Going to look again at Stevens-Pope

[98src]

Definitely a Stevens-Pope rifle with the correct front sight. As you probably won't be shooting it a great deal, bore condition shouldn't be a deal breaker. I have a M1898 Gallery Practice 22 caliber rifle that has a great bore, but I have never shot it. I paid $3500.00 for it about 10 years ago. Is this one in that price range?

[Fiddy]

Definitely a Stevens-Pope rifle with the correct front sight. As you probably won't be shooting it a great deal, bore condition shouldn't be a deal breaker. I have a M1898 Gallery Practice 22 caliber rifle that has a great bore, but I have never shot it. I paid $3500.00 for it about 10 years ago. Is this one in that price range?

Thanks very much for your insight. This one is a bit lower in price than $3500 but I still have no idea how to rate the condition of such an old rifle, and so no idea what I should pay for it. Would you mind telling me what you think? Brutal honesty and a lesson in evaluation would be welcome!

Ken

[Dick Hosmer]

So far as price is concerned, I paid $3000 for my SA (extractor-plate) .22 - in somewhat nicer shape - about ten years ago. I believe that valuation is about the same for either style. The SA arms tend to run in the 475-477K range, but I'd think an S-P re-barrel could be almost anything. Doesn't look like anyone's fooled with that one, but it would be nice to view the bore with a good wiping. Some of the early .22 ammo could be pretty bad if left uncleaned.

[Fiddy]

So far as price is concerned, I paid $3000 for my SA (extractor-plate) .22 - in somewhat nicer shape - about ten years ago. I believe that valuation is about the same for either style. The SA arms tend to run in the 475-477K range, but I'd think an S-P re-barrel could be almost anything. Doesn't look like anyone's fooled with that one, but it would be nice to view the bore with a good wiping. Some of the early .22 ammo could be pretty bad if left uncleaned.

Thanks very much for chiming in! I'm not familiar with what SA means. Would you mind filling me in? Also, what do you think a fair price on this one would be if the barrel condition is roughly similar to the exterior of the rifle? Speaking on condition, how would you describe the condition of this one? Cheers!

[Whig]

Dick can answer the rest of your question since he is the most experienced therein but SA means Springfield Armory.

Great thread. I've learned a lot about these rifles from your research into this Krag variant.

[Dick Hosmer]

Describing the condition is not always easy, and that one would not grade very high on the standardized NRA scale (somewhere between "Good" and "Very Good" I'd think) but, they ARE "rare". Someone has cleaned part of the wood. Steel wool and solvent would improve the metal some, but not enough to make it smooth, and you'd remove a lot of color in the process. I don't think I'd want to pay more than about $2500 for it.

[98src]

I think the exterior metal will clean up just fine using WD-40 and some of the bronze wool. A lot of it might just be dried grease. the butt plate appears to have the heaviest pitting.The big question of course is the bore. If it is shootable with good visible lands and grooves, I would venture a guess that $2000.00 to $2500.00 would be a good buy. Anything less would be a real good buy.

[Fiddy]

Describing the condition is not always easy, and that one would not grade very high on the standardized NRA scale (somewhere between "Good" and "Very Good" I'd think) but, they ARE "rare". Someone has cleaned part of the wood. Steel wool and solvent would improve the metal some, but not enough to make it smooth, and you'd remove a lot of color in the process. I don't think I'd want to pay more than about $2500 for it.

Thank you very much.

[Fiddy]

I think the exterior metal will clean up just fine using WD-40 and some of the bronze wool. A lot of it might just be dried grease. the butt plate appears to have the heaviest pitting.The big question of course is the bore. If it is shootable with good visible lands and grooves, I would venture a guess that $2000.00 to $2500.00 would be a good buy. Anything less would be a real good buy.

Thank you for your input!

[waterman]

I have messed around with both Gallery Practice Rifles (GPR) and with Stevens-Popes (SP) for a few years now. Here's how I look at them:

The SP was made as a barrel only (and maybe it came with a front sight), And was D&T for the Krag rear sight of any type. When you buy (big bucks) a complete SP Krag, you are buying a SP barrel and it better be at least shootable. The rest of the rifle really has no more value than a complete collection of parts.

To me, if you can't get an original SP barrel to shoot (and they are worth a lot of bronze brush & JB work), then you have something that is probably worth a lot less than you just paid.

I would be very skeptical about lining, simply because the exterior of the barrel is NOT concentric with the bore. To me, that is a job for a skilled machinist who knows what the problem is BEFORE he puts the barrel on his lathe. John Taylor is the first guy I would call.

If a SP Krag that had been relined came around, I don't think I'd chance more than 60 % of the value of a good one. They just ain't the same.

The GPRs were made about 1908-09. The two I have handled were not as smooth in operation as a regular Krag. Maybe they were not heat-treated, since they were .22 rimfires only, not .30-40s. The first production run were chambered for .22 Extra Long and have groove diameters of about 0.226" and 18" twist rifling. They will shoot .22 Long Rifles safely, but accuracy is minimal. IMHO, this bunch are over-priced curios.

The later production GPRs were fitted with barrels that were correct for .22 Long Rifle cartridges. They shoot pretty well, but a real slick Krag they ain't. Others think they are worth as much as a good SP Krag. I don't.