Scott Duff * PO Box 414 * Export, Pennsylvania 156321-724-327-8246 E-Mail sdufforder@windstream.net 1-724-327-4192 Fax
This page was last updated on 12 January 2012
--HOLD on Layaway-- 1511-R1481. M1892 Krag Rifle, Springfield Armory, s/n 6752 (Oct.-Dec.
1894) Formerly in the Scott Duff collection and in the Bruce Canfield collection. ANTIQUE - NO FFL REQUIRED.
Let me start by stating that I have a weakness for all Model 1892 Krag rifles. Because of that interest, I have
conducted a lengthy and serious study of ‘92 Krag rifles and their service
usage, and I know them well. Original configuration M1892s are very scarce. The
‘92 rifle saw heavy use in both the Spanish American War and the Philippine
Insurrection. According to Springfield Armory records, of the 24,562 M1892
rifles produced, 18,559 were converted to M1896 configuration. Many others were
lost on the battlefield. The survival rate of unaltered examples is very low.
My best guess is that only a few hundred survived substantially intact. As a
result of their scarcity, many U.S.
martial arms collections are missing an example of this historically
significant model.
The rifle being offered was found
by Stuart Mowbray in Rhode Island
in the late 1990s. He traded it to Bruce Canfield
who later traded it to me in 1999. In 2004 I sold it to a friend. Now I have
been asked to sell this rifle for him. It is a substantially original example
that was manufactured at Springfield Armory in late 1894. When Stuart found the
rifle, the rear sight, bolt, cut off, and few other small parts had been
upgraded to M1896 parts during its military service. Between Bruce and I we
acquired the proper ’92 parts to return it to its 1894 configuration, adding:
the bolt body, cocking piece, firing pin, mainspring, extractor with bolt
sleeve, safety lock, carrier/follower assembly, gate, magazine cutoff, and rear
sight. The parts that we removed are included in the sale of the rifle in case
the owner wants to display it in its as-used configuration rather that it’s
as-manufactured appearance.
The metal components are of a
brown patina and mottled gray. The side plate is original to this rifle as it
is correctly serial number to the receiver. The front sight is the ’92 type.
The upper band is the ’92 type with bushing for ramrod. The ramrod is the
original of proper length for this serial number rifle. The hand guard is the
short type that does not extend over the receiver and has the flush-type
rivets. The stock is the ’92 with faintly visible outline of a cartouche and
clearly visible proof P. The butt plate is the solid type without curved toe or
provision for cleaning compartment.
I have had more than 20 Krag rifles
that were identified by Springfield Research Service (SRS)
to service in Cuba,
Puerto Rica, or the Philippines.
Careful examination of those rifles has taught me a lot. The rifles used in Cuba
and Puerto Rica are typically brown above the wood line and usually have good
condition bluing below the wood line. They were in a wet environment, but not
for an extended period of time. The metal of the rifles that I have examined
that saw service in the Philippines
have all been in lesser condition. They were brown above the wood line and
brown and pitted below the wood line. They too were in a wet environment, but
for a year or longer. I have also examined many original Krag rifles that spent
a generation or two in someone’s damp basement and they look totally different
than the ID’d rifles that had been in Cuba
or the Philippines.
Because of the opportunities that I have had to examine so many such rifles, I
believe that I have a good feel for what each category looks like. In addition,
you can tell a lot about a ’92 from what parts have been changed versus what
original parts remain on a rifle. In my opinion, and it is nothing more than my
opinion, M1892 Krag rifle s/n 6752 had the parts changed to an early M1896
type, most likely in 1896-97 period. The rifle then saw service for a lengthy
time in a wet environment, possibly in the Philippines,
and then it left Government service. Unfortunately this rifle does not “hit” on
the SRS list, so buy the gun, not the story.
The price is based on a M1892 rifle in this condition with the ’96 parts that
were on it when found and the current value of the ‘92 parts that Bruce and I
added, and not my opinion of where the rifle may have been. This rifle has the
“look” about it that I like so much. You may like it too. In addition to the
’96 parts that were on the rifle when found, sale includes a letter attesting
to this rifle having been in both the Scott Duff and Bruce
Canfield collections. ATF classifies this rifle as antique and no FFL or
C&R license is required for shipment. - $5,500
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