'03 leaving military hands

[dlc_aec]

hello all,

ive got an '03 with a replacement 1929 barrel on it (receiver is 1918 vintage). the barrel looks nice and shiny and the grooves are sharp. is it possible that this rifle never saw ww2 in the hands of the military? i would think that if this rifle did see ww2 action it would have been through an armorer sometime in the 40's. did the military sell '03's to the public before ww2?

im just wondering about the history of this rifle.

thanks,
douglas

[kcw]

03's. along with Krags, trapdoors & 1917's, were sold through the old NRA-DCM program in the 1920's-30's era.

[Rick the Librarian]

There could be literally a dozen reasons to explain. Rifles were sold to NRA members and sometimes members of the military. The rifle could have been in storage for a considerable time, or the 1929 barrel could have been taken off another rifle. No way of knowing for sure.

[kcw]

What inspector or arsenal markings are on the stock; or for that matter, which model of stock is on it? Assuming that the wood currently on the rifle was also on it when it was released from government inventory, such markings may provide a rough idea as to when it was still in government hands. For example an early WWII inspector stamp would indicate that the rifle was in government hands at least until that time. That said, such a rifle may have lain unused with that stock until surplused off in the early 1960's, ect. A "scant" stock would indicate that the rifle belonged to the government at least until the end of WWII.

[TDP0311]

Any pictures of the rifle?

[Rick the Librarian]

What inspector or arsenal markings are on the stock; or for that matter, which model of stock is on it? Assuming that the wood currently on the rifle was also on it when it was released from government inventory, such markings may provide a rough idea as to when it was still in government hands. For example an early WWII inspector stamp would indicate that the rifle was in government hands at least until that time. That said, such a rifle may have lain unused with that stock until surplused off in the early 1960's, ect. A "scant" stock would indicate that the rifle belonged to the government at least until the end of WWII.

The problem with this is that the M1903 has been out of "government service" since roughly 1945. There is always a good chance a former civilian owner could have changed the stock, too.

[dlc_aec]

hello all,

pics or stock info wont help you.... it came to me with a civvy stock. ive just put a ww2 replacement back on it.

I was just thinking that since the 1929 barrel looked really good that it left government hands soon afterwards. i was also guessing had it gone through ww2 it would've had a "newer" barrel.

i didn't know if rifles were sold to civilians back in the 20's and 30's.

thanks all!
douglas

[Fred]

I've seen rifles that'd made it through the WWI, WWII and Korean War eras with their original barrels, stocks, hardware etc. Rear sights and their components do seem to be changed out a lot though as well as bolt parts and stocks. However, I've four rifles (five if you count my 1920 National Match) that appear to have never had any parts changed out on them at all. They all have their original parts that were used in their original assembly. One of these is a 1903 Mark I. Were the four used during WWII? Probably to some degree. Two of them look as if they've never seen field service though. So, it's possible for a rifle to have gone for decades without having a major overhaul.

[Herschel]

dic_aec, 1903 Rifles were sold to civilians prior to WWI. There is not way to tell the history of a rifle by it's parts. I have an 03A3 that I built on a receiver that was given to me. Parts are all GI but from many different sources. Any cartouche on the stock would be meaningless except to show that the stock was on a rifle that went through rebuild or perhaps an inspection at an arsenal.