WTS OR Springfield A303

[myron_23]

I have a Springfield 1903 made in 1910. In beautiful condition. Non Sportsterized.
Asking $900
I will load pictures shortly.

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[Andy54Hawken]

The 03A3 series of rifles were made during WWII...not 1910...
Also The 03A3 was made by Remington and Smith Corona , not Springfield.

That said a non sporterized Springfield rifle is always worth a look...
Good luck with your sale
Andy

 

[myron_23]

I thought the year looked weird for an A303. I did a search on the serial number and it came up with 1910. Looking further it's a model 1903. The precursor to the A303. Thank you for the correction.

The 03A3 series of rifles were made during WWII...not 1910...
Also The 03A3 was made by Remington and Smith Corona , not Springfield.

That said a non sporterized Springfield rifle is always worth a look...
Good luck with your sale
Andy

 

[MountainBear]

Any serial numbers from 1910 are going to be considered low number. Even if it has a later barrel date, it's shootability is questionable. CMP will not let them into any of their vintage rifle matches.

Just for information sake. For more info and low number values, you can check out the cmp forum.

Good luck with your sale and I look forward to seeing photos.

 

[DunRanull]

Werent the questionable low # Springers either destroyed or re-heat treated? In any event, it's gotten thru 2 ww's and over a century without an issue... Just sayin, Im neither a gunsmith, metallurgist, nor historian of Springfield rifles...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

W.E.S. stands for W.E. Strong....1916-1917 unclear if he was a Springfield or a Rock Island inspector.
Andy

 

[Argonaut]

I think the question is if the rifle is original or made up of Parts. Several parts of the story don't add up. A gun made up from disparagent Parts still has value of course but not anywhere close to a matching rifle.

 

[myron_23]

How do you tell if it's a matching rifle?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Some of the parts;
will have a inspectors stamp ( which you may be able to date )
Some eras of rifle will have blued , not parkerized parts
The shape of the stock and upper handguard
Any re-work stamps
Early rifles ( pre- to early WWII ) will have milled parts , not stamped
Just a few ideas off the top of my head...

A great book to research your rifle is The Springfield 1903 Rifles by William Brophy

All that said above...Many of these rifles may at times have had a long service life and may have been re-worked more than a few times.
When the Army re-works or repairs a rifle...they want to fix or replace the part , to get a working rifle... while not really worrying about having a all matching rifle for future collectors...

Speaking only for myself...Yes, a all matching rifle would be super cool , but unlikely to happen...A well maintained but arsenal re-worked rifle has a history as well , and would be worth owning.
Andy

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Nice piece of history. I am looking for one that was redone in the 40's at Rock Island Arsenal with "FK" (frank krak) initials...
GLWS

 

[Argonaut]

There are entire books written about 1903's, there markings, Parts and history. It is a field that has studied every nuance of the rifles to establish history and provenance. It makes the difference between a 900.00 or a 10,000 rifle. Like a Colt SAA, if it has a Custer unit issued serial number it could be a 50,000 gun, the similar old cowboy owned piece could be 10,000. Collectors want to know everything but will open there pocketbooks for the right gun.

 

[DunRanull]

A bit off the OP's original topic, I guess.. But I still miss the Remmie 03-A3 I traded off.. it was nice and cross-canyon accurate. Also flubbed on a matching *gauged 1903... THAT was a beautiful piece of steel and wood!.. Ah well we can't keep them all but we sure can regert the ones we let go...

 

[Argonaut]

Everything gets sold or passed on since we abandoned the practice of burring a warrior with his weapons. We are only short term caretakers of even our most prized possessions as depressing as that might sound. The reason we have the opportunity to discover and own the things we love is because someone else let it go.

 

[myron_23]

I'm coming up to Salem today if anyone want's to look at this 1903.

 

[MountainBear]

Well, okay. Let me explain what I can see. First, from the serial number I can see, which is 4577XX (I can't see the last two digits in the photo), the gun was made very early in 1911.
The stock looks proper for the gun, which is a Type 2. It has the single reinforcement bolt, and although I can't see the handguard, it should be concave and have the sight groove, with a fixture slot present underneath the sight groove. There looks to be what might be a repair to the toe of the stock, but it could just be the grain and my eyes. It should have a "P" proof behind the trigger guard in a 1/2" circle, as WES is William Strong who inspected at Springfield Armory.
The bolt it marked J X (I can't make out the number). The proper bolt for this gun should be J 1 on the underside of the safety lug. The body of the bolt should be finished, not in the white. The rest of the metal parts I can see look correct. The buttplate should be smooth.
I would expect if the barrel was original, it would have a late 10 or early 11 barrel and the SA above the ordnance bomb should be in sans serif letters. The rear sight base should be a type 2, which has a single band sleeve and a grooved and dished windage knob.

It's a nice rifle. The value of the gun is not as a shooter. In this case, the value is in the parts or the collector value of the barrel is original. Hope that helps, good luck with your sale.

 

[myron_23]

Thank you. I appreciate the information. It is a beautiful rifle and love the history.