1899 carbine
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:45 pm
Welp. For the first time ever, I have let a gun go, and it was a Krag. Specifically, it was the 1899 carbine I posted about here before: http://kragcollectorsassociation.com/vi ... 0&start=20
Why would I do such a thing? Well, it was actually a trade towards this:
No SRS hit, but 99Cs e'rwhere around it. Not that it's a mystery with these. I think the metal has been enthusiastically cleaned...but you will recall my prior was straight up refinished, both metal and wood, and had that nasty handguard crack.
Treasure hunt...alas, this grave has already been robbed:
You will recall also my former carbine gauged 4-ish at the muzzle...this one is under 2...!
The bore is grungy, but I think it'll clean up.
And the innards:
So now you're asking yourself, well, now, did ol' Lead get taken, and for how much? And the answer is, absolutely yes he did. The breakdown: this carbine was found at (A Houston Store Infamous For Its Pricing) at $2250.
But, they were running a sale, so knock off 15%: $1912.50.
Trade in the old carbine for $1000 (*chuckles* I paid $850 on GB in the pre-sales tax era).
Pay about $987 total out of pocket today including tax, but save some tax thanks to trade-in.
So by my calculations, factoring in the extra bucks from the trade, I got this one for about...oh, call it $1700. Youch. It's not worth that...yet...probably about $200-400 too high. But then factor in that I won't be losing any more sleep over the refinishing and that d*** crack (no, I'm not crazy, doesn't everyone lay awake at night thinking about their Krag's handguard crack, and when am I going to scrape out the gas cylinder in my M1A, and should I put wood or synthetic furniture on the HK?). AND I got the aesthetically pleasing humped handguard. And factor in that I was by God *going* to upgrade that carbine at some point, but have hit the point in my safe that if something goes in, something else goes out.
So let's call it a $1300 carbine with a $400 Lead Sleeps Better Tonight Dreaming Of Handguards And A Good Bore AND He Gets It In The Safe premium. This isn't a business, so as long as it stays off the books enough not to get me murdered in a domestic incident, it's all good.
Then again...philosophizing generally about US carbines, the market just shifted this week, for anyone else who was watching the Midway sale. When you think about buying the M1 carbines in the very good/fine range for about what I paid for this Krag...eh.
Buy bitcoin or buy carbines.
Why would I do such a thing? Well, it was actually a trade towards this:
No SRS hit, but 99Cs e'rwhere around it. Not that it's a mystery with these. I think the metal has been enthusiastically cleaned...but you will recall my prior was straight up refinished, both metal and wood, and had that nasty handguard crack.
Treasure hunt...alas, this grave has already been robbed:
You will recall also my former carbine gauged 4-ish at the muzzle...this one is under 2...!
The bore is grungy, but I think it'll clean up.
And the innards:
So now you're asking yourself, well, now, did ol' Lead get taken, and for how much? And the answer is, absolutely yes he did. The breakdown: this carbine was found at (A Houston Store Infamous For Its Pricing) at $2250.
But, they were running a sale, so knock off 15%: $1912.50.
Trade in the old carbine for $1000 (*chuckles* I paid $850 on GB in the pre-sales tax era).
Pay about $987 total out of pocket today including tax, but save some tax thanks to trade-in.
So by my calculations, factoring in the extra bucks from the trade, I got this one for about...oh, call it $1700. Youch. It's not worth that...yet...probably about $200-400 too high. But then factor in that I won't be losing any more sleep over the refinishing and that d*** crack (no, I'm not crazy, doesn't everyone lay awake at night thinking about their Krag's handguard crack, and when am I going to scrape out the gas cylinder in my M1A, and should I put wood or synthetic furniture on the HK?). AND I got the aesthetically pleasing humped handguard. And factor in that I was by God *going* to upgrade that carbine at some point, but have hit the point in my safe that if something goes in, something else goes out.
So let's call it a $1300 carbine with a $400 Lead Sleeps Better Tonight Dreaming Of Handguards And A Good Bore AND He Gets It In The Safe premium. This isn't a business, so as long as it stays off the books enough not to get me murdered in a domestic incident, it's all good.
Then again...philosophizing generally about US carbines, the market just shifted this week, for anyone else who was watching the Midway sale. When you think about buying the M1 carbines in the very good/fine range for about what I paid for this Krag...eh.
Buy bitcoin or buy carbines.