Krag Collectors Association Forum Archive - System Information

(UTC)

Krag Collectors Association Forum Archive › Firearms › U.S. Military Krags › Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!!

(Moderators: Tom Butts, Ned Butts, KCA Forum Admin)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Page Index Toggle

Pages: 1 [2]

Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! (Read 9163 times)

butlersrangers KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 6330 Location: Michigan Bi-Peninsular&Proud Joined: Oct 7^th, 2009	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #15 - Jul 14^th, 2016 at 3:45pm	Print Post
	'rking' - By the standards of the age, Francis Bannerman was an ethical businessman, an 'historian', and a great boon to future collectors. He bought at public auction what otherwise would have gone for scrap. His catalogs became early collector references. His biggest offense was probably turning plentiful and unwanted military long guns into something useful to farmers and sportsmen. He probably saved far more than he destroyed. Your muzzle-loader started life as a Model 1861 Springfield Rifled-Musket. Springfield Armory built 265,129 (.58 caliber, three groove rifling) Model 1861 rifles between 1861-1863. It was followed by the simplified Model of 1863 Springfield rifled-musket. Both Springfield models and civilian-contractor copies were the mainstay of the infantry in the Union Armies, during our un-Civil War. Your Model of 1861 Springfield was altered by someone to be a more useful arm for Hunter, Farmer, or Homesteader. From the late 1860s to the early 1900s these arms were very inexpensive, relatively safe and useful. (Rifling may have been bored-out or wore out). The trigger-guard loop has been turned or 'reversed' on the trigger-plate. The sling-swivel should be at the front. Such surplus-utility arms can be argued to have been: "The Guns That Won The West". (Bannerman's in its heyday and its return to nature).


	IP Logged

psteinmayer KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 2391 Location: Ypsilanti, Michgan Joined: Aug 30^th, 2011 Gender:	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #16 - Jul 14^th, 2016 at 4:29pm	Print Post
	If I ever had the time and money, I'd love to explore the island with a metal detector. I've read that they still find items and artifacts in the ruins. Must have been quite a sight when the place exploded and burned. Many of the parts for guns and such were stored in a warehouse in NY. The castle was where there were huge stockpiles of munitions, hence the explosion!


	Facebook IP Logged

butlersrangers KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 6330 Location: Michigan Bi-Peninsular&Proud Joined: Oct 7^th, 2009	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #17 - Jul 14^th, 2016 at 7:44pm	Print Post
	Paul - I am not aware of an 'explosion' destroying Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River. IIRC - It was destroyed by Fire, vandalism, and subsequent structural collapse. (Although, an explosion is a cool story)!


	IP Logged

rking KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 10 Location: Colorado Joined: Jul 10^th, 2016 Gender:	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #18 - Jul 14^th, 2016 at 8:11pm	Print Post
	Very cool pictures and info! Thanks for enlightening me on the 1861 rifle. It's funny because there's a part of me thats kinda bummed it and the Krag have been altered but at the same time it's cool to see that it was because of the practicality of it to make them more useful for day to day living. So either way you slice it, they both have a cool history! Love those pics of the castle too. I would love to explore it! So, even as it sits today, they still haven't found all of his stash or is it mostly just un-exploded munitions and therefore too dangerous to do anything practical with the structure? I am totally fascinated by this guy and his story! So it turns out Remington has a historical department so I called them up and spoke to them about the .22. He simply asked me for the serial number, flipped through some pages and a minute later told me it was manufactured in 1913! I gotta tell you, I've never been a gun person just because of how I was raised but this is really getting more and more fun and the history is just awesome. I also spoke to a gunsmith here in Parker and he wants me to bring all three of the rifles in so he can check them out and clean them up for use. Is cleaning them something that destroys any sort of value due to the patinas built up on the stock (like antique furniture)? Also, what is 'blueing'?


	IP Logged

psteinmayer KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 2391 Location: Ypsilanti, Michgan Joined: Aug 30^th, 2011 Gender:	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #19 - Jul 14^th, 2016 at 8:29pm	Print Post
	butlersrangers wrote on Jul 14^th, 2016 at 7:44pm: Paul - I am not aware of an 'explosion' destroying Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River. IIRC - It was destroyed by Fire, vandalism, and subsequent structural collapse. (Although, an explosion is a cool story)! I read about it a few years ago when I was researching my Bannerman trapdoor. Interesting story! The castle was still in use by the family right up to the late 1940s/early 1950s. From Wikipedia: Construction ceased at Bannerman's death in 1918. In August 1920, 200 tons of shells and powder exploded in an ancillary structure, destroying a portion of the complex. (You need to *Login* to view media files and links)


	Facebook IP Logged

reincarnated KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 562 Joined: Mar 11^th, 2012	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #20 - Jul 15^th, 2016 at 4:29pm	Print Post
	I was a senior in high school when Bannerman's Island burned. 3 of us borrowed a car and drove a long distance to see it, hoping for an explosion. None seen. We could only view it from the river bank. Lots of smoke & steam. Most interesting part was the fireboats, pumping a huge amount of water onto the island. IIRC, the fireboats came from the NYC FD.


	IP Logged

rking KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 10 Location: Colorado Joined: Jul 10^th, 2016 Gender:	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #21 - Mar 13^th, 2017 at 5:39pm	Print Post
	Sorry to revive an older post but I wanted to put this out here for anyone. The Krag I listed at the beginning of my post has been stolen. Someone broke into our home last night made off with it. I have given a printout of this post to the police so they have all the identifying markers for the rifle. If anyone happens to be in Colorado and see my Krag for sale, would you be so kind as to report it and let me know so I can hopefully get it back? Thanks in advance!


	IP Logged

butlersrangers KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 6330 Location: Michigan Bi-Peninsular&Proud Joined: Oct 7^th, 2009	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #22 - Mar 13^th, 2017 at 8:28pm	Print Post
	I am sorry you have been victimized. I hope your Krag, and anything else that was taken, gets recovered and returned to you. I hope the perpetrator is caught, sentenced, and incarcerated.


	IP Logged

psteinmayer KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 2391 Location: Ypsilanti, Michgan Joined: Aug 30^th, 2011 Gender:	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #23 - Mar 14^th, 2017 at 11:05am	Print Post
	That is terrible news! Like Chuck said, I hope the SOB is caught red handed and sent to the Pokey for a long spell!!!


	Facebook IP Logged

madsenshooter KCA Forum Member Offline Krag Enthusiast! Posts: 1079 Joined: Sep 10^th, 2009	Re: Just inherited a Krag - Need help identifying!! Reply #24 - Mar 14^th, 2017 at 5:42pm	Print Post
	Aww, that really stinks! Didn't even get to play with it. I hope it is found for you.


	IP Logged

Page Index Toggle

Pages: 1 [2]

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›