You never know what will knock on your door

[psteinmayer]

You just never know what will come knocking on your door... This came knocking on mine yesterday evening:

A good friend of mine asked me to take a look at a rifle that has been in his family since before he was born... and he knew nothing about it. When I opened the door, I nearly peed my pants! He says that his mother told him that his grandfather carried it in WW1 and then put it into storage, but he didn't know much else other than he thought it was exactly as his grandfather left it.

1896 s/n 55829. It's in absolutely immaculate condition (at first glance). It is slightly dusty, including dust in the muzzle area of the otherwise shiny and spotless bore with sharp rifling. My guess is that no one has fired this thing in forever! I believe that it has been refinished. Now here's where it gets interesting. The stock has the usual cartouche... plus an additional cartouche just forward of the original - x.x.W.J.? Is it possible that it was re-cartouched during a rebuild at the Springfield Armory??? I believe the stock was sanded at some point because the original cartouche is not very deep. Also, I think it has laid on it's side for some time (Dave did say that it spent decades under a bed). The entire rifle appears to have been re-blued, including in the mag well and the bolt. The action is butter smooth as usual and I tested the operation with dummy rounds and everything works perfectly. It is also mising the stacking swivel.

David did not think it had been refinished because his mother said it was exactly as her father had left it... and I'm sure he is telling me the truth. Dave is in his upper 70s (he's my neighbor and fellow member of our HOA board). I do believe however that this Krag has been refurbished at some point because of the bluing. This Krag is currently in my gun safe as I promised I would keep it safe and warm for him until he decides what to do with it (I think he's leaning towards building a case to display it). I suggested he donate it to my collection... to which he offered a hardy laugh and a NO!

Can someone please check the serial number against the SRS records and see if it gets a hit? I would also love to offer up to David your thoughts on his Krag.

[psteinmayer]

More images:

[Whig]

Wow! Paul. I don't have neighbors like that! Beautiful family treasure.

I'm at work and don't have my SRS manuals but you'll get your check soon. The Krag has been refinished even the rear sight. The stock has been sanded with the cartouches. The refinish is slightly off from a true Springfield Armory finish. I have seen that cartouche before but don't have Mallory of Brophy to double check. The grasping grooves are hard to see in your pictures but look fairly good but smoothed some. Doesn't matter. It's a family treasure and should stay in his family to enjoy even though you covet!

Thanks for sharing this great discovery. Many more out there, without a doubt.

[butlersrangers]

No hits for 55329 or 55829, lots of Krags near those numbers were destroyed by New Cumberland guards in 1929.

Everything was definitely refinished on your neighbor's Krag, (privately done for a civilian owner, I think).

The stock may be a European walnut. The 2nd Cartouche appears to be WW1 period inspection stamp.

This Krag would make a nice shooter. Take it to Camp Perry!

[FredC]

I am with Br, looks like 55329 to me. Beautifully refinished. No need to worry about ugly rubbing off on your Krags. If I had a gun safe, I would definitely store it just to handle it once in a while.

[Whig]

Paul,

I just got home and looked in Mallory, 2nd edition. I knew that this cartouche was familiar. Right on page 191 is the same exact cartouche you have on your neighbor's rifle. It is the refurbishment cartouche of the Benica Arsenal, W.J. inspector. I have searched and not found the owner of the initials. You can see the B.A. and the large rectangle in your picture and the periods after the initials W.J., just like in the picture from Mallory. Nice example, although sanded and weak. At least one mystery solved now! The additional picture is a color-altered copy of your first picture of the cartouche above. Makes it a little easier to see details.

[butlersrangers]

Thanks for making the connection Whig.

[psteinmayer]

Now for the all important "Follow-Up Question:" Was the re-bluing performed as a function of a refurbishment at the Benicia Arsenal? Dave swears that his mother's claim was that this rifle had never been out of his families hands and no one in his family has even so much as shot it since his grandfather brought it back from Europe. It is immaculately clean internally with a pristine barrel. He would have no reason to lie and since he doesn't really know anything about firearms, he's only repeating what he was told.

Me? I'm on the fence! Since the bolt, rear sight and other items that shouldn't be blued were... I feel like it's the work of a private gunsmith. However, I don't know whether an arsenal would have blued it like this or not. Again, other than the missing stacking swivel, the rifle is complete... including the correct 1896 rear sight.

Thoughts on this?

[Whig]

Paul, I don't know if we can really answer that for sure. Therefore, I would say that the best answer for the history of this Krag, is that the Benecia Arsenal did all of the refinishing and call it a day. I wouldn't argue that given the evidence available. It has apparently seen some use or wear since the B.A-W.J. cartouche was stamped, unless it was stamped weakly to begin with. But I think it's one of those things not to be debated too much and just go with BA refinish. If too many people debate it for too long (including me) you might not like some of the conclusions thrown out there. Nice history and it's great to have an excellent bore.

[FredC]

It has been in the family for around 100 years. hard to believe that its whereabouts were closely monitored for the whole time. A gunsmith could have done the refinishing in a week with most of the family unaware. Or we could go with Whig's answer to avoid hard feelings.