Dick Hosmer
KCA Official Member
Offline
Collector of Springfield Arms, 1865-1915
Posts: 1862 Location: Northern California Joined: Nov 20 th, 2005 Gender:
|
Re: Making a List of 1898 Krag Carbines
Reply #3 - Dec 4th, 2018 at 5:34am
|
Print Post
|
I cannot say, it was acquired that way, back in the 1980s. While the wear, etc. IS generally consistant, the possibility of such a reconfiguration is - as you point out - always present.
That said, given my choice, I'd much rather have one with the short stock - which is, after all, the rare (and fortunately unfakeable) part; otherwise, it's really just another 1899, albeit with one with a bit of a cachet, and the hint of mystery.
Another way of looking at things (even if only stockwise, since there is ALWAYS the number issue) is that a short stock MIGHT be original, whereas with the long stock you KNOW it has been changed (but when, and by whom?)
It's a slippery slope any way you look at it; too bad the number data is so thin. The vast majority seem to be in the 118k and 119k areas. Outliers like mine get a raised eyebrow from the git-go, though there IS a small cluster there.
|