Springfield M1903 National Match Special?

New to milsurps.com, but not new to collecting. While searching for information on a (potentially) rare configuration, I found the most information here, so hoping to gain a little more insight. Thank you.

I knew that when I saw this item advertised in a local classified for $750, I had better act quickly. I called the seller to confirm the star gauge barrel number under the handguard, hit the ATM and sped to complete the deal before anyone else could snatch it away.

I knew that I was looking at several National Match features, and also considered that it could be an early Special Target. And searches for positive identification led me to the following thread:

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....hlight=special

Eventually, I was able to uncover a few short paragraphs on p.203 Brophy which seemed to best describe my new acquisition:

Quote:

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National Match Special

Another National Match rifle (described by Captain Crossman as the "Style NM Special") was available from the DCM during the period 1924 through 1928. It was described by the DCM in sales lists as: Rifle, U.S. Caliber .30 Model 1903 National Match Grade, fitted with model 1922 pistol grip stock with military forend.

The original Model 1922 stock was first introduced on the Model 1922 caliber .22 and caliber .30 rifles. The butt end had a pistol grip and was identical to the "Style T" and "NRA Sporter" stocks. Likewise, the buttplate was the all-steel shotgun type of those rifles. However the forend of the Model 1922 style stock, used on the NM Special Rifle, had a full length military forend without finger grooves. The stock had two reinforcing screws, which were standard to all National Match rifle stocks.

Captain Crossman's 1932 description of the NM Special Rifle states that the rifle had the service type firing pin assembly and that the receiver was drilled and tapped for a Lyman Sight.

(picture of NM Special)
Caption: "National Match Special" rifle which is a standard NM rifle fitted with a Model 1922 military type forend stock and drilled and tapped for a Lyman receiver sight,

In 1923 the DCM price for this NM Special was $40.44. From 1924 to 1928 it was $44.50.

The Model 1922 stock pistol grip stock with military forend was available through the DCM from 1924 through 1928. It was originally priced st $4.50. From 1926 to 1928 it cost the buyer $5.00. Butt plate and screws were extra.

The SA production records do not identify an "NM Special Rifle" as having been produced, as such. It can be speculated, however, that upon receipt of an order from the DCM for an NM Special Rifle, the Springfield Armory assembled an NM rifle with the special stock, giving it all the tests and inspections standard for a new NM rifle.

The stocks of NM Special rifles were not stamped on the left side with an inspector's cartouche. They were, however, stamped behind the trigger guard on the bottom of the stock with the usual circled P proofmark.

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The following rifle is a 'two-off' from Brophy's description, meaning that it does not have any evidence of a Circle-P proof on the underside of the pistol grip, and checkering has been added to the wrist. With the grip area obviously reworked (checkering and rounded edges), it is possible that a proof was sanded away. Another possibility is that an M1922 stock was independently purchased and installed with proper inletting for the Lyman on a NM barreled receiver, but odds begin to diminish with that scenario.

So here I am seeking opinions. Could this be one of the fewer than 300 produced Rifle, U.S. Caliber .30 Model 1903 National Match Specials? All thoughts welcome, and thanks for looking.


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As I said on Gunboards, an especially nice rifle. Even with the checkering (which, to me, adds to the beauty), I think you got a heckuva deal!!

Very nice rifle...

Whatever it is, for $750 a bargain! Very nice!

Martin08:

1265774 is slightly outside a range of Special 1903s, ranging from 1265703 to 1265722, all listed in the SRS DCM Rifle Sales book. There are no other DCM rifles listed from 1265722 until 1265920, and 920 was apparently sold as a receiver only. While it certainly looks like an NM Special, there are several things I wonder about:

The Lyman 48 "long" long slide rear sight is one that isn't normally seen on rifles as late as yours, but it is quite a rare pearl in itself!

The stock without a circle P proof mark is a little disturbing, too. A stock purchased from the DCM by itself would not have the circle P, while the stock original to the rifle should.

The serial number puts your rifle right in the middle of the 1924 serial number range (1261487 to 1267099 according to Vi Shooter's list) , but your barrel is dated 6-23, which seems a bit too early to me. Normally I see barrels that are the same age as, or slightly later by a very few months, than the receiver.

