at auction

[reincarnated]

Welcome, Brent.

I'm waterman on a couple of other forums. This one is more or less just about Krags. Photos 4 & 7 on the link you posted show the "plum" color in the Krag receiver. I've seen it for years and whenever I do, the Krag goes back on the rack. An old friend called it "Krag color".

Long ago, I was told that the color came from being hot blued, too long in the tank and maybe with the temperature too high.

Does anyone know if the color can be removed? Polished out?

Richard

[butlersrangers]

I believe the undesirable 'plumb' color is simply the result of how certain steel alloys and heat treatments react to the current ''hot bluing" process. Examples, I recall, routinely showing this are Krag receivers and 'flash hiders' on British 'Jungle Carbines'. This effect also seems to show up on springs and certain small hardened parts on numerous guns. For me it is a total 'turn off'! This is probably totally cosmetic and not a problem with Safety or Utility.

[old shooter]

The plumb color can be polished or removed chemically and the part re blued as usual. I'm told the plumb color comes from the bluing solution too hot. Any gunsmiths care to comment?

[butlersrangers]

I like some 'Mannlicher' stocks. One of my favorite expressions of classic firearms is the 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine.
I once owned a beautiful early example engraved on the barrel: "von Lengerke & Antoine, Chicago" (Marshall Fields sporting Dept.). I bought it at a Michigan gun show to use for deer hunting. It quickly appreciated in value and collectability, which made it foolish to use it for hunting ('Safe Queen'). I was so excited, when I bought it, that I didn't carefully listen to the story of its known provenance. It was manufactured pre-WW1 and had belonged to a Michigan 'Lumber Baron' (name forgotten), who was a published author of a book on 'hunting whitetails'.
The butt trap compartments on this M-S carbine contained a three piece cleaning rod and three old Winchester-Western 6.5X54mm M-S cartridges. The wood and metal of this carbine was in excellent condition. A minor stock blemish was seven discrete knife scratches (notches) that probably signified 7 deer taken with the carbine. Two things that made me unhappy were: the double set-triggers had been expertly converted to a crisp single trigger and it had a Lyman No. 36 'swinging' peep sight, mounted on a special bolt release button (a very rare sight).
In a moment of weakness, I traded my 'Safe Queen' for two new expensive 'must have' rifles, that I no longer own. I always figured, I would one day pick up an even better 1903 M-S carbine that was 100% factory. I wanted those darn Set-Triggers(Too late Smart)!
Here are some 'full-stock' carbines, I venerate and think are 'Classic'. (I only have a '94 Swede).

[Brent]

The plum hotblue is easy to fix by rust bluing - easily done at home. The full length stock not so easy to fix. I agree, there is not a lot of wood to work with. And as far as I'm concerned, only flintlocks need full length stocks.

[Top Dean]

Now that a pretty rifle!

[butlersrangers]

That is a nice looking 'Long Rifle'. But, Jaeger rifles and their descendants also look good and handle well with full-length stocks.

[psteinmayer]

I always wanted a Flintlock... One day I'll have one!

[Top Dean]

no flintlocks yet but I do have several cap rifles and one cap pistols.

[gunboat57]

I used to have a flintlock, a Lyman Great Plains. Try as I might, I could never stop flinching when the priming powder went off. I guess that's why they're sometimes called "flinch locks". But I know shooters who have no trouble shooting them. I just must be too high strung.