Authentic scant stock?

[Jager1855]

I aquired a scant stock at the local flea market a while back. The price was right and one never knows when a barreled action may appear. Anyway, I've been having problems identifying it. The condition is excellent. All lines and edges are straight and crisp. The screw holes in the butt have never seen a screw. The walnut is very tight solid grain. The stock was never cut for the A3 barrel ring. The only marks on it are at the butt trap. An "S" and a double "EE". I've shown it to friends and some gunshow dealers familiar with 03s. I received a wide range of answers from a 1950s non-mil, a post war DCM, to an early Remington replacement for the standard 03. Can anyone assist? Thanks!

Information

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[Calif-Steve]

I have the same thing. I guess the "S" mark is for Springfield.

[Rick the Librarian]

The Scant stock dates from WWII and was manufactured by Springfield. I have seen all kinds and quality in Scant stocks - some look like they were cut and finished by a near-sighted phyiscally-challanged dwarf; others (including two I sold a year or two ago, are as finely made as any GG stock.

Some were just for M1903s; other were cut so they could be used with M1903s or M1903A3s.

[Chuckindenver]

one question..
why in the world would anyone, fake up a scant stock???

[CelticMarksman]

Please bear with me if I ask some basic questions, but could someone give me a rundown on what a "scant" stock is?

Thanks

[mark1]

Third one down is a scant stock

[JGaynor]

Please bear with me if I ask some basic questions, but could someone give me a rundown on what a "scant" stock is?

Thanks

Ordnance would liked to have converted all Wartime (WW2) M1903 production to a full pistol grip style (the "C" profile) developed in the late 1920's and stadardized on the m1903A1. The original prewar "C" stock was memorialized on drawing D1836.

While the basic stock profile was retained a new drawing (No. 28366) for the Wartime M1903A1 Pistol grip stock was developed. Ordnance desired to use the huge inventory of stock blanks on hand from WW1. Some of these blanks however, did not have enough wood for the full "C" pistol grip. In such cases the drawing allowed for an abreviated pistol grip which is commonly known as the "scant stock".

Think of the "C" stock with the lowest inch or so cut off and contoured with the bottom line of the stock.

The M1903A1 stock, in both full and scant grip styles, further modified with a clearance notch for the special bolt handle was used on original production of the m1903A4 snipers rifle made by Remington. Stocks were furnished by Springfield and various subcontractors.

The M1903A1 Stock was optional for the M1903A3 but as it was somewhat more involved to manufacture and the demand for the rifles was intense the A3's were furnished with the simpler, Style "S" straight stocks.

Regards,

Jim

Full Grip on the left . Scant on the right.

[CelticMarksman]

So, for an A3 in the 3.8 million serial range the correct stock style would probably be the "S" style stock?

[JGaynor]

So, for an A3 in the 3.8 million serial range the correct stock style would probably be the "S" style stock?

The original stock would have been the "S" stock w/o grasping Grooves. A scant could be considered correct as a replacement performed either at field level repair or depot level overhaul/rebuild.

Regards,

Jim

[Rick the Librarian]

As I understand it, Remington (and later, Smith Corona) was "grandfathered" in to continue making straight stocks for the M1903 (and later M1903A3) without needing to come up to the "norm" of the Type C stock and the M1903A1.