Hi everyone,
been snooping around here for some years and I may have posted something about a couple rifles I have a few years ago.  Recently participated in an online auction, saw the serial number, couldn't see the rear sight.  took a chance and think I may have finally found a correct saddle ring carbine.  Except for the peep sight and front sight blade.  The saddle ring it came with was broken/sheared? off somehow.  I had an old rusty one laying around and swapped it out.  Now I need a front sight blade for carbine.  Take a look at pics and let me know what you think.  Paid $500, I think i did ok

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more pics

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hand guard is cracked.  stock has one too. 

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Let me know if you want some more pics, and if you can please let me know if this serial # has a hit of some kind or I'm reading it wrong.  I don't need the Lyman? peep sight if someone is interested 

I'd say you did great. Looks like you have an intact carbine with the only issue is a drilled hole for the peep sight, not much of an issue. Experts will verify. Does the barrel measure 22" to the bolt face? Full length and picture of the butt end would be nice.

Great find!

As you probably already know...the rear sight alone has been selling for $500 or more now days.

yep 22" to bolt face.  I'll get some full length and butt stock shots tonight after work.  Metal on the butt plate is a little rough too

No hits in Mallory, but interesting numbers nearby.  Closest carbine with lower number is 35597 that went to the 25 Infantry (probably for an officer).  Closest higher number is 35741 that went to the 1st Volunteer Cavalry (Teddy Roosevelts Regiment) and that's a good neighbor hood to be in - only 135 numbers away!

Your carbine is marked with only the date "1896" and without the "Model" prefix. That's an uncommon dude, too, so you really did very well!

Maybe one of our kind gentlemen who has access to the SRS records can check further.  I have a similar situation with an "1895" carbine and I have been hoping to get up the courage to ask someone.  It has an interesting bunch of neighbors, too, in Mallory, but I don't have the SRS information.

Midwestman- Welcome back to the KCA. You appear to have done real well in acquiring an authentic M1896 Krag carbine. It sure appears well "weathered" but that just adds to the wonderful history that your carbine has. We all wish our rifles and carbines could talk to tell us what they have been through.

The metal has almost been totally stripped of any bluing or case hardening. There is a good bit of pitting throughout and lots of honest wear on the stock and metal parts. The saddle ring looks to be an original feature of this carbine being an earlier 1896 creation. Later ones were restocked without the saddle ring. The replacement one that is somewhat rust pitted fits well with the rest of the patina of your carbine.

The rear sight appears to be authentic. The slide is properly stamped with the "c" as is the right side. The right side "c" actually looks somewhat high on the side but I'd have to see it with the hand guard removed to evaluate it further. I have lightened your one picture to show the stamping of the slide better. The front sight blade can easily be replaced.

I'm not an expert on the added peep sights that yours has but is it drilled to attach or is it fitted into the cut off lever slot? If so, it can be fixed easily without damage to the receiver. Drilled receivers significantly lower collector value.

Even though your carbine is in rough shape, it is still desirable and a great addition to your growing Krag collection!

More will come about the details of your Krag. I don't have my references to check more about your serial number's history. We all try to work together to answer questions and make corrections to anything we may report incorrectly. Great to have different eyes check it out.

Also, how is the bore? That can be important in how it may shoot.

Thanks.

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Your Krag may have been rusted bad or exposed to some chemicals and been painted black at some point and had the paint stripped off with a chemical stripper of some sort. There seems to be a lot of paint remains around the numbers (look around the serial numbers), on the trigger guard and elsewhere. That's maybe why the metal has been stripped of any original finish. It looks beat up in some way. Really want to know what happened to it many years ago! We may never know. I have seen much worse.

The stock does look like it has had some varnish added at some point.

I suspect the bore is pretty bad also. Interested to know. I'd also like to see what the barrel and receiver looks like under the stock where the metal would be protected from outside rust or chemical damage. If you can, carefully remove the stock and take some pictures. You can leave the hand guard in place so you don't damage it more. It takes a special approach to remove this. You have to remove the stock first, remove the barrel band in front of the rear sight, remove the sight and slowly slide the hand guard forward to the front of the barrel and remove it then from the barrel. Don't pop it off because the strong spring clips can crack the wood.

If you do this, take more pictures and post them. There's often lots of good information under the stock and hand guard.

You've got a great piece that hides a fantastic history. Thanks for sharing it with us. For $500, you did great. I've gambled on auctions before and have sometimes gotten treasures like yours.

Awesome, thanks for the responses guys.  The wood looks pretty shiny in the pics cause I put some oil on it to give it a quick clean up to get the dust off.  might have had some varnish a long time ago.  I think you might be correct about the black paint or coating of some sort.  I'll get some bore pics and pics without the stock in a few days. 

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Not sure about this pacific peep sight and how it is attached.  I took all the set screws out and it is still solidly attached

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Someone with experience with added peeps needs to chime in with some suggestions about yours.

I wish I knew what happened to the metal of your rifle. The inside of the receiver looks quite odd almost like it has had some sort of surface grinding or metallurgical alteration with excessive heat or chemical exposure.

The mystery deepens.....

Regarding the Pacific K-1 sight - The base, normally, can be easily pulled to the rear and 'off' the receiver, once the 'lock-screw' has been removed.

Perhaps, corrosion, crud, and maybe paint, is causing the shaft to be hung-up or stuck in the magazine cut-off hole.

Soaking the shaft, (which is only 'press-fit' into the front of the Pacific sight-base), with some penetrating oil or 'Liquid Wrench' may dissolve the mischief.

Wiggling the base or tapping it "Forward" may free it up. Be patient and let the penetrating oil 'work'.

Caution - Avoid hammering on the front of the base, to try and drive it rearward.
The base and shaft can separate, leaving the shaft remaining stuck in the cut-off hole.
(You want the base and shaft to remain connected).

IMHO - At some point, someone painted your Krag's metal with Black Enamel Paint. Most of the paint has been removed.
The residue (which is still visible) can be removed with paint-remover or nail polish-remover and #0000 steel wool. Saturate small pads of #0000 steel wool with 'remover' and lightly work paint residue. Do this carefully and leave underlying patina.
Start with a piece like the Butt-Plate or Side-Plate.

Your metal should look a lot better with patient cleaning.

Attached photos show details of Pacific K-1 sight:

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I'm jealous. Good for you. Front sight blades are available at S&S firearms, if no one mentioned that.

My unsolicited advice (I can't help myself) is less is more. Clean it gently and be happy. I am very happy for you.

I think in a situation like this, there would need to be so much cleaning on different levels that you would remove more of the historical appearance that I would just leave it alone for now, as Mark said, and clean the bore out as well as you can, make sure the bolt functions well and take it out and shoot it!

Do check the bolt and chamber out after a thorough cleaning. If any questions, let us know.

Maybe the next owner can work to try to restore it better. I would disassemble the thing completely and replace a lot of parts if I ever wanted to restore this treasure.

Enjoy!