Sa 1903 mark 1

I saw this at the gun shop today and saw the slot in the side of the receiver and the Mark 1 stamped on it as well? I got home and looked it up and it is for the Pederson device? My question is can this still fire a 30 06 rifle round or is this essentially a wall hanger? The reason I asked is they have it for $795 and the book for one in good condition is $950(2010 book) in which it looked good or maybe better but I don't know enough about all the parts to know any more than that. They are going to hold it for me for a couple of days while I pick your brains on whether I should go for it or not? Ser # 1,13X,XXX

Also have been going through the related threads at the bottom of page (thanks to the genius who thought of that) and am loving chasing this research whether I buy or not.

I as all ways look forward you comments..... Thanks

without seeing the rifle, ill guess its still in military trim, if thats the case, yes, it is and has always been a 30-06..af or price and or value..hard to say without more info.
pictures would help...toss that book in the trash...like car values, whats in that book doesnt matter. what they think, and what it really sells for may be differnt things..do some research on the gun auction sights and see what like rifles are actually selling for..

Yes, it's still capable of shooting .30-06. Shooting the smaller Pistol Ball M1918 requires the Pedersen Device which replaces the original bolt. Let us see pictures of what you got :)

I'm still trying to figure out what these three parts look like that make it a true Mark 1. I think I got the stock figured out but the trigger and sear and mag cut off not to sure what I'm looking at in the pictures on one of the threads.
I'll check the rifle Friday and if the stock isn't right then that should tell all? I can tell you there were no cartouches or marks of any kind on the stock.

I only have that picture of my Mark I rifle showing the special parts. Will try to do a comparison picture by tomorrow.

Not having any cartouches on the stock hurts. If the stock does not have the Mark I relief cut, you'll know then it is not worth it.

The Mark I cutoff and trigger/sear also make a big difference. You can tell if these parts are present without disassembling the rifle. Here a photo of the cutoff.http://www.vishooter.net/m1903/mk1_trgr_ctf.jpg

Somewhere there is a photo to show if the trigger is present or not.

Yeah, that works, Promo!

I have committed those pics to memory and will look at it tomorrow. If they will let me I'll snap some shots.

I have a really nice SA over GAW with ordnance wheel and Mark I cutout stock around, it came on an early Remington M1903. Somewhen I'll get a perfect rifle for it :) (and for those who could be interested - no, it's not for sale). The only thing that kept me wondering was that there are no other markings present and the SA over GAW is later.

The gun shop was real busy as usual, but I was able to look at it in more depth. This is a arsenal rebuild to restore it to 1903 configuration as was suggested. The stock does have a circle p where it is on the Garands I have. And there is a dip where the cut out in the receiver is and all the wood seems to match though the front hand guard has strange what looks like wood inlays( about 4-5 ) running on top and perpendicular to the line of fire?? I wish I had taken a picture of it but it was crazy there and I was concerned with the cut out and snapped a shot of that with my phone. The bore looked great and muzzle gauged a 2 and it had an SA 5-20 stamped near the front sight. Probably not going to buy it at least not for that price but sure have had fun learning about it. Thanks to all and any more info is still appreciated.

Hi Dave,

Having the correct stock is a real plus in my opinion. I think I'd get six one hundred bills and offer them. Often with milsurps, stores will mark them up a bit thinking the buyer will want to bargain them down some. They mark them up so they can come down and still make a profit. If he didn't take the money I'd walk and not feel bad. (JMO)

Actual cash does lubricate the machine of business sometimes, like Harlan says...

You maybe right about the cash in hand but 200 off may be all his profit . My Garand is still there ( I traded for $784 in 2 handguns) and the tag says $995.99. If I really wanted it I would offer 7 ($100 less) but I don't think it's worth that price. His hired help said he won't budge on it so there you are.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaveN

. . . the front hand guard has strange what looks like wood inlays( about 4-5 ) running on top and perpendicular to the line of fire??

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If the "inlays" are about .1" thick & 1.5" long, they are probably "biscuit" repairs made by the Greeks. The repairs were made to cracked hand guards to keep them serviceable. Your rifle is likely a M1903 that was sold through the CMP which had been leant to the Greeks back in the late 40s or early 50s. Is there a partial s/n (4 digits) etched on the root of the bolt handle? A "B" stamped on the floor plate? These are also signs of Greek service.

