Posted on 04/27/2018 8:40:01 AM PDT by Simon Green
A vintage military rifle carried by a trooper who rode with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in 1898 has surfaced.
The Krag up at auction Friday at Skinner is a carbine model meant for horse-mounted cavalry use, and as such has a saddle ring mounted to the rifle — one of the last U.S.-made martial rifles to have such a feature. This particular gun was carried by Trooper Alvin C. Ash who served in the famous but short-lived 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry regiment.
Recruited by a former New York City Police Superintendent and Assistant Secretary of the Navy by the name of Theodore Roosevelt to fight the Spanish Empire over Cuba in 1898, the unit was known as the “Rough Riders” due to its heavy recruitment from adventurers, cowboys, and other like-minded outdoorsmen. Although they didn’t get to take their horses to Cuba due to lack of transport, they did fight their way up San Juan Heights on foot along with the similarly dismounted regulars of the 3rd and 10th U.S. Cavalry regiments and earned a place in the history books.
Ash, of Raton, New Mexico, was noted as Roosevelt as wounded in action in his book on the unit and mentioned as “his favorite horseman.”
F=MA. The Krag is a lot lighter than the M-14. Also the 30-06 is a bit hotter than the .308 but not by much.
Some time ago i read an article about why the standard gauge for railroads is the same as the standard axle length for Roman Carts. Turns out there is a similar thing going on with the 30-06. The 30-06 is just a 45-70 with a neck. So they didn’t need to change all the machinery to transition from 45-70 to 30-06. The same with .308. IIRC it has the same base dimensions as both the 45-70 and 30-06. I suppose you could actually chamber a .308 in a 30-06 but i have never done it. You could probably chamber a .308 in a 45-70.
These models are .30-40?
The one my dad used was a regular Krag that was cut down. I don’t know who did it. But he did a crappy job. He sawed off the end of the barrel and stuck a front sight on it.
A person couldn’t hit sh*t with it at first. Dad took it to a gunsmith and he put some decent sights on it.
YEP
Also, wondering if you read about this notable auction of the "Danish Sea Captain Walker". I watched it online, what a mind-blowing sale price. ($1.84MM!)
Pretty sure the ring was used by putting the muzzle in a special pocket/holder down low on the saddle, and tying a cord/thong through the ring to hold the carbine in place.
“…a carbine model meant for horse-mounted cavalry use, and as such has a saddle ring mounted to the rifle — one of the last U.S.-made martial rifles to have such a feature.
And the purpose of the ring is precisely what?”
The ring was attached to a loop that went diagonally over one shoulder like a single point sling. It was not for shooting support, but weapon retention while on horse-back.
KYPD
A 30-06 won’t chamber in a .308 because the 30-06 cartridge is about a third of an inch longer than the .308. I know because I owned, before the TBA, a rifle in each caliber.
The Krag was the rifle used by US troops in Moro War in the Philippine occupation. They sang a song that included the verse: “And beneath the starry flag we will shoot them with a Krag....”
I *think* I recall I saw the Krag reviewed in a video of “cheap surplus guns” you can modernize in some way and turn into a functional accurate rifle.
eg; rugged, well built, still sound after all these years, capable of being tuned.
PS: I’m not a shooter. I’m pretty interested in firearms. I have an Arikasa I found in a hoarder house I was hired to clear out. (another highly rated gun)
Obviously...
The carbine version is pretty much a sporter in that the entire forward part of its barrel is not covered by a hand guard and, as a carbine, it’s shorter than an infantry rifle, making it ideal right out of the box for hunting, provided the user doesn’t want to install a telescopic sight.
Drop the laziness. Look it up... (Try "saddle ring".)
“Roosevelt recruited a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans to join the Rough Riders.”
My uncle was in WWII and landed at D-Day and fought through out the war in Europe. He has a nazi proof marked K-98, a P38 proofed and a ppk as well. I would love to have them, but his son-in-law will get them all I suspect.
My uncle had a Nazi marked P08 and my cousin has it now. He told me i can have it as his daughters aren’t interested. I do believe it was a PX (assembled after the war) as the side plate is mismatched.
There is a carbine sling that has a rolling snap hook attached to it that allows the trooper to carry the carbine on horseback off the far side of the horse. Once mounted, the carbine slides into a leather ring attached to the quarterstraps of the McClellan saddle to keep it from flopping. The snap hook attaches to the saddle bar ring on the rifle. These were used with carbines during the Civil War up to the Spanish American War and were discontinued when a scabbard was added that attached to the McClellan saddle.
They are. I love mine! I don't shoot it often because it's hard to find ammo for it. But when I do, the high price limits my purchase...
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