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(Finally!!) 
I've been emailing with a nice gent on another forum who sent me some pictures of a low numbered Rock Island M1903. We stopped emailing for a couple of months and then, about a month ago, he wondered if I was interested in purchasing it. We worked out a trade (one of my NRA Sales rifles went down the road) and the RIA arrived at my door yesterday.
It is a very early Rock Island and probably started out as a M1903 in 30-03. It is one of those that was modified to 30-06. The barrel is a rare (or maybe uncommon) 6-05 RIA. One thing I noticed is that the usual prominent RIA steel lot code is missing from the area around the muzzle, where you see it on later RIA barrels. The bore, by the way, is in excellent shape and measures a 1.5 on my muzzle gauge and a 1 TE.
The stock is the early type with no stock bolts and the "straight/edge" left side. It has (as you can see) a 1908 Conrad Nelson inspection stamp - possibly the year it was modified to 30-06? The stock has the large S on the foretip and a "script" P just aft of the trigger guard.
All the parts appear to be original. I have not broken it down to see if it has the early rear sight base, but assume that it does. The bolt has no markings, which was often seen on very early Rock Island and Springfield M1903s.
The stock has hardly a mark on it. The trigger guard appears to have some "speckling" which may be rust. Haven't made up my mind how to handle that.
Some pictures below:
I've been emailing with a nice gent on another forum who sent me some pictures of a low numbered Rock Island M1903. We stopped emailing for a couple of months and then, about a month ago, he wondered if I was interested in purchasing it. We worked out a trade (one of my NRA Sales rifles went down the road) and the RIA arrived at my door yesterday.
It is a very early Rock Island and probably started out as a M1903 in 30-03. It is one of those that was modified to 30-06. The barrel is a rare (or maybe uncommon) 6-05 RIA. One thing I noticed is that the usual prominent RIA steel lot code is missing from the area around the muzzle, where you see it on later RIA barrels. The bore, by the way, is in excellent shape and measures a 1.5 on my muzzle gauge and a 1 TE.
The stock is the early type with no stock bolts and the "straight/edge" left side. It has (as you can see) a 1908 Conrad Nelson inspection stamp - possibly the year it was modified to 30-06? The stock has the large S on the foretip and a "script" P just aft of the trigger guard.
All the parts appear to be original. I have not broken it down to see if it has the early rear sight base, but assume that it does. The bolt has no markings, which was often seen on very early Rock Island and Springfield M1903s.
The stock has hardly a mark on it. The trigger guard appears to have some "speckling" which may be rust. Haven't made up my mind how to handle that.
Some pictures below:
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