what calliber is this rifle? it looks like it should work, im lookin to buy bullets for it. o and another thing…is shooting this thing legal?
Posted in Military Rifles
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Bound’s hubby here:
The information that DJ gave you is very accurate!
The Springfield is a great rifle! I own 3 of them … 1 ’03 and 2 ’03A3s. The nice thing, is that the Civilian Marksmanship Program (http://www.odcmp.com ) has a match specifically for this great rifle at the National Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio.
Your rifle will prefer 150 grain .30-06 ammo. It would be best to use full metal jacketed ammo for target with it, and it will shoot close to the sight settings.
Shooting a Springfield is legal, provided you are doing so safely and at a designated range. Have it checked by a gunsmith, and especially check to make sure it is in its original chambering (.30-06) and that the headspace is correct. You have a safe, reliable vintage rifle that will serve you well, and will last to serve your children and grandchildren when they come along.
You can (and should) buy a spare parts kit for your Springfield, which can be obtained for about $50 from the Sportsman’s Guide (http://www.sportsmansguide.com ). Parts can get scarce … but if you have them, you can maintain (repair) the rifle yourself and it will last nearly forever!
Good luck!
March 9th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
If you are interested in selling it , my husband is an avid shooter with all types of old relics and would probably be interested in military rifles.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
If you don’t know much about rifles, you should have a competent gun smith check out that rifle before you attempt to shoot it. If there is something wrong, like a "headspace" issue, you could wind up with a blast of hot gunpowder in your face, or worse, it could explode and send the bolt through your skull.
If it is a 1903-A3, it fires .30-06 ammunition….that is, unless someone converted it to another caliber. This is why you have a smith check it out.
The Model 1903-A3 was an update of the Springfield 1903, a design that was an almost exact copy of the German Mauser Model 98. In fact, the US Army that ran Springfield Armory at the time quietly paid the Mauser company royalities and damages in the millions of dollars to avoid an embarrassing lawsuit for patent infringement.
The 03 Springfield was the Main Battle Rifle of the US from the early 1900s through 1936, when the M1 GARAND was adopted. When the US entered WWII, many units were still carrying the 03 and M1 production was not yet enough to supply the troops so the 03 was "updated" to the 1903-A3 and many new Springfields were made by Remington and the Smith-Corona Typewriter company.
I see by reading your questions you were looking for ideas for a senior project….I’ll assume you are still in high school.
You should know that having this rifle, even though it’s a relic, may be against the law for you to have it in some places in the US. Please find a qualified adult that can inspect your rifle and teach you how to shoot it.
On the link below, you can find photos, history, specifications, disassembly guides, shooting reviews etc.
I have a couple of WWI era 03s and they are easily one of my favorite rifles…