Springfield 1903 US service rifle……(F 691) Reserved
Created on February 4th 2022
Model 1903 Springfield US Service Rifle
An interesting opportunity to secure a sought after early Springfield which has been given a new lease of life.
Of standard military specification for between-war Model 1903. Chambered in .30-06 with a 5-shot internal magazine and a Mauser action. Serial number 1436490. Springfield barrel dated “5 – 31”. Stock with pistol grip matches period. Rifles in stocks of this design were used by the USMC to scope up with the Unertl 8x magnification, sourced from the rifles set aside for target match uses. This was then know as the “Springfield M1903-A1/Unertl Sniper Rifle”. This would be the correct looking rifle to add such a scope to. Single piece pistol grip stock with hand-guard over barrel. Twin stock bolts. Stock fittings all milled – not pressed.
Overall rifle length is 43.3/8″. Round blued barrel is 24″ long and trigger pull is 13″ to centre. The receiver is roll engraved as follows;- “U.S. / SPRINGFIELD / ARMOURY / MODEL 1903 / 1436490” Gas escape hole to RHS of receiver. Magazine cut-off switch to rear LHS of receiver. Receiver light grey parkerised finish. Bolt assembly all in a strong blue. Three position flag-safety at rear of bolt. Both bolt shroud and handle marked “R”.
Rear sight collar with lightening cuts. Flip-up multi-aperture rear sight graduated from 300 to 2700 yards. Mechanical adjustment good. Fixed blade front sight. Milled steel trigger guard and magazine floor plate. Milled steel front band with bayonet lug under and a stacking hook. The barrel is marked on the upper surface;- “S A / flaming bomb / 5 – 31” The highly observant will notice that this date predates the serial number on the receiver which points to 1934 ! How is this I hear you ponder ? The answer is that when this rifle arrived from the States the receiver was damaged beyond repair – this was then changed for a brand new, unused receiver purchased from ex-Springfield stock and the two were mated, re-head spaced and CIP proofed last Jan 2022. It’s quite extraordinary that the two main components are so close in year of production. So in effect you have a rifle with a whole new lease of life.
All the rest is standard and correct to period. The reason for the miss-match of finishes is that it was common practice that many components were produced in different factories and finally assembled at Springfield. Smooth steel butt-plate with trap for bright metal container with pull through etc which is in position. Twin sling swivels. There are some visible markings on the stock including a final proof boxed “P” on the base of the pistol grip. Barrel is the original 4-groove bore, obviously used but still some life left in it – no pitting and bright. Action mechanically fine.
Early, pre WW2 Springfields are hard to get from the USA now as Classic Rifle shooting and collecting are really taking of there now. A good representative example of a sought after rifle. Freshly CIP proofed and ready to go.
Stock No’ F 691
£ 1650. (Reserved)
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