I bought 'a pig in a poke' today and successfully bid on a model 1898 Krag on GunBroker. The price was reasonable, probably because of the stock 'cut out' holes and lack of sights.

I believe the 1901 cartouched stock and hand-guard were altered to accept the fixtures for a Cummings Sub Target Gun Machine.

The receiver, #44573X, is a mismatch.  It is later (from 1903) and hopefully it has a good bore and was never compromised by attachment holes for Sub Target Machine fixtures.

It will be a curiosity when it arrives. I hope I got lucky!

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You might have struck Gold there Chuck!

My 'new' Model 1898 Krag arrived today. It was a GunBroker purchase and the price was reasonable. I knew it was a 'mix-master' with a 1903 production receiver in a 1901 dated stock. The bore is proving to be mediocre with some erosion and pitting, but, shootable. The metal will clean up real nice on the outside.

What most caught my interest was the stock. (It had cut-out areas for Sub Target Gun Machine Fixtures).   The stock is proving to be quite beautiful, except for the cut out areas. The stock wood is Italian walnut and the hand-guard is American Black walnut. (The hand-guard is for the 1901 rear-sight and more crudely altered than the stock). The stock has never been refinished and has no cracks or serious damage.

The 1903 vintage receiver and barrel have no alterations for a Sub Target Gun Machine. I don't think there is any telling, who put this combination of parts together. I was hoping to get lucky on the bore, but that was not to be. Now a minor conundrum, what to do with it? Well, I'm having fun studying it for now. 

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I'm wondering if that handguard was modified not by the people who prepared it for the Sub Target Gun Machine, but rather by someone who wanted to make it LOOK like it had.  Shouldn't a true STGM rifle have a hole drilled and tapped in the barrel for mounting?  It may be possible that someone had the stock and put it on a shootable action/barrel, and then modified a handguard to complete the look... not unlike someone who modifies a 1898 to make it look like a real 1898 carbine.  Now I'm not saying that is the case... but rather food for thought.

Either way, it is definitely an interesting find!

Paul: I believe my 'modified' hand-guard probably was a replacement for one that cracked. (It's definitely cruder workmanship. My recent purchase came from Massachusetts -FWIW).

The 'holes' on my 'STGM Krag Stock' are similar to those pictured for a modified 1903 Springfield. The modified Krag stocks, I have seen pictured, up to now, have had a smaller rear cut-out.

I don't think my Krag's 'metal parts' were used on a STGM set-up. At least one Sub Target Gun Machine Krag, we have seen pictures of, had holes and 'solder marks' on the barrel.

The whole Sub Target Gun Machine 'set-up' is quite a curiosity. I doubt there is a person alive, today, that ever used one. The apparatus/training device was only around for about 20 years.

It appears the design evolved with many changes and versions. (It had 300 parts and required precision adjustments).

It was used in 31 countries and manufactured, at least, in the U.S.A., Britain (Wilkinson), and possibly, Canada. The U.S. Ordnance Department bought 45 of them (in 1908) for testing, N.Y. City Schools had about 20 of them by 1918, and they saw use at some Military Academies (U.S., Britain, and Canada) and by The Royal Navy. The price ran close to $500 (down to $257 in 1918).

Somewhere in the world, a Sub Target Gun Machine must survive, at least in part (or parts), its purpose probably forgotten, maybe mistaken for an industrial machine!

(note - The diagram, showing the fixture attached to a Krag, displays what must be an earlier cable mechanism).

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Here are some details of my Krag stock, which I believe was altered to clear the fixture for a "Cummings Sub Target Gun Machine". The rear cut-out appears very similar to the opening that was made on Model 1903 Springfields for a later style of fixture.

(Stock is contrasted with standard Krag stock, in darker American black walnut).

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