Hand-Me-Down NRA Sporter?

[Calif-Steve]

We really need John Beard to take a look. Where is he?

[A. F Medic]

That is one fine looking rifle. I would drop cash on it when I saw it.
I would leave it alone,polish it up, and put it where visitors could see it when they are in your house. Find a 1903 when you get back. These forum members could steer you towards one.

[mariodawg]

Forgive me Johnny, but I do not see how that buttplate is different than the one on my rifle. Maybe its is "shaved thinner" than the one in the picture you sent? I cannot tell the difference. Remember when you were a kid and when you went to the doctor's office, they would have "Highlight" magazines for kids, and they would have puzzles where you were supposed to figure out what was different between the pics? Well, I obviously sucked at solving those!

[mariodawg]

...and now i understand the comment from Cosine26 and Johhny's pic about the gallows arm and how it would interfere with the clip loading. Very interesting observations. I have not fired this weapon yet. But I will when i get back home---and of course I will get it cleaned. I bet the gun hasn't been cleaned (or fired) in a looooooong time! My father I am pretty sure never fired this weapon (he wasn't into firearms). It came from my maternal grandfather, but i do not know beyond that. Me, on the other hand, i love firearms! I have a small collection of my own, and I tend to gravitate towards military firearms. Believe it or not, when i first saw this rifle and saw it was a M1903, my first impression was, "I wish it was configured like the typical military counterpart beacause it now looks "too civilian" for a military rifle"! You can imagine how my opinion changed once i started actually researching M1903's!!! ))

[Cosine26]

Hi Johnny,
Your picture shows me that the 1923 “Sporter” was equipped with the 48S rear sight; therefore, the 48S on this rifle is correct. Brophy must be in error when he says that he 48S was introduced in 1939. It further shows that the position of the sight would probably interfere with clip loading.
I agree that the stock is a modified original. The butt plate appears to be original and the rear sling swivel is of the service type, which I do not believe a custom stock maker would use considering that the front swivel is of the quick detachable type. I do not think that replacing the upper band would be possible as it appears that the stock fore end has been slimmed down.
I do not believe that fitting the barrel with an original “Sporter” front sight would be possible. The original “Sporter” front sight (as I understand it) was the standard service type and would require a “boss” to center the sight and to pin it on. I believe that the boss was removed when the present front sight was installed and possibly the barrel date.
For marlodawg:
You have a very nice rifle and all indications are is that it is a modified “Sporter”. It would be very difficult to restore to original as I think that finding and acquiring an original stock and barrel band would be extremely difficult and expensive. If the barrel has been modified to install the present front sight, you would need an original”Sporter” barrel. Another difficult and expensive proposition.
The Springfield Research Service (SRS) is a privately operated service by the U.S. Martial Arms Collector and has a large collection of serial numbers of rifles sold through the DCM during the period 1922 -1942. Having a letter from them may increase the value of your rifle. When I bought my NM1903 I used their service and confirmed first that the rifle was indeed a NM1903 and received information as to whom and where it ws sold. Kind of an expensive venture but worth it in my opinion. I believe that there are members of this forum that can tell you if there is a “hit” on the SRS list since your serial number shows.
Were it mine, I would explore the SRS angle and keep the rifle as a valuable example of a time long ago when quality was the watch word.
Hope this helps.

[John Beard]

John Beard is here! But, I am no expert on NRA Sporters. I defer Sporter questions to Herschel Garner. Johnny Peppers is also very knowledgeable about Sporters.

As noted, the rifle has a replacement front sight, and the barrel has been altered accordingly.

The rifle appears to have its original stock. But, as noted, the stock has been altered substantially. Alterations include slimming the butt and buttplate to match, checkering the grip and fore end, adding a grip cap, altering the grip and comb profile, removing the barrel band, and shortening the fore end. The original barrel band was retained by a pin through the fore end. I am unable to determine if the pin hole has been plugged and disguised in the checkering, or perhaps the fore end was shortened to the extent that the pin hole was sawed off.

The rifle is best left as is.

My 2c worth.

J.B.

[Johnny Peppers]

Forgive me Johnny, but I do not see how that buttplate is different than the one on my rifle. Maybe its is "shaved thinner" than the one in the picture you sent? I cannot tell the difference. Remember when you were a kid and when you went to the doctor's office, they would have "Highlight" magazines for kids, and they would have puzzles where you were supposed to figure out what was different between the pics? Well, I obviously sucked at solving those!

The lip around the butt plate on your rifle appears to have been trimmed down considerably, and from the picture it appears the butt of the stock is slightly curved now. Maybe it is just the picture, but the butt plate on your rifle looks much thinner in profile.

[mariodawg]

OK. That was awesome. I am convinced to "without a shadow of a doubt" to leave this rifle alone and "as is". No more talk about modifying anything. I am so glad the gun is a true NRA Sporter, and that the gun is original enough to retain its identity, yet also unique enough to say this is a one-of-a-kind gun, customized probably by the person who originally bought it. It was nice to hear about the checkering, the stock mods, the swivel hardware, the buttstock, and on and on and on. Thanks so much to all who contributed. Now I will work on figuring out how to get some sort of authenticity paperwork done on this gun. What a cool rifle...I can't wait to get home and clean it "gently" and shoot the darn thing! A gun can't be just looked at; i have to shoot it and feel what she has to offer; not to mention see how accurate she is! I have to get some sleep....i had a long day, and an even longer one tomorrow. You guys on this site R-O-C-K though, and I will keep checking in from time to time to see if any new observations are made. Thanks Again All!

[Promo]

Can someone post or mail me the often mentioned list of known NM/NRA rifles? I've been looking over and over on the web, but never found the list though everybody seems to have it

Thanks,

Georg

[Emri]

Can someone post or mail me the often mentioned list of known NM/NRA rifles? I've been looking over and over on the web, but never found the list though everybody seems to have it

Thanks,

Georg

You have to purchase it from Springfield Research Service. I don't know if it is still available or not.

HTH,

Emri