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Springfield Armory 1903 Rifle

rmnetz
I recently was offered a 1903 Springfield Armory rifle serial number 498XXX. I understand that this rifle is not a shooter due to a weak reciever.
It is in very good shape overall. It has the straight stock that has few dents or dings & light wear. Every thing seems origional for the production date of 1911. I think it was rebarreled as it has a barrel that has a bombshell & number 2-19 on the top front of barrel behind the front sight. The trigger guard is a stamped one so I think it was a replacement. The rear sights are the origional leaf adjustable folding type. The front is a blade sight. The bore is dark but has no pits or imperfections.
My question is what is it worth? I really want one that I can shoot, but I may be able to get this one for $200 - $250. If so I am thinking I could sell it & maybe buy one with a higher serial number for the selling price of this one.
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • Contender Man
    Buy what you want the first time out. If the rifle was all original it might be worth buying to sell to finance another ... but it isn't and you may be sitting on this one a long time if you try this tactic.


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    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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  • 1KYDSTR
    I'm sure you've read the pertinent info regarding heat treating through several serial number blocks and the later nickel steel receivers that mooted the issue later on. A really nice 03 is becomming harder to find all the time so the other posters reply is likely germaine here; get what you want the first time out but don't automatically give up on this one either. I would not plan on getting a great deal more on resale unless you find a newby with a boner for ANY 03 they can get their hands on. This of course is highly unethical and could be potentially dangerous when that person tries to use modern '06 ammo in that brittle reciever. You could (if you reload) simply light load rounds for this gun or shoot cast bullets which should be moved quite a bit slower anyway. I also find it a bit curious that problems with these early guns only seemed to show up (mostly anyway) when the guns in subsequent years made it onto the civilian market and were sporterized etc..I know there are legitimate problems with these older guns but it still gives me cause for pause. To sum up, this sounds like a decent old piece and I bet the barrel will clean up some with USP bore paste etc. but if you want one that is going to be a real shooter capable of handling high pressure loads, take the first guys advice and pay a few hundred more and get one that is nickel steel and double heat treated; peace of mind is a valuable thing! Good luck and have fun!

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(?)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
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  • Emmett Dunham
    I think the shooter needs to figer out what he wants to do with the rifle. If he want to shoot it, get it heat treated and go at it. To the queston of receivers shattering, it started in WWI, the military kept tract of the failures per the armory and the numbers are posted on the internet.
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  • v35
    First,someone swapped out the machined trigger guard and probably the follower also, for much later WW2 03A3 parts so the gun isn't original and doesn't conform to the straight 1903.
    The barrel is a 1919 replacement.
    A group of early Springfields were reheattreated to reduce receiver brittleness and then tested. It was found by the Army that some of the receivers were not improved. The Army board recommended that Springfields below 800,000 be scrapped and not issued to the troops. These rifles were instead stored against a future wartime emergency.
    I believe it irresponsible that the government has now sold these rifles to Americans.
    Hatcher's Notebook has the detailed story on the Springfield. He was the project engineer in the evaluation of this problem. If you're into Springfields it behooves you to read and understand the problem.
    I would buy an 03A3, swap out the tin can triggerguard and follower
    for early machined 1903 parts and have no worries.
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  • Wehrmacht_45
    Springfield Armory rifles below serial number 800000 and Rock Island rifles below serial number 285507 have reciever issues.
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