Thanks in advance for any assistance in my endeavors!
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Thanks in advance for any assistance in my endeavors!
Hello to the Group,
I'm KP, and I recently discovered that my old .30-06 Springfield might be an NRA Sporter.
I've been hunting deer with it for about the last 12 years, and until this past season the old 4X Lyman scope seemed sufficient... until I had to pass up a fairly long shot at a trophy buck 'cause I couldn't see it well enough to shoot confidently in the fading light of dusk.
So, I went to Cabela's and bought my Christmas present (from my wife); a new Vortex Viper 4-16 X 44 scope. The gentleman who sold it to me took me to the Gun Library to ask the resident expert to make sure my old .30-06 was safe to shoot modern ammo in before I bought a new scope for it. He introduced me; and the librarian looked up my serial number and confirmed it would be safe to shoot. "Do you want to sell it?," He asked. I thought he was just politely asking as part of his job, since Cabela's buys and trades guns.
A few weeks later I took my gun back to Cabela's to see if I could exchange the scope and rings for some that better suited my needs, and another salesman, likely in his 20's, asked me if I wanted to sell it. I said, "No, it was Grampa's deer rifle, and I just want to see if I can get it to shoot accurately at a little longer range than I have previously." He asked if I knew what it was, and I told him, "Sure, it's an old military Springfield 30-'06 in a custom stock." He said, "No, that's an NRA Sporter." I said, "a what? ...no, it's a custom stock..." and then he showed me photos on his large-screen phone. He owns a gun similar to it, and showed other photos from a book he recommended. My gun looks a lot like those in the book. So, I bought that book on the Springfield Model 1903. According to the Serial #, it's a 1924 product. It looks to be an NRA Sporter. One book says it should have a 20" barrel, another says it should be a 24". This one is a 22". The shape of the barrel looks right, but it has no marks on the end. I haven't taken it apart yet. The stock is checkered. Those appear to be quite rare. It has the relief cut out for the Lyman rear sight. No rear, or front, sight.
Dad always said Grampy's .30-06 was "a military Springfield with a custom stock." I've had the gun for 15 years. If it is a rare or special edition, I'm sure Dad never mentioned it, even though it was a part of his very nice gun collection for over 40 years. His dad, Dr. C.J. Miller, was kind of famous in Nebraska from the 20's through the 50's for his gun collection and hunting prowess. He was featured in an article about hunting Grizzlies in Canada in Outdoor Life (I believe it was) in the 20's. Anyway, I shot the .30-06 a few times when I was in my 20's, and was always impressed with how accurate it was. I only knew Dad to shoot it a couple/few times. I don't really know how much Grampy shot it, but I know he owned and shot many guns, and sold and traded many more over a span of many years. For some reason, he held onto this one.
I plan to inspect it further, and learn how to clean the bore very thoroughly without risking damage. It still shoots accurately, so I don't want to screw that up. The muzzle velocity of ammo I've shot and that my friend measured with his chronograph was the same as it was advertised to be... so I'm confident the bore is still in good shape.
Expert advice about SAFELY cleaning the bore thoroughly is welcome. Tips on positively identifying this rifle would be appreciated, also. Serial # is 1,265,082. Thanks!
Hi,
My name is Malcolm Atkin. I used to be an archaeologist and was a member of the steering committee of the old Defence of Britain project. Since taking early retirement in 2009 due to MS, I have become a full-time military history researcher and have had several books published on the subjects of plans for WW2 British resistance, Home Guard and early WW2 British intelligence (see Home | Malcolm Atkin Military Research). Currently working on the development of the philosophy that shaped British special operations in WW2 but keep getting side-tracked into obscure aspects of militaria.
Hi everyone!
I signed up for the site a while ago but, for various reasons, never got around to posting a message. Well, better late than never as they say!
I've had an interest in history and WW2 for quite some time but it's only over the last several years that I've been actively collecting military "stuff". That's not quite how my other half describes it! :)
What I've collected has been mostly aircraft related, such as aircraft parts & veteran signatures, but more recently I started collecting inert ammo, clips, magazines & belts - UK, American & German. This has now started to branch further into Cold War-related items. I've built up a relatively small but growing collection of non-aviation items. Cue tutting and rolling of eyes from the other half!!
I'm looking forward to learning more from the collective knowledge of the forum members.
All the best,
Paul
Bonjour à tous ,
Je suis à la recherche de quelqu'un qui pourrait m'aider à dépanner ma lunette de visée de tir . Cette semaine en allant au stand pour tirer , elle a perdue de sa netteté , j'ai une vision floue à présent . Un possesseur de N°32 de chez Red Star Moutain a t'il eut se problème ?
Merci d'avance pour votre aide .
Bien cordialement
Gérard
Limoges - France
I only have 1 milsurp firearm and I'd like to find out if it's real
Telescope No. 32 MK1 (reproduction)
Hello to all,
I am looking for someone to help me with my rifle scope. This week when I went to the range to shoot, it lost its sharpness, I have a blurred vision now. Has anyone who owns a Red Star Moutain No. 32 had this problem?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Gérard
Limoges - France
I own several milsurp rifles (M1 garands, M1 carbine, O3A3, SMLEs, K96/11, K11, K31) so this looks to be a great forum to be a part of. I look forward to using this forum to learn about my milsurp collection and to offer what I can in that regard. My recent interests have focused on the straight pull Swiss rifle series so I have been looking at some of those discussions. Thanks!
Hello,
I am a collector of Great war British and Empire western front related items. Hoping to get some input from this site, thanks
Hi There
Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello from Maitland, NSW Australia. I am particularly interested in milsurps as I shoot a Lithgow 42 (Motty) SMLE and a Swiss K31 in competition.
cheers phil (tarakai)