So what about a Springfield Model '03 MK1?

[tac]

Most of the WW2 '03s were used by the USMC as sniping rifles, most often with a x8 Unertl scope on top, according to Peter Sennich in his book.

A matched set of rifle and a GENUINE x8 Unertl scope with USMC markings was found by me at a gunshow at Bisley a few years back - for £12500.00.

Next time I went by, it had been sold.

tac

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

I thought they were A4's once they were used in that role/scoped?

 

[tac]

I thought they were A4's once they were used in that role/scoped?

Your knowhoodshipness exceeds mine in this subject.

I bow to your greater knowhood.

tac

 

[Medic!]

Tac. You probably forgot more than most here know.

So don't be too hard on yourself..................... That's our job.

 

[tac]

Medic!, old floon - I'm here to learn as much as I teach - that is how I learn to teach.

Every day brings me news - sometimes welcome, sometimes not so welcome. Meh. Sometimes you are the pigeon, sometimes the statue.

tac

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Haha, you're funny Tac, i like you

Yeah, don't take my incredibly small amount of knowledge with anything less than a grain of salt, it's how i understand it, i'm far from being any specialist on anything, jack of all trades, master on none.

 

[tac]

'kay. By a strange coincidence, I got my Senich book back yesterday, and have unashamedly cribbed some of the texts and a pic from it [not in return for any financial gain, Mr Senich, honest].





tac

 

[tac]

This here is my x18 Unertl 2" Target scope onto top of a MkII BSA Martini - left-handed for those days when I'm weary of shooting right-handed...


No recoil spring is necessary on a .22LR - it recoils like an electric toothbrush.

tac

 

[Medic!]

This excerpt from Wikipedia explains 03 usage in the way I have come to know it.


''The M1903 and the M1903A3 rifle were used in combat alongside the M1 Garand by the U.S. military during World War II and saw extensive use and action in the hands of U.S. troops in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. The U.S. Marines were initially armed with M1903 rifles in early battles in the Pacific, such as the Battle of Guadalcanal, but the jungle battle environment generally favored self-loading rifles;[19] later Army units arriving to the island were armed with the M1 Garand.[20] The U.S. Army Rangers were also a major user of the M1903 and the M1903A3 during World War II with the Springfield being preferred over the M1 Garand for certain commando missions.

According to Bruce Canfield's encyclopedic U.S. Infantry Weapons of WW II, final variants of the M1903 (the A3 and A4) were delivered in February 1944.[14] By then, most American combat troops had been re-equipped with the M1 Garand. However, some front-line infantry units in both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps retained M1903s as infantry rifles beyond that date and continued to use them alongside the M1 Garand until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The Springfield remained in service for snipers (using the M1903A4), grenadiers (using a spigot type rifle 22 mm grenade launcher) and Marine Scout Sniper units.

Sniper rifle[edit]
The M1903A4 was the U.S. Army's first attempt at a standardized sniper weapon that came as a result of early combat involvement in the Pacific. M1903A3 actions were fitted with a different stock and a Weaver Model 330 or 330C 2.5x telescopic sight in Redfield Jr. mounts; the front and rear iron sights were removed.[13] Barrel specifications were unchanged, and many M1903A4s were equipped with the two-groove 'war emergency' barrel.[21]

By some accounts, the M1903A4 was inadequate as a sniper rifle. The M1903A4 was an accurate rifle with an effective range of about 600 yards (550m), but the main limit on long range accuracy was coming from its very low power scope (2.5×). From its adoption in 1943 until the end of the war it was used extensively in every theater of operation by both the US Army and the USMC.[22] The Weaver scopes (later standardized as the M73 and M73B1) were not only low-powered in magnification, they were not waterproofed, and frequently fogged over or became waterlogged during humidity changes.[13][22] When this occurred, the M1903A4's lack of open front or rear sights rendered the weapon useless. Normally used with ordinary M2 ammunition with a 152-grain flat-base bullet, accuracy of the M1903A4 was generally disappointing;[23] some Army snipers who came across Japanese or German sniper rifles quickly adopted the enemy weapons in place of the Springfield.[24] The Marine Corps declined to issue the M1903A4, favoring instead a modified M1903A1 rifle fitted with a Unertl 8× target-type telescopic sight.

Unlike the US Army, the USMC had a standard issue sniper rifle at the start of WWII, it was a M1903A1/Lyman 5A (5×), which was adopted (with the Winchester A5 Telescope) during WWI.''

 

[JRuby]

depending on the serial number. Too low you take your chances
i would definitely buy one if the serial number was over a million. My 3006 is an O3A3 and it makes a beautiful hunting rifle. Just my opinion.

 

[tac]

depending on the serial number. Too low you take your chances
i would definitely buy one if the serial number was over a million. My 3006 is an O3A3 and it makes a beautiful hunting rifle. Just my opinion.

See post #18.

tac