Rock Island Arsenal M1903 (pics update)

[John Beard]

Stock markings indicate that your rifle was last overhauled by Remington Arms in 1945. Other markings indicate that your rifle is one of those recently sold by the CMP which they imported from Greece. The stock, ironically, came from a Remington rifle that was manufactured earlier during the war.

Hope this helps. Thanks for sharing!

J.B.

[bigduke6]

Thanks J B,

when you say recently sold, any idea on how recent? as i am in the UK, just wonder if any more arrived with this.

Would say it had been used recently as the bore needed a clean, but one pull through and it was gleaming.

Does anyone ever shoot low serial number examples and what loads would they be using?

[John Beard]

Thanks J B,

when you say recently sold, any idea on how recent? as i am in the UK, just wonder if any more arrived with this.

Would say it had been used recently as the bore needed a clean, but one pull through and it was gleaming.

Does anyone ever shoot low serial number examples and what loads would they be using?

The CMP Greek rifles were sold during the 2002-2006 time frame. If your rifle is a CMP Greek rifle, I don't know how it could end up in the U.K. The CMP didn't sell any rifles in the U.K. that I know of. So, perhaps I stand corrected. Nevertheless, the CMP Greek rifles contained a number of rifles that looked like yours!

Many shooters regularly shoot their low number rifles. Perhaps more important than the powder charge, make sure that you have good brass. Low number rifles are reasonably safe when fired with standard ammunition. But, they have little margin for safety in the event of a cartridge case failure. I'll let others advise you on a reasonable powder charge.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[bigduke6]

Thanks again JB,
i only use standard ammo or starting loads in my rifles think i will ask on the reloading section, bit unsure on the " CMP" ? can you shed some light what its short for.

[Rick the Librarian]

Civilian Marksmanship Program.

www.odcmp.org

[John Beard]

Thanks again JB,
i only use standard ammo or starting loads in my rifles think i will ask on the reloading section, bit unsure on the " CMP" ? can you shed some light what its short for.

The CMP is an independent U.S. government-owned agency responsible for disposing of surplus U.S. military rifles (bolt action and semi-auto). CMP stands for Civilian Marksmanship Program. Profits they realize from the sale of government military rifles are placed in a trust fund and the proceeds are used to support the National shooting Matches and promote civilian marksmanship, especially among youth.

Among other things, the CMP is authorized to re-import U.S. military rifles that have been loaned to foreign nations. In 2002, they re-imported 47,000 M1903 series rifles that had been loaned to Greece and were no longer needed. The rifles were then sold to qualified U.S. citizens ("Yanks!") over the following four years.

Rick the Librarian provided you a link to their website. Hope this helps.

J.B.

[Emri]

[QUOTE=John Beard;82872

Among other things, the CMP is authorized to re-import U.S. military rifles that have been loaned to foreign nations. In 2002, they re-imported 47,000 M1903 series rifles that had been loaned to Greece and were no longer needed.

J.B.[/QUOTE]

Hey John,

How do you "re-import" a rifle?

Would "re-claim" be a better choice to describe their return to country of origin?

Have a good weekend!

Emri

[John Beard]

Hey John,

How do you "re-import" a rifle?

Would "re-claim" be a better choice to describe their return to country of origin?

Have a good weekend!

Emri

"Reclaimed" would indeed be a better word. I stand corrected. Thanks for bringing the error to my attention!

J.B.

p.s.,

As a matter of note, some of the Greek rifles really were "re-imported" after having once served overseas!

[Alfred]

Seems like there should be a non destructive method of testing whether the steel is burnt or not by this day and age.
They figured only a few of the low number receivers were actually defective but had no way to weed them out at the time. Only way to restore confidence in the rifle was to replace receivers as the rifles were turned in for repair/rebuild.