Anyone ever heard of one of these?

[Molerat]

I can't find any information on this thing. It is an old rifle, brought back from the $panish-American War (I presume, it may be brought back after WWII) by my great-grandfather. Anyway, it is chambered for the .30-40 Krag round, and has 1895 Springfield stamped into the receiver. It has a box-shaped door on the right hand side, (a magazine), and a knob for retrying dud rounds.
My purpose for mentioning it is the fact that the bolt arm, side magazine plate, magazine plate screw, and the front barrel band screw are missing. The bolt arm is just broken, and a new one can be fabricated. It has been sitting in a garage for nearly 30 years(being over 100 years old), and I recently ran a series of tests to make sure that the rifle as a whole still fires without exploding, and it is safe. There are no metal cracks, and the bolt and action are smooth (mechanically) after much, much WD-40 and Rusty Duck. The first shot blew a cloud of red rust out of the front, and it stopped after a few more shots. There is no smoke or gas release from the breach, either.

The thing that makes me curious is that I have found heaps of info on the 1896 version, but none on the 1895. I wonder if it is a prototype or something?

Pics to come soon.

[BewareOfDog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krag-J%C3%B8rgensen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Krag ... tested.jpg

[markfh11q]

Very interesting find. It would be worth noting that this is the same rifle used in producing the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird". For some touch-ups, (that it no doubt needs), use some steel wool and oil on all the rusted parts, sand down the stock, and re-coat it.

[boilingleadbath]

No, no steel wool.
Brass wool.

[Molerat]

Thanks!

[mafia_mike]

Wow great find!! ... you should hold onto that and keep in in good condition because some day it could be worth a fortune!!

[Mr.Plow]

I've got an 1898 hanging up on a wall... it's a classy rifle, that's for sure. Getting ammo can be difficult, but thankfully gun shows seem to always have a table or two who sell it.

[BewareOfDog]

<center><a href="http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/66194-7326-118.html"><img src="http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd_images/lgprod/66194.jpg"></a>

<b>.30-40 Krag Express Centerfire Rifle Cartridge
180-Grain Pointed Soft Point Bullet
2430 fps
20 Rounds Per Box</b> ~;)

[Molerat]

Yeah, ammo hasn't been much of a problem. I found a gun shop in town that sells ammo for it.
It goes for about 15-20 dollars per box.
By the way, the leaf sight on the back is marked with numbers, and I know they mark out yards, but I don't what increment.
It starts at 3, then goes up to 7 on the side. Then if you stand it up, it goes from 8 to somewhere around 20. I'm guessing that means it's calibrated for 100 yard increments, but I don't know. Anything you know would be nice.

[Mr.Plow]

DR- unfortunately, no gun stores in the greater Nashville area carry Krag ammo (at least not since I last checked in December). I suppose the market in Nashville isn't big enough for them to carry it. Finding .45 long colt is difficult, too. Plenty of manufacturers make it, but hardly anyone here stocks it.