Hi,every one i'm a newbe looks like a great forum.Here's a little of my background-substation electrician age-47,hobby's cars,trucks,collecting and shooting military weapons my modest collection is as follows M1 garand,springfield,M1carbine,us postal meter,M1A,1903,springfield colt ar15sp11 preban.Now for this1903 370 xxx springfield this is what i know about it i picked up at a yard sale the guy had several guns for sale he said he was an armorer in the military the 1903 was'nt correct but it had a minty UFH 16" bayonet as for the rifle the butt plate is aluminum, the stock has no markings but very nice with only one cross bolt at receiver ring,the barrel no markings dove tail cut on bottom just forward sight barrel,sight barrel has (s)mark on upper left rear,front sight no marks three piece type,front band ?, band screw in middle rear of band not in center.
Your rifle is a mixture of surplus military parts assembled by companies that simply bought the stuff cheap and built rifles. The bayonet lug is a 1917 lug, the barrel has been turned down for the front sight, not sure what it is, could be a 1917 barrel though. The bolt is a late 1903A3 bolt and the sling swivel/ barrel band is 1903A3 also. The stock is a pre 1917 1903 stock (the single cross bolt) that's a shame those are very hard to come across.
These rifles are a bit collectable in themselves, companies like Sedgley built them and sold them very cheap, but you don't come across them very often. I'm by no means an expert, maybe some others will chime in, but one publication that will offer some information on the type is Brophys book. I think you said Springfield, if the the action is below 800,000 it is an early low number action, so most people don't recommend shooting them. On occasion they have a tendancy to think they're a hand grenade.
said rifle is a Sedgly made rfle. built on a condemmed receiver, i dont recomend shooting that rifle. make sure the chamber wasnt drilled for a pin..some of these were built for training. and had a pin installed, down the line., some jackass would remove the pin. unless you look real close in the chamber you may not find the holes.
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The alluminum butt plate was not issued on any of the combat or match rifles. I believe they were used on some of the dummy rifles used for training and drill purposes. Not sure but some may have been manufactured by Sedgley, they seemed to use quite a few of them.
The stock is a pre 1917 1903 stock (the single cross bolt) that's a shame those are very hard to come across.
Randy - Look close. The first bolt added was the rear, not front. Also, the grasping grooves don't look legit. Not sure, but it may be a Sedgely/Bannerman creation.
Ya got me, I took a quick glance and was pretty sure it was a Sedgley, so I headed for the response button. I need to study these things a bit more,,,
Thanks Mike
It is a Sedgley built rifle. The non marked barrel, single stock bolt foward, the "S" on the rear sight fixed base, 1917 parts and aluminum buttplate all indicate it as such. As Chuck stated, they were built for drill purposes and for military schools and could have been made to not load at one time.
garand,springfield,M1carbine,us postal meter,M1A,1903,springfield colt ar15sp11 preban.Now for this1903 370 xxx springfield this is what i know about it i picked up at a yard sale the guy had several guns for sale he said he was an armorer in the military the 1903 was'nt correct but it had a minty UFH 16" bayonet as for the rifle the butt plate is aluminum, the stock has no markings but very nice with only one cross bolt at receiver ring,the barrel no markings dove tail cut on bottom just forward sight barrel,sight barrel has (s)mark on upper left rear,front sight no marks three piece type,front band ?, band screw in middle rear of band not in center.
PM
Originally Posted by Randy A
