1903 NRA sporter help

Hello all,
I'm new on this site, but I kept browsing all the information so I figured I might as well register. I recently acquired a 1903 from a guy locally for a rather low price that I had planned on turning into a hunting rifle. After admiring my new rifle for a few days, I decided to do some research on it because of the shorter stock. It has the "P" stamped on the stock, star stamp at the 6 o' clock position on the end of the barrel. I'm looking for someone who can confirm that the serial number is infact an NRA sporter. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Garrett

Post the serial and we'll check. Does it have the Lyman 48C rear sight? And does it have a serial number electropenciled on the bolt?

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Originally Posted by Promo

Post the serial and we'll check. Does it have the Lyman 48C rear sight? And does it have a serial number electropenciled on the bolt?

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Serial: 1294982, yes it is electropenciled with the sn on the bolt and yes it does have the Lyman 48 c sight.

Your serial number is indeed a Springfield Sporter. Does it still have the original curved steel buttplate? The stock is flat, but the back of the buttplate is curved.

It's not the original just a padded one but everything else is in great shape

Post some pictures of it! And do not turn it into a hunting rifle, rather sell it and of that money buy a brand new rifle ;)

Well thank you for the help promo you saved a nice piece of history! I'm glad, I decided to do a little research now.

You might want to know the complete SRS entry...

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1294982SPT 081029DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42

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This means it was sold on 10th of August 1929. So if it's still the original barrel, it should date prior to this date!

Can the cpm provide anymore information that's worth while? I may sell it but I still would love to know any history I can about the rifle (out of curiosity)

The CMP might be able to give you the basic information you have from Promo's post above. You can write to Springfield Research Service (the organization that has the information), and you can probably get a copy of the receipt showing who the rifle was sold to. Doing it is a little costly and time-consuming. You have to subscribe to their magazine, which I believe is $35 a year and pay something like $50-75 for a letter of authenticity and a photocopy of the receipt.

By the way, your receiver originally started out at Rock Island Arsenal in 1919. Virtually all receivers with serial numbers in the 1,289,000-1,301,000 range were made off of forgings and blanks from Rock Island Arsenal, which produced M1903s from 1904 to 1913, and again, from 1917-1919.

Here's a picture of my NRA Sporter, which was modified by Griffin and Howe, sometime in the 1930s. Serial number 1,295,379.

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

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...standard-2.jpg

The NRA Sporters were not modified service 1903's. They were built from new receivers as Sporters. It was intended for hunting and target shooting. The best way to get an estimate of value is to either show it to a person who is aware of what it is and can recognize any modifications, all of which decrease the value, or do a smart search on one of internet auctions and see what they have sold for, or what was bid on one. In the last couple of years I have bought them for as little as $800.00 and as much $3,000.00. The $800 one had considerable modification to the stock and showed wear on the metal. The $3,000.00 was about 90% finish with no modifications. One sold on gunauction.com this month for around $900.00. It was in beautiful condition but had extensive modifications to both wood and metal. Do not do anything to change it. I mean don't sand or clean the stock, don't remove any rust unless you know how to do it without removing any finish.

Rick I may do that just because my curiosity is getting the better of me. Thank you guys for all the help, it is much appreciated.

An annual subscription to U. S. Martial Arms Collector magazine is $35 and the sales letter is $65.00. I believe having the letter will add $100 to the value of the rifle.

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Originally Posted by Rick the Librarian

Here's a picture of my NRA Sporter, which was modified by Griffin and Howe, sometime in the 1930s. Serial number 1,295,379.

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

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...standard-2.jpg

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Wow, that rifle is absolutely fantastic Rick! I'm Green with Envy. :D

I got it for a very good price a few years ago in return for helping a guy sell some other rifles. Normally, I didn't care much for sporterized M1903s, but after gazing for years at those fantastic pictures of Michael Petrov's on Jouster, I got "infected". A real beaut!