Krag Collectors Association Forum

This interesting piece is viewable online at the 'National Firearms Collection of the Smithsonian' site.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collectio ... s/military.

(It is more easily found by refining the search, when the Smithsonian page comes up.
Narrowing is done by typing: Krag-Jorgensen rifle, in the search-box).

Krag #357224 is listed as a "Springfield Armory Model 1899 Krag-Jorgensen Gallery Practice rifle", (in .22 caliber, circa 1907).

It is not a Springfield Armory GP rifle.

It actually appears (to me) to be a model 1899 carbine, that has a full-length 'Pope-Stevens' barrel installed.

The front sight appears a bit crudely done, and the 1896 rear-sight seems an odd choice?

Smithsonian ID Number is AF.NM167.

Can you tell anything about the barrel band in other views?

The stock & barrel-band appear to be regular model 1899 carbine parts.

How does one convince the Smithsonian that it is important to know the Stevens-Pope number on the bottom of the barrel?

I have visions of "Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant", when the Ark is transported in a numbered crate and unloaded at a vast storage installation, with acres of identical crates.

At the same moment a government agent tells him: "We have our top people working on it, our top people".

Here is a Smithsonian video that I find rather disappointing. (It would be nice if there were more and longer videos, displaying and offering insights on significant and interesting firearms in the Smithsonian collection):

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ca ... om/?no-ist

The sad reality is that the 'powers that be' do not see a need or demand to show more guns, research the items in the basement, and put this part of their 'holdings' on view and in context. They are overseeing a big 'trust' and maybe constrained from separating the 'wheat from the chaff'.

Our 'interest and hobby' is just a fringe area and not Politically Correct these days. It would be nice if more of the Smithsonian Arms Collection was on display with Affiliated museums and sites.