And don't forget to check for your cartouches and proof stamps. Of course, check the bore - we're in the heart of the corrosively primed cartridge era. The real kicker is that by and large the handguards are specific to the rear sight, except that (IIRC) the sights use the same handguard. Some 1902 sights were made using 98 sight eyepieces with the corners ground down. There are serial number indexs for some firearms, Winchester, S&W, Colt but except for a few makers that research has been conducted, such as Walther PPs. There is a range spanning this serial number for a Model 1889/96, however, showing a manufacture date of 1900. For example, given a Model 1911 with a serial number of 2673xx, the tables show no such serial number for a Model 1911. If a 96, the 96 sight would be the most 'correct' if a 98 then the 1901 or 1902 sights would be the most commonly encountered. The corresponding date for that serial number is shown in the left column of the table. The earliest 98s might have 96 sights the unaltered 98 sight is effectively unobtanium (due to the tweaking of the cartridges at the time, trying for a hotter load and having to back off due to the aforementioned bolt issues). Of course, Krag rear sights are a quagmire. Some major changes between the 18 are the bolt handle and the associated stock inletting the 96 stock is scalloped in that area and the 98 bolt has a longer flat on the underside: When I get back home I'll look it up in the SRS.

If just above 100k it falls right around the transition from the 1896 to the 1898, and should be considered an antique - let us know the full serial if you can.

Springfield 1898 manufacture dates