1892 number 4

[5MadFarmers]

Dark picture, it's late. "Number 4" as in it's the 4th unaltered I've taken.

They separated the 1894 bayonet, it was pristine, and sold that separately. That bayonet took a lot of money. I did get the rifle.

Limited information from the auction house so I asked them to check the magazine gate. The serial matched and that was enough to convince me I should probably take it so I did. I'll disassemble it later and check the side plate, etc. The obvious parts are right - flat spring cut-off, no fillet extractor, etc, etc.

Each one, upon disassembly, proves informative.

Condition wise this is the best of the four I now have.

[Tom Trevor]

What state governor recieved that one? Bob Hill told me no9 went to Colorado.

[Kirk]

Congratulations! May we expect some close ups in the near future?

[5MadFarmers]

What state governor recieved that one? Bob Hill told me no9 went to Colorado.

"Number 4" for me. Not serial #4. I knew, upon entering that, that just that confusion would arise so I should have entered that differently. Serial is 2426. It joins #230, one in the 3K range and one up at 21K.

The early guns were sent three places:
1) Governors, etc.
2) Companies for tests/support. Cartridge companies as an example.
3) Foreign governments.

That last one I find intriguing as they might still have them. They'd have the brass tip rods.

Congratulations! May we expect some close ups in the near future?

I'm going to take it down this weekend. I'll photo as I go.

Most interesting thing, to me, is the cartouche is an upside down JSA 1894. The foggy recesses of my brain tell me SWP has been seen upside down but I've never heard of JSA upside down. Maybe my brain reversed it.

The other gun that came with it is an 1898. Condition on both is unreal. As mentioned the 1892 had, before they were separated, a pristine 1894 dated blued bayonet. Both have marked slings, muzzle caps, and the '98 has rods and oiler with it.

The guy liked accessories and had nice rifles.

Took the bolt apart. Coil spring in there and the firing pin are correct. Holding up everywhere I look.

[Dick Hosmer]

No, No, No, Tom. Sometimes Joe's prose (I like that) can be a bit obtuse, but actually he was quite clear this time.

It's not "No.4", it's the fourth unaltered 1892 he has acquired. Bill Mook had the most, I think; I forget how many - too many. I once had three, but am down to two.

Am still looking for that third BoOF rifle, though.

[psteinmayer]

What a beauty!!! I need to start adding to my collection (provided my wife doesn't throw me out for spending money I don't have, LOL).

[Ned Butts]

Nice score Joe! Looking forward to more pictures and details.

[jon_norstog]

.....
3) Foreign governments.

That last one I find intriguing as they might still have them. They'd have the brass tip rods......

If the Siamese govt got one, most likely it will be in the weapons collection o the ground floor of the Grand Palace museum at Sanam Luang. that would have been while Chulalongkorn was King. He was a military buff who took a personal interest in the wepons and equipment of the army and navy.

The Thai never throw away anything they can use to kill their neighbors or each other.

jn

[5MadFarmers]

We're so used to everything being "secret" that we tend to think that way also. Back then they were proud of their stuff. They liked sending examples to other countries. West Point Museum was inventoried, 1909 off the top of my head, and had a pretty complete collection of foreign military rifles. The countries which sent rifles to the trials were each sent a finish Krag. I'd think Siam would have been exempted as they didn't sent one but who knows? Japan sent a rifle so they should have received a Krag. Ditto Germany, Austria, England, etc. They didn't just send a rifle either - they accessorized. They'd send a complete set of infantry gear.

The only ones I'm aware of that played the "secret, don't touch" game to any extent was Switzerland. They'd send guns and cartridges but insisted on one of their guys being there for the tests.

[5MadFarmers]

Some family photos from the vacation to the living room floor. I didn't take the time to fire up the popcorn machine.



Oops, wrong carousel. Let's load the other.

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Is it live or is it memorex? I think I've figured out the way to tell. I'll have to pull the other guns to test my theory. I'm speaking of the rod of course.

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With light I can see that's "1895" and not "1894." Upside down JSA. That area, by the letters:
A: Flat spring.
B: Square fillet.
C: Pinned.
D: Squared.
E: Knurled. A given for pinned obviously.

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If the gate matches the gun you can proceed as that'd be a hard thing to find if it was wrong. Not a "guarantee of authenticity" but an easy check. The side plate must be removed for checking.

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Sight dimples....
Protruding rivets. When they "trialled" the 1892 carbine they found those were bad as they could cut the hand.

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A: Squared. Fillets are weak points (note to John Garrand - pay attention as your op/rod will suffer from that). Rounded later.
B: Coarse spring. You can count the coils to determine if it's early or not.
C: Another fillet in a particularly bad place. The bolt is removed by lifting that extractor and that places stress right at that point. That's not good. Rounded later.

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So ends the slide show. I'll have to pull the other two early ones and go on a "one of these things is not like the other" compare later.

I like it.