Canfield's guide to the '03

[Mike D]

I was shopping on Amazon for a book on the '03. I used to have Canfields, but let a friend borrow it and never got it back. I distinctly remember the blue cover and pic. But I am sure I did NOT pay the current prices that Amazon lists.

Am I missing something? Are there different editions with that same cover or are those prices way off?

Maybe I need to try getting my book back if those prices are right!

Amazon.com: A Collector's Guide to the '03 Springfield (9780917218408): Bruce Canfield: Books

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Chuckindenver]

email him.
Canfield is listed as a member, and has a web site i do belive..
he,s a nice guy, easy to talk with.

[Kirk]

His most recent edition is An Illustrated Guide to the '03 Springfield Service Rifle Amazon.com: An Illustrated Guide to the '03 Springfield Service Rifle (9781931464154): Bruce N. Canfield: Books which is only $50, about as good a price as you will find.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Chuck is correct, Mike -

Bruce is a very nice man and very personable. No ego situation with him at all. I can't say enough nice about him. He unselfishly helped me with questions I asked him in the past, and he was prompt returning emails.

If you're looking for that particular 'blue cover' book, try emailing him to see what's up. It's probably out of print and that's the reason for the outrageous asking price on Amazon, but the price might not be called for. (?)

Also, Kirk is correct about his later updated '03 book. I think it's outstanding.
You can order it directly from his web site for $49.95
(He has a web page for it with excerpts, etc from the book too)

Here's the link to his web site -
(There's also a link on his home page to contact him)

http://www.brucecanfield.com/

[mustanggt]

I know I'm 7 months too late with this but I'm new. I just got his booked used on Amazon for $29.99. I couldn't tell it was used. Very nice shape.

[Rick the Librarian]

Mike, you are probably thinking of Bruce's early 1989 edition, "A Collector's Guide to the '03 Springfield". It is no longer in print, but is available through various online sources that carry used books. It is (by Bruce's own admission) very out of date and has a fair number of inaccuracies, most of which he corrected in the 2004 edition mentioned above. I would not recommend it, except for an "archival" copy.

The new 2004 ed. is recommended as a good "starter" book on the M1903. It is not perfect (Bruce and I "agree to disagree" on a few points) but is probably the best book to start out on. While, at $49.95, it is not cheap, it is a good investment before you spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a M1903.

Unfortunately, it is not what I would call a "parts identification" book. The only one of those in print is by Joe Poyer and is filled with inaccuracies.

[Rick the Librarian]

Here is a review of Bruce's book which I did shortly after it was published.

Bruce Canfield has been writing about military firearms for over twenty years. He has a whole galaxy of books and magazine articles to his credit. In the late 80s and early 90s he wrote several books in paperback format. A couple have been completely re-researched and rewritten, including “Complete Guide to the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine” which was originally written some 17 years ago and reissued in a completely enlarged and rewritten format in 1998. As a school librarian, I have seen many “new and improved” editions of books come out over the years in which the only change was the cover photo and the price. Such was not the case with the M1 book and not the case with his new book on the Springfield.

His “The Collectors Guide to the ’03 Springfield” was originally written in 1989. Although a pretty decent introductory book for the time it was authored, there were several flaws and within 10 years of its publication, a new version was needed. Over the last few years, Bruce Canfield has been busily crafting a new version, which has been awaited by the ’03 collecting community. It was published just a few weeks ago in as virtually a new book and entitled “An Illustrated Guide to the ’03 Springfield Service Rifle”.

Canfield freely admits that he is not writing for the advanced collector. He makes a point to tailor most of his books for the new or intermediate collector. In the forward, he says that he wrote the 1989 edition as a “introduction” to the far more advanced book by William Brophy that had been published just a few years before. He says that his goal has not changed with the new edition. Bruce tries to strike a balance between “parts”, “collecting” and “history”, something that many writers of military firearms books have some trouble doing.

In his new book, he has tried to walk through the history and the use of the 1903. He starts with the early development of the 1903. The 1903 was the successor to the relatively short-lived Krag rifle and was the result of several years of development. Bruce includes several photos of the 1900 and 1901 prototype rifles and walks the read through the development process. He has a good eye for detail, explaining changes in parts, the type of finish and “philosophy” of the design. Along the way, he includes notes on markings that are welcome.

He is probably at his best in organizing the book and the table of contents is outstanding in my opinion. It is superbly sub-divided and allows the reader to quickly find his way to any particular variant or time period he wishes to study. Although the index is also appreciated and adequate, I found the table of contents to be far more useful.

Although Canfield expressedly states that he avoided the “special” versions of the 1903, such as the National Match rifles, the .22s and others, he covers the service variants extremely well. I liked the way he blended in identification and development of the 1903 with its use in World War I, World War II and the many “brushfire” conflicts that 1903 saw extensive service. The text was broken up by a large and interesting number of period photographs, many of which I had never seen in another publication. He also did an excellent job of picking out “identification” pictures. As with his book on the Garand/Carbine, Bruce did a good job in “comparison” pictures. For example, there is several very useful pictures showing the identification differences between the Smith-Corona and Remington 1903A3s – the “smile” trigger guard and the lower band spring, both of which are very hard to describe in writing. There are a number of these “comparison” pictures in the book that show how the parts and features on the 1903 have changed over the years. I had hoped that Bruce would have printed a picture showing the distinctive parts found on a 1903 Mark I – the sear, trigger and cutoff, but this is a minor quibble.

