Should I order SRS for a USMC 1903 Hit?

[cplnorton]

I'm having a 1903 shipped to me as we speak that has a SRS hit.

It is :

873388 012638USMC - SAN DIEGO (SURVEY)


Do you think it would be worth it to order the SRS paperwork on it? And has anyone done it lately with whoever is running it now? I keep on hearing nothing but bad stuff about them, but I don't know if it is true or internet rumors.

Would you guys order it?

[usmc69]

Have heard that all you get is just the bare basics. Usually it is all the hit tells you for data. What does it cost?

[cplnorton]

Anyway you go, it's almost a $100

[usmc69]

Since you already know what the SRS has on it, is it really worth $100 for a piece of paper?

[jgaynor]

In fairness there may be more. All the op knows is what is on the SRS INDEX. According to the SRS website they will use the data on the index to have a researcher make a field trip back to the archives. Hard to say what might be in the files unless you look.

[cplnorton]

From my understanding of the SRS, the SRS database is just the abbreviation. You order the record and then you get the original piece of paper of where that serial number is listed.

I sort of imagine it's going to be a company roster or something like that. If it's just a work order for rifles going into repair I wouldn't pay the money, but if it comes back to a roster that lists what Regiment or Division it was in, I would be interested to see that.

But it's really hard saying what it is. I just can't decide if it's worth the $100 gamble or not.

[dave]

I got a hit on 96 Krag Carbine, (the 'hit' named the 1st. Cav. and date) paid the hundred and got a report that listed it on an inspectors generals report on a 1st Cav. Co.H at a Fort in 1899. It had been used in target shooting, along with several other carbines and some SSA revolvers. I got 5 pages of the report, plus the letter.
Going to the internet I found that Co. H, 1st. Cav. shipped out to Philippines few months later. Well worth the Hundred bucks, I think. But its a crap shoot!
They must still be doing research as my hit came after new guys took over.

[CptEnglehorn]

Id go for it, just for the sake documentation is documentation and any is hard to find, I like guns with traceable history, thats just in my eyes however.

[ismith]

I would most definitely go for it! $100 is a trip to the range and an hour of casual shooting with an AR-15.

[Johnny P]

You have to subscribe to the Springfield Research magazine, U.S. Martial Arms Collector to qualify for a research letter. The last one I got was somewhere around $175.00. Sales letters are cheaper at around $75.