Scott Duff * PO Box 414 * Export, Pennsylvania 156321-724-327-8246 E-Mail sdufforder@alltel.net 1-724-327-4192 Fax
This page was last updated on 13 August 2008
!!SOLD!! 288-R1133. M1896 Krag Rifle, s/n 100787 (2nd quarter 1898) from Scott
Duff Collection. ANTIQUE FIREARM -
NO FFL REQUIRED. This is an original, late production Model 1896 rifle that
was in my collection for a number of years; in November 2000 I sold it and have
now been asked to sell it for that owner. Sale
includes a letter verifying it being from the Scott Duff collection. As most ‘96s were heavily used in the Spanish
American War and Philippine Insurrection and later went through Armory rebuilt,
they are tough to find in this condition. This is a nice looking rifle
that is in very good overall condition. The receiver is in very good condition,
the blued parts range from good bluing to turning brown, the bolt is mostly
bright with the handle turning brown, the extractor retains nearly all of its
razor blade blue finish, and the bore is just short of bright and shiny and is
in far better condition than is usually found, MW = 2.0. The cutoff is the
original early type, not the later reversed type refitted to most ’96 rifles
after adoption of the M1898 rifle, the front band is a Model 1896 type without
the split, the front and rear sights are Model 1896 (type 2 rear sight). The
hand guard is a M1896 with no cracks or repairs. The stock is in very good
condition with clearly visible 1898 dated cartouche and proof P. Sale includes
a good condition sling, complete cleaning kit, and brass muzzle cover. This is
about $300 worth of accoutrements. The Model 1896 was the Krag Rifle of the
Spanish-American War. U.S.
troops in Cuba
who were armed with the Krag Rifles carried M1892s and M1896s; the first M1898s
were delivered after hostilities in Cuba
had ceased. Be sure to check the “Other Collectible Stuff” page for an 1898
dated Krag bayonet with scabbard to go with this rifle. This is a very nice
example of a historically significant U.S. Martial arm. Remember that the ATF classifies this rifle
as antique and no FFL or C&R license is required for shipment. - $1,750
288-R1134. M1898 Krag Rifle, s/n 173007 (early 1899) with SRS Letter. FFL or C&R REQUIRED. This Krag rifle is documented by
Springfield Research Service (SRS) to the 30th
U.S. Volunteer Infantry on August 26,
1900. The unit served in the Philippines
in late 1900 through 1901. This is a
nice looking rifle with the receiver, loading gate, and side plate of
thinning finish. The bolt body remains bright and shiny with the bolt handle
beginning to turn slightly brown. The extractor retains its original razor
blade blue. The bore is dark, which is typical of most Krags; the MW = 2.0. The
original bluing on the barrel is in pretty good condition. The front band is
the proper 1898 type with the cut. The front and lower bands retain most of
their original blued finish. The trigger guard and the butt plate are devoid of
finish, with some light corrosion on the butt plate. The rear sight, hand
guard, and front sight blade are M1896 type 2. The original stock is in very good
condition, is unsanded and has a well-struck 1899 cartouche and proof P. The
condition of the hand guard matches the stock. This is a nice looking Model
1898 Krag rifle with very good condition wood and an SRS
letter documenting provenance to the Philippine Insurrection. - $1,595
168-R1106. 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 in order to
raise money to buy Model 1892 Krag s/n 25. Now I have been asked to sell this
rifle as the owner has recently found a very low s/n ’92 and is raising money
for that purchase. 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 me 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 nearly 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 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. I like this rifle
when I received it from Bruce and I still like it now and wish that I could
have kept it, but “sell one to buy one” is sometimes required of all of us! 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. - Reduced to $5,500!
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