Colorado Luckydog

I just aquired this rifle tonight in a 30.06. The mechanics of the rifle are very good. The barrel has a few scratches and some wear at the end and around the bolt. Someone has actually carved thier name into the stock and actually whittled some of the wood right under the barrel at the very end.It's a very nice looking rifle besides of the stupid stuff someone did. Does anyone know much about these? Were they actually used in combat? Which war? What should I do with it? Have someone restore it? Any help would be appreciated.

Serial number is 6928xx.

Thanks Bryan

BigJ71

Bryan,

What do you need to know?


Most likely it's been refurbished (most have) that's not a bad thing because a lot of them went through arsenal rebuilds and retained their original barrels some were re barreled and restocked. Some indeed did see action in the South pacific in WWII although most were used for training or drills. Depending on how old it is it might have been used in WWI. If you posted pictures and gave more information about the rifle, I could tell you more about it. I would need to know if it's a model 1903-A3 or a 1903? The receiver will be marked as such but the easiest way to tell is where the rear sight is located. If it's in front of the bolt it's an 03, if it's above the bolt it's an A3. The type of stock it has (pistol grip, scat grip, finger groves, etc...) will also let me know if it's been refurbished, the type of and exactly what is blued and what is parkerized on the rifle? things like that go a long way determining how close to original issue it is.

Stocks can be found both on line and at gun shows but good examples will run about $150.00 for an original correctly stamped 1903-A3 stock setand $250.00-$350.00 for an all original properly stamped 1903 stock set.

Another thing to be aware of is if it's a "high" numbered or "low" numbered rifle. The reason for this is due to the heat treating methods used back in the early daysof the rifle. This ONLY applies to 03's as all A3's were made much later with far better heat treating methods. The early 03's were either made by Springfield or Rock Island Arsenal then later by Remington.

It was determined that the workers responsible for heat treating the receivers had used an "eyeball" method that relied on the color of the heated metal to determine if the steel had been heated to the correct temperature,it was quickly found that the ‘right heat’ as judged by the skillful eye of the old timers was up to 300 degrees hotter on a bright sunny day than it was on a dark cloudy one.

Heating to the higher temperatures led to crystallization of trace elements within the steel, making it too hard, and rather than deforming under high pressure, the receiver shattered, often permitting the bolt to exit the receiver, causing injury to the shooter.

The heat treating method was immediately changed to a double heat treatment, and pyrometers were used to determine the temperature of the heated receivers. The change in heat treating was instituted between serial number 750,00 and 800,000 at Springfield and by serial number 285,506 at Rock Island Arsenal. Rifles manufactured after these serial numbers are referred to as "high numbered" receivers and are commonly stated to be safe to shoot.

So according to your SN, if you have a Springfield model 1903, it's probably best not to shoot it, if it's a Rock Island Arsenal you're safe to fire away. Please note however that just because it's a low numbered receiver does not make it arbitrarily unsafeas many many were indeed shot and shot safely it's just you must shoot it at your own risk because (asmentioned) the heat treating wasn't as precise as it should have been, I'm sure most were just fine.....but you never know.

All that said, they are great pieces ofAmerican history andextremely accurate rifles.

Congratulations on the rifle keep it and enjoy it.

I've had many come and go over the years and at one point my father (also a gun collector) had over 100 of them. They are starting to become more collectible and some of the rare variants such as the National Match03'sand trainer.22's or Sniper 03's can fetch quite a good penny, as do the hard to find all original examples.

A run of the mill mix matched 03 or 03A3 in decent shape with all the hardware will fetch$650.00-$1,000.00 depending on condition of the bore, riflingand how original it is.

Here are mine from left to right:

Smith Corona 03A3, Remington 03A3, Remington 03A3, Springfield M1922 MII .22LR Trainer, RockIsland03,
Springfield 03 (Mark I), Springfield 03 National Match and at the bottom is another Rock Island 03

Colorado Luckydog

Thanks for the great info Bigj. I'll post a pic of mine later today.

Colorado Luckydog

Bigj, one more question, for now, probably a lot more later. Is there a way to have the metal checked to see if it's safe?

BigJ71

Well the easiest way is by the serial number but if your asking if there is a way to check a low numbered rifle then I'm not sure if it could be done without destroying the rifle. I'm no metal expert but I'd expect one would have to take a cross section of the metal and examine it under a microscope to see the metal composition and that would entail cutting the rifle.

The good news is your Springfield rifle serial number 692,8xx dates back to 1917, right smack in the middle ofWWI which makes it more desirable. What is the date on the top of thebarrel just below the front sight? That along with the serial number will let you know if the barrel is original to the receiver.

Colorado Luckydog

I can't find a date on the barrel.

Edcyclopedia

A little Captain's and coke please!

Very informative Big guy!
Back still mending well?

Congrats on this fine gun LuckyDog!!!

BigJ71

Look right at the top just below the front sight, you should see a S. A.over a flaming bomb and then a date like pictured below.

As you can see my M1922 MII barrel was made at the Springfield Armory on 10-1926. this date is in line with the receiver serial number confirming the barrel is original to the receiver


Although most of my rifles have gone through a re-arsenal at some point, all of them have theoriginal barrels and period correct components with the exception of the Rock Island 03 at the bottom which is a complete mix match.

The National Match is completely 100% originaland M1922 MII had been upgraded from a M1922 MI to an MII by Springfield but is also all original..

National Match barrel markings:




If your rifle barrel is not marked like the ones above it's most likely been replaced with a none USGI barrel at someplace other than an Armory and will effect the value greatly. All barrels replaced by one of the many armories will be marked like the ones above (as far as I'm aware)

BigJ71

The back is feeling great! and I'll gladly pour a captain and coke for ya......one of my favorite drinks!

tjj

Great info, thanks.