from this, to that

todd

todd

Well-Known Member
before 1898 springfield armory in 30-40 krag no. 2
hywJe6f.jpg


after 1898 springfield armory in 30-40 krag no.2
XNOrQfY.jpg

tjycEjJ.jpg


i got this krag last year sometime for $125(i think). it was all rusted up, so i got evapo-rust and a 4" pvc pipe with a 4" plug. i stripped her down and i put in the action/barrel in evapo-rust overnite. then i put in all the parts and pieces into a plastic bowl filled with evapo-rust. the next day i took them and i scrubbed or brushed them off and i put them back into evapo-rust. the next day, they were clean. the next step was brownell's oxpho blue and a hair dryer. it was a pain to do action/barrel(only one coat), but cold bluing the parts and pieces(3 or 4 coatings) was a snap. i put them back together with the stock and back into the safe.

a couple of months ago i did the stripping of stock no. 2(citristrip). then i did the sanding, bartley's oil wood filler, sanding, 7 or 8 coats of minwax antique oil and finally johnson's paste wax. i put it back together, photo'd it and then back in the safe.

i still have parts that i need to get and i think that no. 2(the 30-40 krag no. 1 is finished) will either need a rebore or a barrel to the 9.3 krag. and d&t for a side scope mount. but thats down the road, i have two 91 argies and a 93 mauser to do.

30-40 krag no. 1
DVr4IEx.jpg
 
todd

todd

Well-Known Member
i just couldn't stand the rust on the krag. the previous owner was about to throw it away, but he knows a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy....until me.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
That's an enviable rifle right there, sir.


Over 50 years ago, when I was a little kid in a gun shop in/near Detroit, I saw a literal barrel - a wooden barrel - with a bunch of rifles stuck in it, muzzle-down. I expressed to the adult who'd drug me along how cool those rifles looked and got a look of contempt and regret. Contempt for my ignorance, and regret that he'd brought me along only to be embarrassed by my poor taste. The counter-guy got a good chuckle out of the exchange and showed me more rifles in the back, which unlike those in the barrel, which didn't deserve a space on the rack, didn't event deserve a space in a wooden barrel!

I eyed them carefully and looked them up in one of many books on my grandpa's bookshelves when I got the chance and the rifles in the barrel turned out to be Krags and the ones piled in the back room were Rolling Blocks. All of them looked pretty rough, but even at that single-digit age, I felt they deserved more respect than they had been given in that shop. I stewed over that trip to a gun shop for ages, but eventually missed the boat and never got one of either, even as they were to be quite plentiful and pretty cheap for decades thereafter.

Wouldn't y'know, by the time someone executed the estate of said adult, with whom I'd gone into that shop many years previous, that there was one of each type of rifle in his own collection, about which I'd never known. I specifically remember the particular disparagement he afforded the rolling block: "...would make a nice floor lamp if you didn't mind paying for the rest of the parts..." The Krags had "weak actions and were underpowered."

I've resented that misguided guidance for a long time and it tickles me to see Krags with the specific role of "user." I'd sure hunt with one if I had it.

Now, only about 35 years ago, I once again saw a wooden barrel full of long arms, in a gun shop in Alabama. It was a bunch of "scratch-n-dent" Mossberg 500 12 gauges. I ran right to a friends house, drug him back and made him buy one. His first shotgun and he probably still uses it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.