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Message started by butlersrangers on Jun 27th, 2020 at 1:38pm

Title: Sad Fate of Rival
Post by butlersrangers on Jun 27th, 2020 at 1:38pm
The Remington-Lee (model-1899) was a promising rival to the Krag. It was built for smokeless powder and utilized dual-forward locking-lugs on its bolt.

The 'slender' M-1899 Lee had some great ideas, but, proved a very fragile arm.

Approximately 2,000 were purchased by Michigan for the state's National Guard. In .30-40 caliber, it saw N.G. use from approximately 1899 to 1904, when replaced by the issue of Krag rifles.
The M.N.G. - Annual Reports from the early 1900's document the frailty of the Remington arm and the anticipation of receiving the more robust Krag.

An earlier black powder Lee model evolved into the venerable and long lived Lee-Enfield family of arms. It is interesting to speculate what the model-1899 could have evolved into if given adequate testing and improvement.

Author Eugene Myszkowski, ("The Remington-Lee Rifle"), wrote about the MNG Lee rifles being used as 'training rifles' by the Michigan Naval Reserves, during WW-1, "with bolts and magazines removed".
Myszkowski also told of buying 12 Lee rifles from a Michigan VFW Post in 1967.

A friend and noted Michigan arms collector, Paul Breakey, recently shared this photo with me. It shows Michigan State Police-Recruits, drilling with m-1899 Remington-Lee rifles, during 1941-1942. (The magazines and bolts are absent from the rifles).

One can only imagine the 'beating' these partial rifles received during drill sessions and how all this added to the rarity of a rifle produced in only small numbers.
MSP-2_1941-42.jpg ( 229 KB | 1 Download )
A_Rem-Lee-1.jpg ( 103 KB | 0 Downloads )
a_Rem-Lee-3.jpg ( 92 KB | 0 Downloads )

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