CMP '03 Springfield

[Brad in Idaho]

I recently purchased an '03 Springfield from a dealer that is supposedly an early CMP purchase that the buyer lost paperwork for. I will contact the CMP and see if it actually was sold by them. It is a very nice example and I'm pleased with it. I already had an '03 that I purchased from the CMP in 2002. The recent one is in much nicer condition (pics later), so I am considering selling the CMP rifle. I would like input from those more knowledgeable than I about the rifle. I have done nothing with the CMP rifle other than cleaning the bore, degreasing the metal some and lubricating it. I have fired the CMP rifle but didn't take notes. I remember it functioned fine and I had no problems with it. Please click on the link, check out the pictures and tell me what you think. If there are pics of certain components you don't see, possibly I could supply those as well. BTW, the pictures include all the markings I can see on the rifle. Any thoughts on value of the rifle would be appreciated.

http://www.fototime.com/inv/7BDB1089FACECF4

[bruce]

Fine looking shooter 03! Happily it makes the HN serial range! Looks like a Sedley barrel. I have a ca. 1918 SA 1903, ser. no. 810,xxx that also has a Sedley barrel. It is a very very fine shooting rifle. You will enjoy using that rifle with the C stock. It is a real improvement over the S stock. IIRC, the M-1 stock was patterned after the C stock. What's the bore on your rifle look like? The bolt on mine is a WWII era replacement. What is yours? Sincerely. bruce.

[John Beard]

Your rifle appears to be a CMP Greek rifle. I don't know what they're selling for now, but they were around $500-$600 with a Type C stock back around 2003 when the CMP was selling the rifles. With very few exceptions, the CMP Greek rifles had good bores.

The CMP charges a fee for researching a rifle. Good Luck!

J.B.

[Brad in Idaho]

I may have confused things by mentioning two different rifles. The one in the pictures is the one I bought from the CMP in May of 2002. I have the CMP invoice and certificate of authenticity for it.

The one I got from the dealer this month is the one that was advertised as sold by CMP but with no paperwork. I will post pictures of it soon. I have already contacted the CMP and I will probably pay their $25 fee to check their records to see if it was sold by them in the past.

[Brad in Idaho]

Here is a link to pics of the 1903 Springfield Mark I that I purchased from a dealer this month. Haven't had it to the range yet but everything seems to function properly. Comments welcome on this one too. Thx, Brad

http://www.fototime.com/inv/1CD49D05D202D4E

[Sunray]

Suspect the biggest and only downside to that rifle is the refinishing job on the stock. Too shiney.
Dunno if a Mk I would be considered to be a shooter vs a regular 1918 '03 given it was modified for the Pedersen Device. That alone might increase its collector value except for the 1939 rebarreling.
There any knowledge of Mk I's being Greek rifles?

[Bill D]

I would suggest that the biggest downside to this rifle is that the stock is not a Mark I. There is no clearance cut at the ejection port that I can see.

[Brad in Idaho]

I would suggest that the biggest downside to this rifle is that the stock is not a Mark I. There is no clearance cut at the ejection port that I can see.

I am not well versed on '03's. I did a search and found pics of what it is you are referring to. How does the incorrect stock affect value? Thanks for the info. Other than issues with the stock I think it's a good example of this model. What do you think?

[Fred]

I wouldn’t call it a Mark I because aside from the receiver stating so, all of the original Mark I parts of the rifle have been replaced. Everything.

[Brad in Idaho]

I wouldn’t call it a Mark I because aside from the receiver stating so, all of the original Mark I parts of the rifle have been replaced. Everything.

Everything but the receiver, which does have the Mark I ejection port modification. I didn't know anything about the Mark I when I bought it, I was just looking for a representative example of an '03 Springfield. It was not advertised as being anything special. I could tell the rifle had been refinished but not by who. It is supposedly a rifle from the CMP about 15 years ago with lost paperwork. I will pay their fee to find out.

I did find a faint A A H I on the stock just above the trigger, there are some other letters above that I can't make out. AAHI was a marking from Augusta Arsenal (rebuild) from what I found. There is also another A and possibly part of an O just in front of the cut off notch and a circle P proof mark just behind the trigger guard on the bottom. The stock was evidently sanded...

Oh, I did shoot it today. Everything functions perfectly and it shoots better than I can see so that's not an issue.

[Bill D]

The Mark I’s were made to accept the Peterson device which were never used. Certain parts were required to make the rifle function properly with the device. Those parts gave the rifle a lousy trigger pull so after the devices were rounded up and destroyed, the rifles were converted back to 1903 specs. In essence, all that remained was the barreled receiver and bolt and the stock and hand guards. They were then reissued as 1903’s and went through the ensuing arsenal rebuilds causing wood to be swapped off the Mark I barreled action in most cases. You probably have only the action (or possibly just the receiver) of a Mark I. I would guess that there is very little if any added value to your rifle. Just a novelty.

[JimF]

The Mark I’s were made to accept the Peterson device which were never used. . . . ..

Bill . . . .

It’s PEDERSEN . . . . NOT Peterson.

[Bill D]

Shame on me. . . .!

[DWL in TN]

Looks like a Rock Island stock. Are there any markings on the tip of the stock below the barrel you can make out? Just curious...