Very Early Springfiled 1903 with 1911 RIA barrel………..(f 695) SOLD

A very interesting and rare M1903 Springfield Rifle with a 1911 R.I.A. Barrel

In introducing this rifle to the potential buyer it is important to understand that these rifles were made a long time back, and if you look very carefully, it is possible to start putting together a rough idea of what they have been through.  All the American manufacturers only ever marked these rifles with one serial number, in one place; on the receiver.  Unlike many of the other major manufacturers, the Springfield is not adorned with serial numbers. Even the bolt is without a number.  There are some other signs however which help establish what we are looking at.

This is a very early Model 1903 Springfield with a replacement barrel. Why is it early – look at the serial number; “290219” Records indicate manufacture in 1908. For that year the last recorded number was 337862.  However, there is more information on the barrel, behind the front sight block.  It reads “R.I.A. / flaming bomb motif / 3 – 11″  The motif is center stamped which indicates rebuild activity.  Obvious as we have a Rock Island Barrel in a Springfield receiver.  Not the end of the world by any account.  Now we see the elephant in the room looming round the corner and he needs an introduction.

Early Springfields have a bad reputation.  I have explained my thoughts on this issue.  Please see; http://www.byswordandmusket.co.uk/fac-rifles/7729-2/us-1903-bolt-action-service-rifles/1903-receiver-failures/   This rifle falls into the early Springfield serial number bracket for receivers to be aware of.  Then we have to wonder, how a rifle in this bracket, with a Rock Island barrel has lasted so long?  Basically, it has proved the story wrong.  Once it arrived on these shores, the rifle has been stripped, inspected, cleaned and then sent to proof in London – it passed – No quarter given.  It is reasonable to believe that this rifle has been in for armoury / inspection work on more than one occasion within its service life. Merely by the number of changes it has been through, if you look at the different components currently in place on the rifle.

Chambered in .30-06 govt’ with a Mauser type action.  It has a five-shot internal, alternate stacking, magazine.  The Mauser type design has been followed through in almost all ways.  It has a bent bolt handle with a flag safety system mounted on the rear of the bolt.  There is a bolt removal catch towards the rear of the action, which doubles as a magazine cut-off device. A long extractor spring runs down the length of the bolt and flips the empty cartridge out through the open side-wall of the action.  The flag safety has three positions and also locks the bolt down, in the same way the German Mauser does.  The round cocking piece on the rear of the bolt can also be used to cock or decock the rifle along with the “squeezed trigger” method.  Essentially this is a more finely manufactured Mauser battle rifle.

This M1903 measures a total of 43.1/2″ in overall length.  The round barrel is 23.1/2″ long and the trigger pull is 12.3/4″ to centre.  The trigger is smooth faced.  The rifle is fitted into a later armoury straight grip stock with no finger grooves.  Although there are no perceivable cartouches in the usual places there is a clearly visible Springfield Armoury Flaming bomb marking on the front face of the fore-end.  This is an unusual stamp to forge and looks just about badly enough struck to make me believe it was a bored armoury worked who put it there.  Falsified markings are usually overdone, even double stamped – this would not happen with the prospects of a roof high pile of stocks to inspect. Both components of the stock are straight grained American black walnut.  Two cross pins are fixed across the axis of the stock as in late war practice from WWII.  It is however, an extremely handsome stock, which feels “small” in the hand as the early rifles should.  The surface carries a small quantity of service life dings and dents but is intact with no cracks or splits and a high polish patina.

Another interesting aspect to take into consideration is the early stock furniture.  The butt is fitted with a very early plain “flat” steel butt-plate. There is a trapdoor within it which permits access to the cleaning equipment.  At the opposite end of the rifle, the fore-end nose-cap is an interesting early fitting which, is still showing its case colour-hardened finish.  The bayonet stud on the underside is marked with the single “H” which was a Springfield practice meaning the component is hardened. The trigger guard assembly is an early cast and milled item with the removable floor-plate.  The mid-band is the correct early Springfield type marked with the horizontally set “U” stamp.  The spring retaining the band is the correct Springfield round ended variety; these often get exchanged for later Remington produced items.

The rear sights have the notch at the very top of the ladder which, was discontinued at quite an early stage in the 03’s development.  The sight has a dished knurled securing wheel.  It is graduated all the way to 2700 and has windage adjustment by the larger wheel.  The barrel collar, on which the rear sight is mounted, has the early Springfield lightening cuts, once again discontinued by Remington at a later date.

One other noticeable thing, is the fact that the finishes on the various parts seem mixed.  The bolt is “blued” and the action is finished in the grey-green phosphate.  This in itself is not a problem to Springfield collectors as occurrence of this is quite normal.  Different components were produced in different plants and were finished differently.  So, if the rifle was refinished at some time.  The majority was in this case, parkerised and the bolt which was tended to at a different plant, was blued as opposed to phosphated.

One last thing to look out for on this weapon is that there is a number on the RHS of the rear portion of the bridge!  It looks electro-pencilled, the meaning of this is currently unknown.  The action is mechanically fine, it has been stripped, cleaned and rebuilt then, re-proofed.  An early and attractive rifles and worthy of exercise as well as being studied.

Stock No’  f 695

£ 1200.   (Sold)

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