1903 Springfield Sporter - What do I have?

[williamcolt]

I recently acquired a 1903 Springfield rifle in a sporter configuration and want to learn everything I can about it. It has been in one family for many years and is in excellent condition(95% condition). The rifle is blued with an oil finished dark walnut stock with a shotgun butt with checkered steel buttplate and a Schnabel fore end tip. The stock has very fine 30 line per inch checkering on the pistol grip and the fore end. The receiver has the usual Springfield markings with a serial number of 1265181. The bolt is marked L 3 and has been dished slightly, apparently to allow operation with a scope. The barrel is marked near the muzzle with SA, the bomb, and 8/24. I am told that the rear sight is a Lyman 48 and the front sight a Marbles. The receiver has a side scope mount attached without use of screws which I am told is a Griffin & Howe single lever type? The trigger looks different than a military one and has a screw adjustment of some type visible. The stock has two reinforcing bolts similar to what you see on standard military stocks. The barrel is completely smooth with no evidence of a slot for a rear sight. There is no star mark on the muzzle. I have not tried to take the gun apart. Two "experts" locally have told that they are confident that it is a Springfield Armory made gun commenting about the "Springfield Blue" , the general configuration and high quality of the work. It is not a standard NRA gun but they said Springfield made other special guns for presentations and the like. True? Could someone please check the serial number to see if it would indicate a special gun of some sort. Another possibility is that it the work was done by some very skilled gunsmith. I know pictures would help answer these questions but I have had little luck with cameras and posting pictures in the past so I don't know. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have help me figure out what I have. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. WC

Information

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[Mike D]

Barrel date would be right for the serial range. It sounds like a nicely sportered '03, but nothing done by the armory. Schnabel tip, checkering, blued metal, dished bolt, adjustable trigger, etc... all sounds like a post-WWII sporter.

No hits on the serial # in my references, maybe others have more.

Where is the L3 marked on the bolt?

[Jughead]

,,,. I'm helping Williamcolt post pictures of his rifle. Here they are.

[Okla-by God-homa]

Pics won't enlarge but from what I can see it is NOT one that was done by an Armory. Looks like a good conversion.

[Michael Petrov]

Need bigger pictures and some from the left side showing the scope base. If you look on the inside of the action where the scope base is mounted see how many pins and screw ends you can see, five is my guess.

[williamcolt]

Thanks for the info so far. The L 3 is on the flat area on the top of the bolt arm. I can send larger copies of the pics by email for any who want to see them. Also I have one of the left side of the rifle in the scope mount area. let me know. The scope mount is 2 1/4 inches long. No pins or screws are visable on the exterior. With the bolt withdrawn one can see the smooth heads of two pins that hold the scope base in place. Unfortunately I only have the base.

[Michael Petrov]

Please send pictures to mjpetrov@acsalaska.net.

Would be helpful to see the buttplate and top of the scope base.

[Johnny Peppers]

It was an original Springfield NRA Sporter.

1265167 SPT
thru
1265188 SPT

[williamcolt]

Johnny Peppers : Thanks for posting the info that my 03 Springfield sporter is on the official list of SN's for the sporters made at the Arsenal. It is great to have a gun with this pedigree. I understand that this list cantains all or most the NRA sporters. Does it contain other sporter rifles that are similar but not identical to the NRA ones? My gun would appear to be an example of that. Did the Armory put checkering, special triggers, different stock designs on some of these guns? Thanks again for any comments. I can send you larger pictures of the rifle via email if that would help you see the gun better. Regards, WC

[Johnny Peppers]

Johnny Peppers : Thanks for posting the info that my 03 Springfield sporter is on the official list of SN's for the sporters made at the Arsenal. It is great to have a gun with this pedigree. I understand that this list cantains all or most the NRA sporters. Does it contain other sporter rifles that are similar but not identical to the NRA ones? My gun would appear to be an example of that. Did the Armory put checkering, special triggers, different stock designs on some of these guns? Thanks again for any comments. I can send you larger pictures of the rifle via email if that would help you see the gun better. Regards, WC

The list only has the serial numbers of the rifles, but I believe it is still $50 for a letter from SRS which will tell you if anything extra was done to your rifle. My opinion is that it was shipped as a standard Sporter, and was upgraded later. I have a Sporter that was originally fitted with Winchester scope bases, and that is noted in the SRS letter.

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