Dad's M1903

[ptkeillor3]

Hi, this is my first post. I just dropped off a 1903 Springfield at McBride's in Austin for a headspace and safety check. My father received it when the Danbury Texas VFW disbanded, along with a case of M1909 blank ammo. My brother asked me to take some guns for safekeeping while he's helping clean the house so Dad can get around better.

The M1903 is the most interesting, and in pretty good shape. It's a Mark 1 manufactured in 1919, the year of Dad's birth. The barrel has the SA and bomb marking with 5-18, so looks like it matches. The stock has a SSAA mark on the left and C-SAA on the right, plus two P's below, one in a square (faint) and one in a square with one rounded corner. I couldn't find an inspector's mark. The stock appears to be the correct one, it has the straight wrist, finger grooves, and small inlet below the Pedersen ejection port.

If it checks ok, I'm looking forward to taking it to Best of The West Range near Liberty Hill and trying it out. I'll post pictures at that time.

I'm enjoying the forum.

Regards,

Pete Keillor

[Fred]

Id be interested in seeing the serial number on it because it might be an early Mark I receiver, which were made in (I think) late 1918. I'll have to look it up.

[Kurt]

I think it's a good assumption that it's an original barrel. How's the bore look?. Also, is the trigger, sear and cut off switch/spindle Mark 1? The general consensus is that all of the Mark 1's were put in storage and later taken down and the unique Pederson parts removed. There are however many examples of original Mark 1's as originally assembled to debunk that. I read something somewhere and I'll be damned if I know where, that there were several thousand pulled from stores that were sent to VFW and honor guards. There was a need and that's all they had sitting around at the time to fill that need. I firmly believe this is what occurred. Many of those have sewer pipe barrels due to the blanks fired and the guns never cleaned.

[BEAR]

It's a Mark 1 manufactured in 1919, the year of Dad's birth. The barrel has the SA and bomb marking with 5-18, so looks like it matches.

Sounds like a nice rifle. Several years ago I purchased a 1919 Mk1 #11434XX with a barrel marked 7-18. I also believe that the barrel is original although the receiver /barrel dates are far apart. Unfortunately, no information from the stock because it was a Rock Island FG that I replaced later with a Mk1 FG stock. I'm interested in any opinion on why these 1919 receivers would have 1918 barrels, if they are in fact original.
Barrel over production, maybe?

[ptkeillor3]

I thought I replied yesterday, but must have messed up. The serial number is 1,15x,xxx range, I can check when I get it back from the gunsmith. I forgot to mention that the bolt does not match. It is late WWII with the square safety lug. The first thing I did is clean and check the bore. My eyes aren't what they used to be, but it looks very good. I couldn't see any pits or fouling. Shooting will tell the tale.

As far as the trigger, etc. are concerned, I have no idea. I'll have to find out the differences and inspect when I get it back.

I'll post pictures in a couple weeks.

[ptkeillor3]

Ok, I got the rifle back. It checked o.k., so the range is next. I did take some pics. I'll try to attach a few and see how it goes. As you'll see from the cutoff and sear, it looks like the Pedersen specific parts were replaced, probably when it got the late bolt.

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[ptkeillor3]

That worked pretty well, so here are a few more.
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[Rick the Librarian]

From the pictures, it appears that the receiver (duh!), barrel and stock are correct. However, most of the other parts are replacements and the rifle has been refinished.

[Jeff L]

The CSAA is an arsenal rebuild mark (San Antonio I believe).

[ptkeillor3]

Yes, that's what I figured on the parts. By refinished do you mean re-parkerized, the stock, or both?

Not that it matters, I like to shoot, and I won't sell any of Dad's guns, even after he eventually passes. When they gave him a pig valve for his heart in his mid 80's, they said it'd last 10 years, but that'd be plenty long given his age. He'll be 96 in December. I also have a PPK taken off a German officer, private purchase from about 1935, with 95% finish and the original holster and spare mag. Dad bought it and a P-38 from A GI in London. The only thing not original is the extractor, it was missing. Dad had his armorer at Duxford (78th FG, 81st Sqdrn.) make one. Which to me makes it even better. It shoots well, especially once I stripped and cleaned the magazines which were full of grass and twigs.

[kcw]

ptkeillor3, just a word of caution on that rifle, or rather on the ownership of it. Most of the rifles at VFW's and similar organizations are actually on loan from the Army and therefore not the property of the organization which has used them for 50 years. It is VERY common that the current members believe that the rifles were "purchased", when in fact the organization only paid a shipping & processing fee, the the rifles are still the property of the military. When such an organization disbands those weapon are to be returned to the Army, which in recent years has turned them over to the CMP. Due to the ignorance as to the origin of their rifles, a number of organizations have mistakenly viewed them as being the property of the organization and subsequently disposed of them when the organization disbanded. Add to that the fact that the military itself was VERY lax in overseeing the program. For example, when some organizations updated their bolt guns with M-1's, the military shipped the allotment of the semi-rifles, but never demanded the return of the bolt rifles which were in excess of the organization's authorized allotment quota. Yes, it's possible that an organization may have purchased rifles, but that was very rare. Moreover, the military has kept track of the serial numbers of the rifles that have gone missing.