Here's something some of you might fine interesting.

A few months ago I picked up a Springfield produced M1903. I like a project and the piece certainly turned into one. Both the barrel and receiver were dated to Oct. 1918 and the original stock (originally from a MkI) did as well. Unfortunately the barrel proved to be quite a way past its maximum freshness date and the stock was too compressed and warped to boot, definitely done as a shooter. A gentleman in Arkansas supplied me with an as-new GI Springfield Armory barrel with an 11-42 production date and off it went to a gunsmith in Denver for the install. I replaced the original stock with one from the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program). This was my major labor contribution to the project. These stocks are supplied with most of the inletting completed, however some sanding and finishing is required. This is particularly true in the stocks grasping grooves. They come looking as if they've been done with a chisel and a wood rasp and require quite a bit of clean up. With about ten to twelve coats of Boiled Linseed Oil here it is, Opinions welcome.
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Being somewhat anal about these things I continued to tinker with the stock on my '03. There was still a bit of the original finish on the wood around the butt and it gave that area a cloudy or dirty look that bugged me. Why Dupage doesn't sell these unfinished is beyond me. No one in their right mind would put these stocks on a rifle in its original condition as they are hardly the advertised drop-in and the supplied finish is quite ugly. While I improved the fit of the forend I went ahead and did some additional sanding on the butt as well. After applying more BLO I still wasn't totally satisfied with the color, so I decided to take a chance and add some stain. I had a bottle of stain from Laurel Mountain Forge (Lancaster Maple) back on the shelf and decided to give it a try. This is the result of a single undiluted coat over ten to twelve coats of BLO. I normally don't use natural light for photography and there's some glare off the stock, but you get the idea. It now has that nice reddish brown armory look to it. In fact, it's dead on when compard to the sixty-seventy year old stock on my Garand and pretty well matches the color of the original stock, minus nearly a centuries worth of oil and dings. I like it a lot.

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I just returned from another shooting session and was very happy with the results. Using a Hornady 168 grain BTHP Match Bullet over 47 grain os IMR4895 the rifle dropped them all in the ten ring when fired prone, with sling from 100 yards. I think this project is pretty well finished and it's time to quit tinkering.

Patrick

She is beautiful, a fine rifle to say the least. I am more of a m1917 guy myself. but I can always appreciate a fine
example of what a battle rifle truely is.

Mike Ahrens

nice job! i have a project 03 in the safe as well. but might will for blanks and looks only :( it's got a cursive serial number made in 1903 (your not supposed to shoot them under 1 million serial # due to the improper heat treating. sigh. you really have done a nice job with your rifle

Ah she's a beaut! As always, nice work Mr. Kelly.

Thanks guys. There were some frustrations at various points in the process but it finally came together well.

Chuck, reference the heat treatment on the receiver: 800,000 is the cut off point with Springfield produced rifles and 280,000 for Rock Island rifles.

Beautiful job!!!! Looks as good as new, like it was just issued to a doughboy headed for France.

I'd like to add a Springfield to my collection one day.....

Patrick...

A very nice job on a classic military firearm. These things could be had very cheaply at one point but the prices have risen dramatically over the years. They have always been great shooters and wonderful collectibles. Congratulations.

David, while these rifles were issued in WWI, most of the doughboys went to France armed with P-17 Enfields. In the movie about Alvin York they had him using a 1903 and a Luger against the Germans when in fact he used a P-17 and a 1911 Colt .45.

How does it shoot?

Beautiful! Thank you for showing us those pictures, Patrick.

Can a bayonet be fixed to this rifle and if so, do you have one?

By the way, wasn't same type of rifle described by Kurt Wonnegut in "Deadeye Dick"?

right, i knew it was around the mil mark. they date you stated i figured yours was ok :) man what a beaut. :)

Very nice work making an old war horse look like a fresh new frisky colt, the stock looks really well finished and it takes a lot of patience to get those 19 to 12 applications of linseed oil to be absorbed and dried and lovingly hand polished.

Thank you Peter.

Different strokes as they say.............................

If I intended this rifle to be a dedicated shooter for competition it would be mounted with a C Stock, as the C type is far superior in comfort and controllability. Fire about fifty rounds through this baby and you'll be done for the day. The 1903A3 rear aperature sight is superior in the overall scheme as well. The sights on the '03 are very fine and tight, as well as being capable of very minute adjustment. However, spend time with them and it's obvious they were designed by target shooters for use on bright sunny days across the course. When the bad guys are coming fast and danger close.............................not so much. Having a pair of young eyes helps too. ;)

Just the same, when I think of the 1903 this classic form is what comes to mind. The 1903A3 with it's stamped metal parts and admittedly efficient, but crude sights, seems rough by comparison and it is. Certainly not as finely made as the oroginal "aught 3". While the C Stock was adopted as standard in the '30s it was always heavily outnumbered by the S Type. So in putting this rifle together my intent was to build a classic example of a begone era in which craftsmanship was the standard, not the exception.

I'm happy to say the rifle appears to have potential as a shooter. With handloads utilizing a 150 grain fmjbt over 47 grains of IMR4895 the rifle averaged two inch, five shot groups at 100 yards, fired prone with sling. Once I had the rifle dialed in I was able to call most fliers before my son, who was manning the scope. With the range facing west we had the sun at our backs and the glare off the sight ladder didn't help at certain points. Between us we fired fifty rounds and while I checked the action and stock screws every five rounds, everything remained tight from the start. I also monitored the gap between the stock and receiver tang and didn't observe any set back. I can't help but think that replacing the supplied brass bushing with an original steel one helped. I didn't place much faith in the thin brass tube doing much of anything.

I'm relatively new to the 1903 and chose the S Stock for historical purposes. I have no regrets about that, however, if I ever put one of these together for use as a dedicated competition rifle I'll go with a C Stock. Having spent some time with the M1 and M14 I definitely find the pistol grip style to be superior for comfort and control, as I believe most do. I had to adjust my prone position as that S Stock really gave me a smack in the mouth more than once. It's got the cool factor though, at least for me.

I did make one change after taking the photos. The handguard was proud behind the lower band by quite a bit and it bugged me. Last night I spent a little time and worked it down flush behind the band, so the rifle has that nice sweeping profile that makes it so sexy, IMHO.

Very nice! If you had told me that this was going to be in Denver, I would have gladly gone down and test fired it for you. Maybe even done some unauthorized re-allocation of ownership, but that might have been pushing it :p

Now you have a 1911, an M1 Garand, and a '03; so I guess the M1 Carbine or Thompson is next on the list?

-- Greyson

That's beautiful! I've often looked at the Atlanta Cutlery Enfield/Martini-Henry/Etc. wrecks and wanted to adopt one as a project since I'm not into modern cartridge arms. My father-in-law was a dealer, though, so his garand, carbine, Mauser, Enfield, etc. will probably end up with me at some point.