This rifle would have been fairly easy to build in the late 1920s with surplus DCM parts, it would be virtually impossible to build now.

Whatever it is, you got a good deal on it, I would have bought it too!

HTH

Misses the serial range by 52, the recorded range. An SRS hit of another gun which is approximately 600 earlier than mine, serial 126,51XX, has a barrel date of 5-24. It is listed an an NMP (P denoting Special), yet it is a sporter. Has the nice Lyman 48B, too.

Yes, my gun has driven me nuts since landing it. Has a mid-'24 receiver and a 6-23 barrel. Doesn't quite fit the time-line or the serial frame, but fits the model mold with all the fine features. Then, the Remington handguard from WWII era. Put together from parts? Hadn't considered that.... but should.

Martin08:

A small correction for you, in SRS NMP means a National Match rifle with a pistol grip stock (these can also be denoted NMC, for the type C stock).

A quick look in the SRS DCM book, I don't see any 1,265,1XX rifles listed as NMP, only as Sporters. If you have a desire to PM me your complete serial number, I will confirm what SRS lists it as.

There are several NMP rifles from 1,265,376 to 1,265,382 (6 rifles) those would be National Match rifles with a pistol grip stock.

While I was looking, 1,265,267, 1,265,337, 1,265,347, 1,265,369, and 1,265,430 are all listed as MOD (modified) now those should be interesting rifles!

HTH

Thank you relics6165,

The following link, post #21, will show rifle 12651XX. It does have the pistol grip stock and M1922 buttplate. Perhaps it is a MOD?

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthre...National-Match

I am at odds again of finding the original thread on the above gun where it showed the entire serial number. I'll keep looking. But in that thread, and in an SRS request, it was identified as NMP.

And to be fair to my gun and others who have guns with star gauge barrels and NM features, I also ran across several early (approximately pre-1928) builds which have no SRS hits but seemingly should. Not sure that those would have been private builds from the 1920's? Or perhaps the early DCM sales were not all that well recorded? Thinking out loud...

Any DCM sales made to the military were not recorded, for one.

martin08:

The Gunboards photos of 12651XX look to be a standard NRA Sporter, which is what I would expect from the serial number. 81 rifles in the serial number range comprising 1265100 to 1265197 are all listed as NRA Sporters in the SRS DCM book. 6 more are listed as bare receivers, and I would bet that they were all bare Sporter receivers, quite likely sent to custom shops of the day to be turned into custom sporting rifles..

I am not registered on Gunboards, so I can't enlarge the photos, but the thumbnails appear to show an everyday, garden variety Sporter, IF there is such a thing...................

Perhaps you could get the entire serial number from the owner, and we could confirm that?

HTH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by relics6165

martin08:

The Gunboards photos of 12651XX look to be a standard NRA Sporter, which is what I would expect from the serial number. 81 rifles in the serial number range comprising 1265100 to 1265197 are all listed as NRA Sporters in the SRS DCM book. 6 more are listed as bare receivers, and I would bet that they were all bare Sporter receivers, quite likely sent to custom shops of the day to be turned into custom sporting rifles..

I am not registered on Gunboards, so I can't enlarge the photos, but the thumbnails appear to show an everyday, garden variety Sporter, IF there is such a thing...................

Perhaps you could get the entire serial number from the owner, and we could confirm that?

HTH

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I did message to get the confirmation from iskra of Gunboards that the Sporter SRS hit was not listed as NPM. Apologies for leading down the wrong path.

But is not the regular Sporter, as it does have the M1922 pistol grip and buttplate. A real fine looking gun, as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by martin08

But is not the regular Sporter, as it does have the M1922 pistol grip and buttplate. A real fine looking gun, as well.

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martin08:

I think somewhere along the line one of us is confused about something..................either I am missing your point, or I'm thinking you are missing what an NRA Sporter actually is. The NRA Sporter was built by Springfield Armory with the 1922 pistol grip stock, and the 1922 butt plate, and it was called the NRA Model. I'm not sure if you are confusing some of the configurations of the 22 caliber Springfields (the 1922, the M I, and the M II) but the 1903 Springfield NRA Sporter Model (in 30-06) always had the 1922 stock and buttplate.

