This is my first Model 1896 and I believe I made a good deal.  It is a Rifle with serial number 640XX.  The barrel has fine blueing with a line of mild rust where the stock and handguard meet.  The action shows very little case hardening.  The stock is a question mark.  It does not have an inspector mark on the side.  It has a circle P an inch near the trigger guard.  It also has another mark, about 1/4 inch from the trigger guard that is hard to figure out.  It is about 1/8 inch wide and may be two numbers or something like the letter R or B. I would expect this means a replacement stock on a rifle that was proofed.

The stock is really sticky filthy.  Does this have the 1903/Garand BLO finish?  If it does I will clean and finish it.

The bore is actually much nicer that I thought.  It is a dull bright with very visable lands and grooves.  All I have done is run a dry patch through it.

I paid $550.00. 

Does this seem reasonable?

When was it made?

Any comments would be appreciated. 

I'm 70 so I can take it if I have a dog.

Hi John, Welcome. The date of birth would be 1897. The small marking is probably numbers of a sub inspector. You could try cleaning the wrist area a little to see if any cartouche is still left. Value is going to depend on condition. Is the hand guard without cracks? Does it have the correct sight? If you think you are hooked on Krags, you need to get some books. I'm sure more info will come your way. John

I hope my rifle is somewhat correct.  I have a few books on order and I am reading everything on the Internet.  The stock is really fine with out any chips or cracks.  The handguard is very good with a couple of dents that are not worth discussing.  The side of the sight has the numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6.  The ladder of the sight has numbers 7 to 18.  The only other marks are a number 2 under the cartrige box and the "U" on the middle Sling clamp.

The stock is so dark it is almost black.  It is very shiny and somewhat sticky.  If all it should have is a BLO finish I will strip it.  Is BLO correct???

Is $550.00 a fair price??

I happen to LIKE dark wood, so, if it were mine, and I cared about originality, the LAST thing I'd do is to rush into "stripping" the stock!!!  It will never be the same if you do.

I'd spend a LOT of time with some terrycloth rags and some turpentine, or lemon oil, perhaps a bit of 0000 steel wool, and see what that does for it.

IMHO (and I've been collecting Krags and .45-70 trapdoors for 40+ years) I've never seen a "from-the-ground-up" wood redo that really looked "right".  Just my $.02.

Thanks for the advice.  With your experience I really need to discuss a Cadet 45/70 I have.  The wood on that looks like it is a brand new BLO finish with no shine or darkening.  And it is older than this rifle.

My experience has been with 1903's and M1's.  These seemed to improve with a thorough cleaning and multiple coats of BLO.

The M1896 is very dark. And it is almost like it was mahogony since it has a very dark maroon like color.

I think $550 is a fair price for a complete full-length Krag with a decent bore... Some Krags have splotchy oil stains that can only be masked by staining the stock to a very dark, nearly black color everywhere it was not stained by oil. If the color is uniform it may be best to work with it and do not strip. I routinely strip all my stocks because I usually deal with Krags which have been heavily handled.

My steps FYI:  AFTER all structural and cosmetic repairs are made (the old finish protects the surrounding areas), I strip the stock using the liquid type. I then thoroughly soak the stock in water, and shampoo it with full-strength soap (any soap works). I strong hose blast really cleans out the inletting and grain! The soap cuts the oils, neutralizes acids and raises the grain. Keeping it wet, I steam the dents with a small iron from Brownells. This process takes a few hours. I then let it dry for a few days and ‘whisker it’ with some fine steel wool, stain it once, and let it dry overnight.  I use a pint each of dark walnut and black oil-based stain. Mixed at 2 parts dark walnut and one part black I get the color I like (matches dad’s Krag). Next day I ‘whisker it’ again with some very fine synthetic steel wool (3M gray pad). And, hung from the muzzle end with a wire, apply one singular coat (never more or grain will start filling in!) of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil with by bare hands. Like putting on hand lotion, you rub it in until it starts getting slightly tacky and leave it alone except for checking for any drips forming at the reveals or inletting areas. After about a week, I polish the shine down with an old sock and some Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen. Beautiful grain, dark stain with a natural look that has held up wonderfully after many hours at the range.

P.S. I touch the cartouche areas as little as possible – when the stock is done they are crud-free and as easy to read (even with all that water soaking).  Done it at least a dozen times...

Great suggestions.  I did as you suggested and the stock loooks great.  It was still a very dark walnut and I tried BLO without any stain.  It looks great.  There are no gouges or any real dents that need to be messed with. 

I did not touch it with sand paper, just one of those 3M scrub sponges and dish soap.

There is no cartuche.  Just the nice circle P and the other small mark which may be a R, or a 13 or a 18 or something else near the trigger guard.

The metal looks really nice after XXXX steel wool and WD-40.  The barrel is a nice dark blue, except the end where a bayonet covered the barrel.  The other metal is really nice, but very faint case hardening.  The barrel took some solvent and a brass brusk and now looks almost mirror like.