Krag Collectors Association Forum

In 1901 a report was published at the government printing office for the U.S. Congress:
"Report of the Committee On Awards of the World's Columbian Commission - Special Reports Upon Special Subjects or Groups".

It was published in two volumes and ran over 1,500 pages.
Why it was published, eight years after the event & why it contains the odd combination of display subjects and reports? - I do not know.
The reports, contained in the two volumes, appear to have been written back in 1893.

Fortunately, about 68 pages of the second volume are an extensive report by Captain Andrew H. Russell, U.S. Army (Ordnance Department).
Captain Russell's report was titled: "Government Exhibit of Guns and Ammunition".

The Captain had played an important role in assembling the War Department display, housed in the U.S. Government Building, at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition.

Attached are some pages, from his report, related to the Small Arms Ammunition display:

The rest of the small arms ammunition section:

I saw the term "diminutive recoil" in there. I know what they were talking about. Latest pig shooting was from the perch on a platform tractor took 3 shots with a NEF single shot 45/70 (weighs about 10 pounds with the thermal scope). With each shot I almost lost my balance and fell off the tractor. Later that day I shot at 2 pigs with a 12 gauge and the Italian buck shot. Neither one hurt my shoulder but only the 45/70 pushed so hard that I almost fell off. The rest of the story will be told in the PIGS thread. viewtopic.php?p=39804#p39804

A popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair was the Boone & Crockett "Hunter's Cabin". It was funded by 'Teddy' Roosevelt and served to show visitors how far America had come since its Pioneer Days.
Descendants of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett are reported to have visited the attraction.

I can't believe the cabin didn't feature a nice Muzzle-Loader on the mantle!

At the 1893 Columbian Exposition, the War Department display demonstrated the manufacture of .45 cal. Army rifle cartridges. In the interest of Public Safety, bogus "powder" was used.