What does 'star guaged' mean?

[goo]

10-q
goo

[Fred]

An air pressurized guage is used about every inch down the bore of a rifle and the measurements noted. Most 1903 rifles actually passed the minimum requirements of the gauging process. Those that were chosen for a particular purpose and that had passed the gauging process were given a star like stamp on the 6:00 position of the muzzle crown.

[Herschel]

The star guage is an earlier system of measuring the bore diameter than the air guage. I believe the air guage was superior in that the star guage depended on subjective feel of the person measuring. I don't believe any air guaged rifles were marked with the star on the muzzle.

[LAH]

Star Gauge Inspector Photo

[Johnny P]

Star Gage record card for a 1903 Sporter barrel. The a.335 is the star gage record number, and is also found stamped on the barrel.