Perhaps, as I mentioned, one of the possible points of confusion is the 22 caliber Springfields....................I'm looking at a 1936 DCM price list, and in it they call the US Rifle, Caliber 22, M1922 MI an NRA Model, and show it with the 1922 stock and buttplate. While they were undoubtedly sold this way (I have one......) most in the MI and MII configuration were sold with a conventional 1903 Springfield appearing stock, with a pistol grip, and grasping grooves. The best way I can quickly describe this stock, is it looked like a 1903 pistol grip stock for the rear half, and a Sporter stock, with grasping grooves, for the front half.

Anyway, HTH.

Please let me know if I have confused you (or me) even more..................................

Confusion is on my end! So all info is appreciated.

As I am a collector of military firearms, this is my first venture into the specialized Springfield Armory (or private build) offerings, and the learning curve is steep!

martin08:

If you are going to continue to venture into the world of 1903 Springfields, I am going to make one more (long) suggestion for you:

The best way to get up to speed on 1903s, other than these, and other forums that cover such rifles, is to find a copy of Brophy's The 1903 Springfield. The layout can be a little confusing to the novice, but once you get used to it, you will be glad you have it, and will find yourself referring to it frequently. Clark Campbell also wrote a nice 03 book. Poyer's book, and Harrison's, need to be looked at a little carefully, but can still be helpful at times. Some combination of these books will work for most collectors of the 1903 still in military configuration.

If you are going to dip your toe into the water of the 1903s that Springfield Armory put out through the NRA and DCM for the sportsman and target shooter, then you will need Brophy and Campbell, plus the books put out by Springfield Research Service (SRS). There are two different books, the first is Summary of DCM Rifle Sales 1922-1942, and it lists nothing but serial numbers of Service Rifles, National Match Rifles, Sporters, Target Rifles, Special Rifles, and bare receivers sold through the DCM before WW2. While it is not totally inclusive of all rifles sold by the DCM, this book can be (actually IS) worth it's weight in gold if you happen upon one of these types of rifles, that is either unknown, or improperly identified. The second set by SRS is Serial Numbers of Martial Arms, a 4 volume set, and again they simply list the serial numbers of arms that Frank Mallory found in the National Archives (and other places) during his research. IF you have a rifle listed in SRS you can write to SRS, and pay for, a letter detailing what was found about that rifle. This information can range from mundane to priceless.The only problems with these books, since they are worth their weight in gold, and they are out of print, is that they are quite hard to find, and are expensive!

If you ever make the mistake (and several of us have!) of becoming interested in the 1903s that were customized by the big name custom shops before, and to an extent, right after WW2, then the 2 volumes of Michael Petrov's Custom Gunmakers of the 20th Century are priceless! They are also just getting ready to go out of print, but can still be found on the big internet auction site.

As I mentioned before, the Milsurp and other forums, can be quite helpful, but you need to be able to weave your way around incorrect the information that pops up from time to time, just as it always will in an open forum, even like this one. Join up, post lots of pictures, and ask lots of questions!

HTH

Thank you, again.

No doubt, if one is to seriously contemplate entering the specialized M1903 area of collecting, the investment in reference material is a must. Speaking for myself, when using only the web, I ran into much confusing information and nomenclature. Having purchased the rifle for $750, I knew that I wasn't going to get hurt. But if I was considering spending in the two, three, or four thousand dollar range or more, I wouldn't have had the confidence to pull the trigger

On the military configuration models, with a modest collection of eight specimens, I do have experience enough to stay out of trouble. :)

In what may only be considered as a major stroke of luck, I was able to speak to the former owner of this gun, a 91 year old retired Maine resident now living in Florida. His earliest memories of the gun were from 5-6 years of age in his father's gun cabinet. He inherited it in the 1950's, when he had the stock checkering performed and replaced a damaged handguard.

He doesn't recall ever seeing any paperwork for the gun, but (now the stroke of luck) he asked me for my address and sent the original rear sight! The parkerized finish is faded, except for the area underneath the slide.

Great - you walk under a lucky star!

If you decide to get a Clark Campbell book you should buy the The '03 Springfield Rifles' Era.
It is the last of his books and was copyrighted in 2003.