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Exceptional Pre-WWI Springfield Model 1903 Rifle

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:2,250.00 USD Estimated At:4,500.00 - 7,500.00 USD
Exceptional Pre-WWI Springfield Model 1903 Rifle
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Model 1903 rifle manufactured by Springfield Armory in 1911. The rifle has a blued barrel, bolt, barrel bands, buttplate, trigger guard and floor plate. The receiver is casehardened with a dark, oil-quenched finish. The safety lock and magazine cut-off have a water-quenched, casehardened finish with vivid case colors. The walnut stock and handguard are oil finished. The Model 1905 folding leaf rear sight has a polished face and 2850 yard volley notch centered on the top of the leaf. The sight has the small binding screw with concave face and grooved knurl used to about serial number 509,000. The sight base has the second pattern windage knob with large (.575 inch), concave face and grooved knurl. The rifle has the early pattern, smooth, thin trigger used through 1911. The safety lock has the serifed "READY" and "SAFE" markings that were utilized until 1914. The "OFF" and "ON" markings on the cut-off have the serifed letters used through late 1914. The "ON" side of the cut-off is polished bright. The buttplate has the fine checkering adopted in 1910. The straight handle bolt is stamped with the steel lot code "I 3" on the underside of the safety lug. The upper barrel band has a niter blue finish and the right side is stamped with a block "U" facing the muzzle. The bayonet lug on the upper barrel band is stamped with the "H" found only on Springfield Armory bands. The face of the front sight base and the front sight movable stud are stamped with a matching index mark that indicates the parts were aligned during manufacture and have not been moved or replaced. The upper barrel band, trigger guard and floor plate have a high polish blue finish used on early Model 1903 rifles. This finish was replaced by a more subdued finish in 1914. The Type "S" straight wrist stock has grasping grooves below the front sight base, single reinforcing bolt and the sloping contour below the receiver ring adopted in 1910. The "high-hump" hand guard has the sight relief cut and spring clips introduced in 1910. The receiver is roll-stamped "U.S./SPRINGFIELD ARMORY/MODEL 1903." in block letters above the serial number "486080". The top of the barrel is roll-stamped "S A" above the Ordnance "Shell and Flame" insignia and the date "10-11" behind the rear sight base. The left side of the stock is stamped with the Ordnance final inspection mark which consists of the initial "J.F.C." in a rectangle below the magazine cut-off recess. A circled script "P" proof mark is stamped on the underside of the stock behind the trigger guard finial. An "R" sub-inspection mark is stamped in the cut-off recess and "30" is lightly stamped between the trigger guard and the proof mark. The rifle is complete with a russet leather Model 1907 sling with brass keepers, pre-war casehardened front sight cover and plated oil and thong case in the butt trap. This rifle is probably one of the selected and star-gauged Model 1903 sold in limited numbers to NRA members between 1910 and 1917. The trigger guard finial is not stamped with the Ordnance "Shell and Flame/NRA" mark stamped on some Model 1903 rifles to denote government sale. The Springfield Model 1903 rifles manufactured up to about 1914 have the best fit and finish of any U.S. martial arms; the quality of the finish on these rifles equals or exceeds that found on most contemporary custom rifles.
BBL: 24 inch round
Stock: walnut
Gauge: 30-06
Finish: blue/casehardened
Grips:
Serial Number: 486080
Condition: Near new. The rifle retains more than 98% of the original blue and casehardened finish and is in un-issued condition. The only finish wear is on the floor plate and trigger guard where the blue has thinned slightly from contact with the sling. The dark case colors on the receiver and the dull blue on the rear sight base have the original "frosted" finish that quickly disappears with handling. The bolt body and extractor have almost no cycling wear. The bolt face shows no primer marks or firing wear. The case colors of the safety lock and cut-off are vivid. The rear sight leaf has all of the original polish. The upper barrel band retains all of the high polish blue finish and there is no wear on the edges of the bayonet lug. The screw heads are in almost perfect condition with no screw-driver battering. The receiver and barrel markings are extremely sharp. The stock and handguard are in nearly new condition and show almost no handling or storage wear. The edges of the grasping grooves and cut-off recess are very sharp. The "J.F.C." final inspection stamp, "P" proof mark and sub-inspection marks are crisp. The is an exceptional example of the classic pre-WWI Springfield Model 1903 rifle with blue and casehardened finish, "S" stock with grasping grooves and "high hump" handguard. The is one of the best pre-WWI Model 1903 rifles offered for sale by the Rock Island Auction Company. It would be very hard to improve on this exceptional Model 1903 rifle