Sa 1903 mark 1

[DaveN]

I saw this at the gun shop today and saw the slot in the side of the receiver and the Mark 1 stamped on it as well? I got home and looked it up and it is for the Pederson device? My question is can this still fire a 30 06 rifle round or is this essentially a wall hanger? The reason I asked is they have it for $795 and the book for one in good condition is $950(2010 book) in which it looked good or maybe better but I don't know enough about all the parts to know any more than that. They are going to hold it for me for a couple of days while I pick your brains on whether I should go for it or not? Ser # 1,13X,XXX

Also have been going through the related threads at the bottom of page (thanks to the genius who thought of that) and am loving chasing this research whether I buy or not.

I as all ways look forward you comments..... Thanks

Information

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[Chuckindenver]

without seeing the rifle, ill guess its still in military trim, if thats the case, yes, it is and has always been a 30-06..af or price and or value..hard to say without more info.
pictures would help...toss that book in the trash...like car values, whats in that book doesnt matter. what they think, and what it really sells for may be differnt things..do some research on the gun auction sights and see what like rifles are actually selling for..

[Promo]

Yes, it's still capable of shooting .30-06. Shooting the smaller Pistol Ball M1918 requires the Pedersen Device which replaces the original bolt. Let us see pictures of what you got

[DaveN]

I'm still trying to figure out what these three parts look like that make it a true Mark 1. I think I got the stock figured out but the trigger and sear and mag cut off not to sure what I'm looking at in the pictures on one of the threads.
I'll check the rifle Friday and if the stock isn't right then that should tell all? I can tell you there were no cartouches or marks of any kind on the stock.

[Mike D]

Not having any cartouches on the stock hurts. If the stock does not have the Mark I relief cut, you'll know then it is not worth it.

The Mark I cutoff and trigger/sear also make a big difference. You can tell if these parts are present without disassembling the rifle. Here a photo of the cutoff.http://www.vishooter.net/m1903/mk1_trgr_ctf.jpg

Somewhere there is a photo to show if the trigger is present or not.

Yeah, that works, Promo!

[DaveN]

I have committed those pics to memory and will look at it tomorrow. If they will let me I'll snap some shots.

[Promo]

I only have that picture of my Mark I rifle showing the special parts. Will try to do a comparison picture by tomorrow.

[Promo]

I have a really nice SA over GAW with ordnance wheel and Mark I cutout stock around, it came on an early Remington M1903. Somewhen I'll get a perfect rifle for it (and for those who could be interested - no, it's not for sale). The only thing that kept me wondering was that there are no other markings present and the SA over GAW is later.

[DaveN]

The gun shop was real busy as usual, but I was able to look at it in more depth. This is a arsenal rebuild to restore it to 1903 configuration as was suggested. The stock does have a circle p where it is on the Garands I have. And there is a dip where the cut out in the receiver is and all the wood seems to match though the front hand guard has strange what looks like wood inlays( about 4-5 ) running on top and perpendicular to the line of fire?? I wish I had taken a picture of it but it was crazy there and I was concerned with the cut out and snapped a shot of that with my phone. The bore looked great and muzzle gauged a 2 and it had an SA 5-20 stamped near the front sight. Probably not going to buy it at least not for that price but sure have had fun learning about it. Thanks to all and any more info is still appreciated.

[Kirk]

. . . the front hand guard has strange what looks like wood inlays( about 4-5 ) running on top and perpendicular to the line of fire??

If the "inlays" are about .1" thick & 1.5" long, they are probably "biscuit" repairs made by the Greeks. The repairs were made to cracked hand guards to keep them serviceable. Your rifle is likely a M1903 that was sold through the CMP which had been leant to the Greeks back in the late 40s or early 50s. Is there a partial s/n (4 digits) etched on the root of the bolt handle? A "B" stamped on the floor plate? These are also signs of Greek service.