SA Installed Lyman 48 Sights

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1924 M1903 Springfield Bolt Action Rifle 30-06 : Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com


There you go, M1903NMP/NM Special and SRS listed aswell. Already over what I was planning to bid, so no need that I should save up the link for myself. Yes, it had been drilled for scope blocks, but it would look really nice with a scope. After all it's still the original stock and original finish, aswell was the inletting for the front scope block done really nice. Also note the reversed safety and the headless cocking piece.

[Tom Jackson]

Thanks. That is a rare rifle listed as "NMP" (National Match Special) in the DCM sales records. It is too bad someone ruined it (for me at least) when they drilled and tapped it for a telescopic sight. I am not entirely certain that NM Specials were factory drilled and tapped for a Lyman 48 either - I have only seen one DCM papered NM Special and it was not drilled and tapped

[TDP0311]

So it appears that the factory stopped drilling and tapping in the early 20s? I have SA right at about 1.4 mil that had been drilled for a Lyman 48 sight, and though there is no SRS match it sits amongst NM rifles. It also has a Hatcher Hole, so I'm assuming it saw some type of military service.

[jburg318]

The National Match “Special” rifle was available through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship Program. Its official description was “U. S. Rifle, Caliber ·30, Style NM Special.” They were built from National Match rifles that were not sold after the conclusion of the National Matches. They were restocked in the M1922 stock (Type 4H) with the full-length forend. The National Match Type 5 butt plate was installed. The receiver was drilled and tapped, and the stock cut for the Lyman 48C receiver sight. The firing pin assembly was the standard service type. The National Match “Special” rifles were available from 1924 through 1928 and a total of 277 were sold. These rifles did not have the Arsenal inspectors cartouche but did show the “P” in a circle proof mark to show that they had been proof-fired.
The collector should be aware that the “Stock, Cal. ·30, NRA Special” was available for separate purchase to National Rifle Association members from 1922 through 1932. A great many standard service rifles ultimately wound up in these stocks. They are not and should not be considered “National Match Special” rifles. The droop and contour of the buttstock plus the non-star-gauged barrel should serve to identify them.

Source Poyer 2008

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 PM ----------

Additionally, "When found with such replacement stock, the P in circle inspector marking does not appear on underside of pistol grip and value is considerably less."

Source Flayderman

[Herschel]

TDP0311, The references I quoted above show that SA was drilling and tapping the rifles in the 1924-1926 time period.

[Tom Jackson]

I do not consider Poyer a reliable source of information on 1903 rifles. "ARSENAL OF FREEDOM" by Brophy contains the Springfield Armory Annual Reports for each fiscal year (FY). "SUMMARY OF DCM RIFLES SALES 1922-1942" by SRS provides a comprehensive view of all recorded DCM sales. Between the two publications it is possible to get a fairly accurate picture of what SA manufactured and sold. The SA Annual Report for FY 1924 (7/1/23-6/30/24) states that SA manufactured 150 "Model of 1903 National Match and equipped with pistol grip stocks and cal. .22 butt plate.". These are the National Match Special M1903 rifles. SUMMARY of DCM RIFLES SALES" lists these and shows most of the serial numbers between 1253425 and 1258276 with most of the serial numbers in the l257XXX-low 1258XXX range. The DCM lists the rifles as "NMP". These rifles are RARE. Including the rifle on the internet I have seen TWO National Match Special rifles in 30 years of collecting. The one I actually handled was not drilled and tapped. I have also seen a couple of NM Special rifles in the correct serial range with proofed stocks that did not show up in "SUMMARY". They were not drilled and tapped. The SA ANNUAL REPORT for FY 1926 shows SA manufactured: 95 "Rifles...Model 1903, National Match with pistol grip stocks" (no mention of ".22 butt plate"). The ANNUAL REPORT for FY1928 shows SA manufactured 50 NM rifles "with pistol grip stocks". These are the B Stock NM rifles. The DCM SUMMARY also identifies them as "NMP". The serial numbers of these rifles fall in blocks from 1,269,541 thru 1,272,019. These rifles are also rare. I have owned two B stock rifles with DCM sales papers both were drilled and tapped and fitted with Lyman 48 sights. The sight installation appeared to be SA work. Because SUMMARY lists all of the NM Special and NM B rifles as "NMP" the only way to differentiate between the two is look at the SA ANNUAL REPORTS, the serial number blocks in SUMMARY and square the two with actual rifles with DCM sales papers. There isn't much to work. The point of all this is that the rifles I have observed in many years of exposure to hundreds if not thousands of 1903 rifles indicates that SA sold very few 1903/1903A1 NM configuration rifles that were drilled and tapped for Lyman 48 sights. Nearly every rifle I have seen that looed real was a 1921-1922 production NM rifle with a Lyman 48 Long Slide sight (DCM sales records for the early NM rifles apparently don't exist). What I hoped to encourage was a discussion of observed 1903/1903A1 NM rifles with DCM papers that were factory drilled and tapped or fitted with Lyman 48 sights. I was curious if anyone else had noted that only the 1921-1922NM rifles had what looed to be factory installed sights. The published information doesn't seem to square with the rifles that actually exists.