Krag Collectors Association Forum

Stamping the number after heat treat seems like it would have been hard on the number stamps maybe impossible. I am pretty sure it was done before, if so a spoiled receiver could have the number noted as it was destroyed and the number assigned to a new one later. Any clue as to whether numbers were reused or just skipped?
Thinking about this some I would have stamped the number after a last inspection prior to heat treatment.
There was that irregularity first noted when the receiver was in the stock, wondering if that prevented it from fitting in the fixture where that late operation was done around the trigger pivot point.

Great info Guys, Just got out of work and can add a few things. Receiver was x-rayed in shop. No welding has been done on receiver. No numbers have ever been stamped into receiver. Original stamping has not been altered.

Here is the proof on receiver.

Better View

Interesting thread! I cannot believe that receiver was ever put on an arm at SA - it HAD to have come out by the back door, in some manner.

If it were mine, I'd abandon all thoughts of building (forcing) it into a rifle, strip it of parts, and mount it to a nice walnut base and use it as a MOST unique paperweight on my desk. Just my $.02.

Is the reveal 100% that it is not some sort of prototype or maybe a early receiver design that was change for improvement? Would hate to erase a piece of history. This is it before I broke it down to take pictures to answer everyone's questions.

Does anyone have input on the small number 50 in stock behind trigger guard.

Stock

Wow, this has been a great topic and, as usual, educational.
Vic

Stock sub-inspector's mark. Various numbers are known - had nothing to do with the odd receiver.

FWIW, my paperweight suggestion is not destructive, nor irreversible should other facts emerge over time. Nor would it 'lose' anything, because - in my opinion - there is nothing to be "lost". Look upon it more as righting a wrong. Is it "interesting"? Yes. Should it be "legitimatized" as part of a rifle? No.

One of the key features of military arms is interchangeable parts. That receiver would be useless in the field, since it could not be put into another stock. NO final inspector at SA would ever have passed that as part of a finished rifle.

As has been mentioned, there is also the royalty issue - that is why it was not numbered. As for being an "experimental", the trigger design had been long settled at that point, plus, the work is not "finished" appearance-wise. I believe that it was simply discarded near the end of fabrication, for failing some gauging test, was scrapped, and acquired later by a surplus dealer.

Again, just my opinion - YMMV.