
I was also thinking 1896…but I also have an interest in it *being* 1896, of course!!!

But the faint circle of the last digit does look a little bigger than the lower portion of the 8. It’s a shame that the rest of the cartouche doesn’t help - thinking in particular about the cross-stroke of the “A.”

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