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US Springfield 1903

MUZZLELOADERBILL
The date behind the front sight. Is that the date the gun was made? I have one with 0-31. It has a seral# of 97988. 30-06 cal. It good shape no rust. Whats it worth?
Thanks
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  • MUZZLELOADERBILL
    hello, just got this rifle from my dad and it really doesnt look like the others im guessing someone over the years modified it..on top it says us springfield 1903 692792 can anyone tell me when it was made and maybe an idea as to its value...it doesnt haave the wood on top the barrel..but the other wood is real nice..the finish on all the metal is what i would call poor..no rust just looks bad...thanks for any help...also on the barrel is stamped c120 thanks
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  • p3skyking
    More than likely it's 10-31, 10 being October.

    I've seen a number of weapons dated with late 20's barrels having been overhauled at some point.

    Without seeing it or having a technical description of condition and originality, a value is difficult at best to arrive at.
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  • givette
    Hello, Bill, and welcome to the Experts' Forum!

    The barrel date represents when the barrel was manufactured. The receiver date (if complete) dates to pre WWI!

    Now, a little detective work:

    Receiver: classified by the folks in the know as one that should not be shot. The cut-off date of shoot/don't shoot is 800,000.
    Bolt: Look carefully from the top. If the bolt handle has no rearward bend to it (the bend will be very slight), it also falls into the unsafe range.
    General appearance: Has the gun been altered in any way from that which meets US Gov't spec for the M1903 rifle?

    If the answer to any of the above is yes (the first two are safety issues), then, if you were to sell it, I wouldn't expect it to bring any more than $400.00 (or higher to the unwary buyer).

    If the barrel were dated (say, 1910), then I'd be quite interested, as the barrel would have been original to the gun, and the rifle may have retained all the original parts it had when it left Springfield.
    Collectors will notice the subtle differences in the small parts as time progressed during the rifle's manufacturing tenure at Springfield.

    With the '30's barrel, it has gone to arsenal for inspection. They, at that time, had determined that the barrel was out of spec, and replaced it.

    That's the rub: all collector interest is gone due to the fact that the arsenal folks, when re-assembling the rifle after the barrel change, did so without regard to the original pre WWI parts that it was born with. Whatever was in the parts bin was used for re-assembly.

    Hope I helped. Good luck! Joe

    EDIT
    The rifle may have been re-barrelled while in civillian hands. If so, it may still have all its original parts (except the barrel, of course). Photos will surely help. Joe
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  • dfletcher
    quote:Originally posted by MUZZLELOADERBILL
    The date behind the front sight. Is that the date the gun was made? I have one with 0-31. It has a seral# of 97988. 30-06 cal. It good shape no rust. Whats it worth?
    Thanks


    Just guessing a bit, I have an NRA Springfield Sporter (made October 1928 bought through NRA by my Grandfather) with a considerably higher serial number so my guess is a 5 digit serial number does not line up with a 10 - 31 date stamped barrel. Rifles can be rebarreled, might be the case here. Pictures would be a great help, a Springfield 03 can be worth $500.00 or a few thousand without much apparent difference bewteen the two.
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  • rufe-snow
    #97988, dates to 1905. Since it's one of the older rifles which had problems with the early heat treatment, caution should be used if fired with hot loads.
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