Bruce discusses a number of rarely-seen variants, such as the early rod bayonet, the Warner & Swasey sniper rifle, the Air Service rifle and the Bushmaster carbine, to name a few. He also mentions many variants and sub-variants that are not brought up in other books, such as the Rock Island-Springfield mixmasters of the late 1920s and early 30s. The assembly program post-Pearl Harbor at Raritan Arsenal is also discussed, although I thought his suggested total of 200,000 spare receivers too high. He did say, “estimated”, to be fair about it.

In between these “nuggets” were a look at the typical and not-so-typical 1903 service rifles of each era: 1) The Rod Bayonet rifle; 2) 1906-1908; 3) 1909-1913; 4) rifles made during World War I and 5) the 1920s. He also had extensive sections on the Remington 1903, 1903A3 and 1903A4 sniper rifle. In each of these sections, he has an identification section with comments and pictures on receivers, stocks, barrels, handguards, finish, rear sights and other determining details for collectors. There is also an excellent section on “accessories” including bayonets, slings (including the Kerr sling), cartridge belts, and other interesting items, all fully described and illustrated.

I felt he was less successful in his coverage of the Rock Island ’03. He stated that barrels on early Rock Island rifles were not marked with the month until 1906, when there are examples of Rock Island barrels with “month” markings going back to late 1904. He also mentioned that Rock Island rifles were assembled past the usually accepted date of July, 1919. Although there may have been a few “exceptions to the rule” I believe few if any RIAs were made into complete rifles after that date. The 1922 barrels he mentions were part of a special order for 1922 only; no RIA barrels were made in 1920 or 1921. I would suggest some supplementary reading in C.S. Ferris’ Rock Island book for the reader.

Other than the area I touched on above, I had only one area of serious disgreement with Bruce and that was over his division of the Remington 1903 into two groups – the Remington 1903 from serial numbers 3,000,001 to @ 3,020,000 and the Remington 1903 Modified, which he said covered everything else to the end of Remington 1903 production. In his discussion of the early Remingtons he states that use of the word “Modified” (which was used in ordnance documents as early as September, 1941) was true in only a “hypertechnical” sense. I didn’t have a problem with that because it has been said that Remingtons could be called simply “Remington 1903s”. However, he (I believe) contradicts himself in the next section by using the term “Modified” to describe later Remington 1903s as a “collector term”, although it is mentioned in official documents and might be somewhat confusing to the average collector. In my way of thinking, the rifle produced by Remington can be called a 1903 or a 1903 Modified but not both. There were numerous differences between the first Remington 1903s and later ones but there was never, as far as I can see, any change in official name to reflect this. I often compare production of the Remington 1903 to one of those computer picture programs that starts out with a lion and ends up with a lamb – it was a slow “blend” of changes and there was no definitive “start” and “stop” to many changes made until the 1903A3. There were numerous “exceptions to the rule”. If I can quote Bruce, this is an area that would produce “…numerous friendly discussions and disagreements”!!

While we are on the subject of the Remington 1903, I was extremely glad to see Bruce made use of Bill Hansen’s excellent table on Remington 1903 and 1903A3 manufacturing dates. Heretofore only available in a back issue of “Martial Arms Collector”, this useful table can now be used by a larger fraternity. I hope it will put an end to the disservice offered by one online site that persists in identifying ALL Remington 1903s as “1941” and 1903A3s as “1942”. Also included are tables on the Smith-Corona, Springfield and Rock Island, as well as a very useful table on the 1903A4 sniper rifle. The Springfield table, curiously stops at 1935; the Rock Island, IMHO, has a few flaws in it. The 1918 RIA, I believe, ended at @ 380,000, rather than 318,000, as Bruce states and no receivers were produced in 1920. To be fair, there has never been a truly satisfactory manufacturing date table for Rock Island.

Although I do have some “friendly disagreements” with Bruce on parts of this book, I feel he has produced a very good work for the beginning and intermediate 1903 collector. It has its flaws but so do all other books on the Springfield. It is probably the best book in terms of information and photographs on the 1903 available today. It is especially well laid out in terms of organization, information and photographs. It will be a good book to buy the next generation of ’03 collectors – and for the current generation of Springfield enthusiasts to enjoy.

[mustanggt]

Rick thank you for the update. Since I'm a total nyophyte on the 03 his 89 book will at least me get familiar with the rifle.

[Calif-Steve]

Only issue I have is the problem of mistakes becoming fact. "CC" bolts are not Chrysler Corp. production. But, sadly, this has become fact. Commerical Control Corp. made those bolts, but the truth can be a victim with each new book. Recent American Rifleman article on S-C '03-A3 rifles is another example. Numerous errors in that article, sad to say.

[Rick the Librarian]

Which article was that on the SC? Must have missed it.