1903 Springfield NRA Sporting Rifle pics

[Busterman]

40331403304032940328Thanks to the advice of Steve Norton I bought a NRA Sporting Rifle a few weeks ago. I own 5 other 1903's & A3's but none compare to this particular Springfield made rifle. The fit, finish and action are superb. The rifle was made in 1925 and has a 10-25 barrel date. It has the star gage on the muzzle and star gage number on the underside of the barrel. I've only seen a few, all are really beautiful rifles and the wood on this one, while checkered probably by the original owner, is exceptional and I couldn't be happier.
Steve found an SRS hit and I subscribed to US Martial Arms Collector Magazine and Springfield Research Newsletter to be able to order an SRS letter.

Many thanks Steve!

Best, Don

[Roadkingtrax]

Nice rifle, enjoy the SRS hit research.

[Fred Pillot]

Is it known if Springfield reshaped the barrel bands from military bands or made them from scratch?

[Busterman]

Fred,
I have read that when Springfield decided to make the NRA Sporting rifles they used the same stock and front band as on the M1922 as they were available from stock. I'm certain that the band was specifically manufactured for the M1922 .22 cal. rifle as both that rifle barrel and the NRA Sporting rifle were made to the same dimensions. I once had a M1922 "style" front band that was reshaped from a standard 1903 band. It was smaller and did not fit on a M1922 I own. The stock had reinforcing bolts added for the .30 caliber NRA rifle and that's the only difference.
Regards,
Don

[JimF]

. . . . . . . The stock had reinforcing bolts added for the .30 caliber NRA rifle and that's the only difference.
Regards,
Don

Actually, Don, there are TWO other significant differences twixt the .22 cal. and .30 cal. stocks.

.30 cal. stocks do NOT have the "inclined" mill-cut in the front wall of the magazine well.
.22 cal. stocks do NOT have the "scooped" mill-cut for the magazine cut-off "switch".

[Busterman]

Jim,
You are correct about the differences being more than just the addition of stock screws. I own two M1922's and should have stated the other differences in my post but it didn't occur to me then.

Regards,
Don

[EriCal]

My NRA Sporters and a M2:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/RubEric/IMG_0813.jpg (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/RubEric/media/IMG_0813.jpg.html)