The original Rubber Duck from the Spanish American War, or should I say Wooden Duck?

[Manchu Warrior]

I picked this odd item up yesterday at a yard sale and the gentleman informed me that he purchased it at an antique store in Gettysburg decades ago.  When I saw it standing against a table I assumed it was some type of raining rifle and he explained to me that it dates back to the Spanish American War and was used for bayonet training. Therefore the original “rubber duck”.  It was made to resemble a Krag rifle with a fixed bayonet and it stands 60” tall. It also has a small leather sack attached to the tip. If it was placed there to offer protection to the OPFOR soldier it wasn’t much. It also had metal weights implanted to make it the same weight as a Krag rifle. I have no idea how rare this item happens to be. With that said the only information I found on line was that one sold on IMA and the information the gentleman gave me on the item was in fact correct.  He also sold it to me for a whopping $20 so it was a rather easy decision to buy it.  With all that said I think it’s is pretty odd as well as cool!  What do you think? 

[GWS]

Very nice find! For $20---a steal!!!!   I looked in Brophy's 1903 Springfield rifles book and found this:

 

These were made at RIA from 1914 to 1916. There were 10,450 made during that time. Check the "trigger guard" area for the RIA and date stamp. It also states that all RIA rifles were so marked and that authority was given to camps , posts, and stations to fabricate locally from a piece of timber, copies of the issue model.  Your's may be one of those made locally. Sorry for the poor scan but that Brophy book is heavy to put on my scanner!  Thanks for showing this!

 

  Steve

[Manchu Warrior]

8 hours ago, GWS said:

Very nice find! For $20---a steal!!!!   I looked in Brophy's 1903 Springfield rifles book and found this:

 

These were made at RIA from 1914 to 1916. There were 10,450 made during that time. Check the "trigger guard" area for the RIA and date stamp. It also states that all RIA rifles were so marked and that authority was given to camps , posts, and stations to fabricate locally from a piece of timber, copies of the issue model.  Your's may be one of those made locally. Sorry for the poor scan but that Brophy book is heavy to put on my scanner!  Thanks for showing this!

 

  Steve

Wow, I never imagined I would actually see a photo of this in action. That is incredibly cool! Is it possible that you can take a photo of the information in the book and therefore it maybe clearer? The one that sold on IMA stated it was from the Spanish American War period and also from before WWI. That one that sold only had the number 9 on it and this one has no markings that I can see. After spending so much time looking on the internet I figured I would never find much information on this trainer. But thanks to you that obviously changed thanks to old books.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to help out.  Thanks!!

[GWS]

Give me a couple of days, extra busy right now !  Thanks.

 

 

Steve

[GWS]

Finally got to it, I ended up taking a photo of each page(3) and then edited them to make as large as possible. The last page was actually only 1/3 of a page so i cropped the rest of the page out which makes it really large. Since I don't need a copyright or whatever lawsuit: The Springfield 1903 Rifles  by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy, Published 1985 by Stackpole Books.  Enjoy!

 

 

Steve

 

[Manchu Warrior]

13 hours ago, GWS said:

Finally got to it, I ended up taking a photo of each page(3) and then edited them to make as large as possible. The last page was actually only 1/3 of a page so i cropped the rest of the page out which makes it really large. Since I don't need a copyright or whatever lawsuit: The Springfield 1903 Rifles  by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy, Published 1985 by Stackpole Books.  Enjoy!

 

 

Steve

 

Much appreciated. Thanks!