I think Kirk is most likely correct that it's a Greek rifle. Also, the Greeks did do a lot of the biscuit repairs on CMP returns I've seen.

You'll have to do what you're comfortable with Dave, but I really don't think it would be out of line to offer him $600 cash. All he can say is "no". Also, dealers often do mark up prices on used guns taken in more than you might think. I think $600 is a fair offer for what I have in mind of what this rifle is. (JMO)

I paid $650 for this one. It had been restored but I think it's in the same ballpark.
Mark I's don't seem to carry any real premium above like 1903's.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...768Large-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2/02/142-1.jpg

No way to know if this was authentic, but I thought it was kond of neat -

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2/02/232-1.jpg

JMHO: I would say that it is worth $795 only if the barrel date matches the SSN range; if the bolt is correct for the SN range; if the rear sight is correct; if the stock hardware is correct; and of course if the stock is an original MARK I. I'd take off value for markings on the bolt and floor plate, and other incorrect parts. The handguard can be replace with an original, although it will be expensive. The bolt also can be replaced if needed, also expensive. Correct stocks are scarce as hens teeth, and can easily be faked. I wouldn't worry about having the correct trigger and cutoff. Most of them were removed after WWI by the government. But, they can be found. I wouldn't sell my MARK I which has all original parts and a period sling for less than $1500, but that's just me.

Here are a couple of quick IPHONE shots and yes the 1st pic is focused on a 1911 so if I'm going to be out of focus at least it's focused on a great handgun Eh?https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22012045-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22012044-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...22012043-1.jpg The biscuit repairs were like you said but were 1/4 inch wide, and is the front hand guard supposed to be loose like on a M1?

The Greek biscuit repairs are closer to .1" than .25". The picture shows 6 biscuit repairs to an A3 hand guard.
Attachment 30667

The M1903 hand guards are supposed to be tight. They are held by a lip on the front edge of the fixed rear sight base at the rear (if it is loose there, the corresponding lip on the hand guards may be missing) and clamped to the stock by the upper band at the top.

The stock you show appears to be a Mk 1 stock that was heavily sanded (rear stock bolt is bright); on an unsanded stock, the head would be about .05-.1" below the surface. After it was heavily sanded it was heavily used!

The special Mk 1 parts, besides the stock, consist of a hammer & sear (split sear visible with the bolt removed from the receiver); a magazine cut off (has a W-shaped profile when viewed from above) and spindle (slotted like a screw but it is still a pin) as shown here & compared to standard parts.
Attachment 30668 Attachment 30671 Attachment 30669 Attachment 30670

I had forgot about this thread. Thanks to all for you help on this rifle. Your input is valued by me. I do Plan on dropping by to see if it's still available. I'll let you know .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harlan

Hi Dave,

Having the correct stock is a real plus in my opinion. I think I'd get six one hundred bills and offer them. Often with milsurps, stores will mark them up a bit thinking the buyer will want to bargain them down some. They mark them up so they can come down and still make a profit. If he didn't take the money I'd walk and not feel bad. (JMO)

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I was at a large gunshop in Yuma, Az.....starts with an "S"...... last fall while training for a job. They had a few racks of used rifles which contained a pretty beat up Eddystone M1917. Not much finish, stock had been cut down......the price tag stated $299. I took the rifle to the counter and asked if they could do better. The guy took the rifle to the back room. He returned and told me that the price tag was an old sale price and that the current price was $399 and was firm!. How's that for bargaining?! Needless to say, I did not buy that particular rifle.

Yah , I was in there . He brought me out a 1917 to get my opinion on. It had been sportized , stock cut , bbl cut , ears cut , etc. I looked it over , shook my head , and said " Someone spent a lot of time and money making an eight hundred dollar rifle into a two hundred dollar rifle ." He reached across the counter and picked the rifle out of my hands without a word and sat it in the rack behind the counter. That's when I saw his eight hundred dollar price tag on it . Oops .
Chris