Bought an M1903 rifle (pictures)

[MilsurpMM]

I bought the rifle for $1100 dollars. It has a beautiful stock and very fine rifling.

The stock does not appear to have a shiny finish to it. Were there M1903s that had this matte finish on mine? This rifle also was manufactured by Remington.

Information

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[jjjxlr8]

Looks like a nice rifle, but the stock may be a post-war replacement that someone added. If it was added by a US arsenal it would likely have stamps to indicate that. Does it have any stamps on the left side near the back of the receiver, on the bottom in front of the magazine, or on the bottom near the 'pistol grip' area? The stocks aren't supposed to be shiny. The finish, even if done outside of the arsenal looks just as it should! Congrats on a nice rifle! It's getting harder and harder to find nice examples these days.

[Roy]

Sure looks pretty, the stock, being a 'scant' stock will not be original to the rifle, they were always replacemants or it could be a new surplus stock or even a newly made stock, though i'm not sure if anyone is making new 'scant' stocks. does it have any cartouches or service markings? when the rifle was newly issued it would have had a satin linseed or tung oil finish, 70+ years of handling, oiling and rubbing down have given alot of rifles a very polished look.

[RCS]

[MilsurpMM]

Looks like a nice rifle, but the stock may be a post-war replacement that someone added. If it was added by a US arsenal it would likely have stamps to indicate that. Does it have any stamps on the left side near the back of the receiver, on the bottom in front of the magazine, or on the bottom near the 'pistol grip' area? The stocks aren't supposed to be shiny. The finish, even if done outside of the arsenal looks just as it should! Congrats on a nice rifle! It's getting harder and harder to find nice examples these days.

Thank you!

Actually the stock does in fact have markings under it. For example on the grip, it has a square with a "p". The other marking is on the left side of the firearm and says "LSAA". What i was surprised was that there was no serial number on the stock. is that normal for a scant stock M1903?

---------- Post added at 10:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 AM ----------

Sure looks pretty, the stock, being a 'scant' stock will not be original to the rifle, they were always replacemants or it could be a new surplus stock or even a newly made stock, though i'm not sure if anyone is making new 'scant' stocks. does it have any cartouches or service markings? when the rifle was newly issued it would have had a satin linseed or tung oil finish, 70+ years of handling, oiling and rubbing down have given alot of rifles a very polished look.

No, the stock is definitely original because it has a "p" marking along with an "LSAA" marking. but judging from the pictures i sent, do you think the finish on the stock would look like that after these stocks were made?

[RCS]

The P proof in a square is a post WW2 stamp, the other stamp LSSA is a rebuild stamp

[MilsurpMM]

The P proof in a square is a post WW2 stamp, the other stamp LSSA is a rebuild stamp

Interesting. Thanks for the info

[Roy]

do you think the finish on the stock would look like that after these stocks were made?

I'd say the stock is in very original condition from after he rifle was re-stocked at the arsenal. It doesnt look like it has seen much use or extra oil, however rifle stocks do need oiling every so often in order to prevent them warping or splitting in changes of temperature and moisture.

Could you post some close up pics of the markings?

[MilsurpMM]

I'd say the stock is in very original condition from after he rifle was re-stocked at the arsenal. It doesnt look like it has seen much use or extra oil, however rifle stocks do need oiling every so often in order to prevent them warping or splitting in changes of temperature and moisture.

Could you post some close up pics of the markings?

Sure. Here are all the markings I found on the rifle. There was no serial number on the stock though. Is that normal for a M1903?

[Joe W]

Regarding the stock markings (L SAA), I believe the "L" is the inspector mark and the "SAA" is San Antonio Arsenal. The proof mark in a square box indicates proof firing after rebuild. Rifles proof fired following original build will be found with the proof P enclosed within a circle. Serial numbers were not stamped on stocks of service rifles, either during original build or by rebuild facilities.