I truly appreciate the responses I've received re: my Grandfathers Krag.  It is fun to learn about it.  I've killed many deer/elk and a couple of moose but all with modern rifles.  Now, as I've grown older this old gun that I've held and wondered about for since I was a young boy seems compelling to me.  I want to clean it up and go kill a deer or elk in memory of my Grand-dad.  So thanks. I will follow your advice and buy a book ortwo and study up. Any other info for a "greenie" will be appreciated.  Re: cleaning it up, I'm not going to "refinish or re-blue" it as several have suggested.  I did receive this bit of info about the process, my question for you folks is this the way to get the paint off? and clean in up?  as follows:get a jar of Birchwood Casey  "Tru oil", which is a stock finishing oil that can be found at any of the bigger sporting good stores. I'd then get some 1500 and 1000 grit automotive sand paper (from Napa or Autozone) and gently wet sand the paint spots on the wood with the Tru oil and start with the 1500 grit. With some gentle wet polishing, the paint should soften and come off, and the Tru oil shouldn't change the color of the wood much. On the metal, I'd use a soft cloth and solvent like acetone or lacquer thinner and gently rub the wetted cloth until the paint spots come off. I wouldn't use the sand paper on the metal because it will polish off the patina and leave bright spots on the metal, which won't look good.