Dick thanks for the help.  I guess where the gun came from and what happened to it are forever going to be a mystery!  The # on the barrel is under the pink slip.  The thought of someone grinding on a perfectly good gun makes me winch.  However I guess they had some reason, hope it wasn't stolen and that was the reason.  I think you are right about the removal of a serial # on a gun and it is illegal.  Untill now, when I saw the NRA article on Krags, I though I had a low serial number Krag!  My uncle never was rich and probably got what he though was a good deal on the gun.  I'm sure if he thought it was hot he would have turned it down, but its hard to tell where a gun might have been, especially in the 40's or 50's.  Thanks for the info!