doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Kentucky Krag

Pictures posted for Mark, he will be along to explain.

Da Stuzen Krag!
vera cool!
Look forward to hearing about it!

Thanks Michael. Rifle is in Virginia, owner has had it a long time, has no idea who built it. Has had it apart and there are no markings to indicate the maker. Obviously a very high quality job by a very capable stockmaker for a very opinionated client. Looks like European walnut too. Don't recognize the tang sight which seems to have a central elevation spindle.

Really neat piece of high end folk art.

Very neat. Some higher quality Steven's rifles had a tang sight with a central spindle to change the elevation but I can't get a good look from the pictures. I HATE THESE SMALL PIX!!
Thanks for sharing. I check the site a couple of times a day just to enjoy something so unusual.
Scott

Bigger Picture of Rear Sight

It looks like a Farrow sight.


Glenn

Scott and others, This has may have been mentioned before, but I've discovered that if you want to make the pictures larger, try this. After you log in, go to the post with the picture and then hit reply to the person that posted the picture. The reply box will show up but then scroll down and the old post will come up with much larger pictures. Weird, but it works for me. Bob

That has got to be the most innovative and stylish remodelings of a bolt action rifle ever.Wish there was more info available on who made it.

Kinda reminds me of a Slotterbeck Sharps in Sellers book and one in Red Jacksons collection that was auctioned years ago with the interesting german silver forearm tip.

Bob,
Thanks for the advice to view the picture in a larger format.

Glenn,
I agree, it does look like a Farrow sight. If it is, they adjust for windage at the apeture in a small arc. Some were critical of this design, but as an offhand shooter, I don't think this is a problem. Much easier to use than a windgage front sight.

Buttplate, stock profile and tang sight suggests the earlier Schutzen style European target rifles. Stock has all of the characteristics of European Walnut (Juglans regia).

The pix are larger in replly, thanks!

BTW: I'm about certain that is a cast-in-place babett/pewter/tin forend tip.

I tried to find a Farrow sight picture last night with no luck but now have a link to one.

Farrow Sight

Thanks for the picture of the Farrow sight. From everything I have read about Farrow, everything he built was a one off. I think it is one of his.

I have looked at a Farrow sight and find them to have a very high frustration potential. IIRC, when you changed the windage adjustment, you also made some changes in the elevation. Why would someone put a sight like that on a Krag? Looks to me as if you would have to fold the sight (and maybe change the sight settings) every time you opened the bolt. I'm looking forward to the rest of the story.

I'll come along with a tale about my Farrow, right after I post a tale about Terry Buffum's Krag in 22 RF.

Crazy thought: is there any very longshot possibility that Farrow made this Krag? I don't know when he made the SS rifles, the first Krags were 1894, but there can't have been many extra Farrow tang sights laying about. Does anyone recognize the buttplate ... Waterman, is it like your Farrow buttplate? Stock style?

Alas, my Farrow does not have an original buttplate (long story). Hopefully, Terry Buffum will tell us if that looks to be an original. My thought is that the casting is too thin, that there was a lot more metal in a Farrow. The checkering does not look at all like the original checkering on my Farrow. Also, no cheek piece. I thought Farrow put a cheek piece on all the single shots.

What are the markings & SN of the Ky. Krag? That should tell you more or less when the action was made. Is it a 30-40? Ouch!

I've owned only one original Farrow and it had been rebarreled at some time, but its buttplate was very similar if not identical to the one shown. Same with the stock styling, checkering, grip's bottom S-curve, no cheekpiece, etc. Not saying the features were exactly identical but they were very similar. Possibly the builder had seen a Farrow or some other similar rifle and copied it. Since each Farrow was built as a one-off, it's very possible that the styling and features varied and even evolved somewhat over the years. My Farrow appeared to be an earlier one, it had the C-shaped mainspring.
Regards, Joe

When were the Farrow SS rifles made?

Farrows were made starting in the mid-to-late 1880s. May have been made into the early 1920s. Krag actions would have been readily available when Farrow was making rifles.

Roughly 1880s to 1930s IIRC. Somewhere on the net there's a couple of patent sketches of 2 Farrow models in the 1880 time period, and I believe he continued to make them well past WW1.
Regards, Joe

I had no idea that Farrows were made so late. Would be interesting to put this rifle side by side with a couple of Farrows.

Scheutzen style Krags obviously are oddballs, but maybe fifteen years ago Dennis Hrusosky told me about a Scheutzen Krag that had been built by one of the very famous SS gunsmith/barrelmakers .... I am not at home and can't check my files for the name, but should be able to find it next week. Someone like Schoyen.

I think it may have been Axel Pedersen.

Farrow was not bashful about marking his rifles. He used a "Farrow Arms Company" stamp in large capital letters. If the Krag was built up by Farrow, it should have very recognizable markings.

Back home, checked computer, found file entry made at least ten years, ago: "John Amber, Gun Digest Editor, told Dennis Hrusosky about an engraved Krag sporter built by A.O. Zischang. Where is it now?"

That is all I have ... nothing suggests it was Scheutzen style except, of course, the identity of the maker. I have emailed DH at ASSRA to see if he can add anything.