1903 USMC Service Rifle under the radar.... Picture heavy

[smokeeaterpilot]

Hey guys, I was doing my usual strolling for 1903s (yes I have a 1903 addiction). I came by an Armslist Ad for a 1903 Rock Island rebuild.

Now first I'd like to throw out I normally avoid Armslist Ads like the plague because so much fraud takes place there. However, this one was through a dealer and vendor. So I looked up the name and found the website to a brick and mortar gun shop so completely different to a private listing. So in my mind a little safer.

The pictures were horrible. But it listed it as. "good shape with a few dings, pre-war and rebarreled." It was priced high for a mix-master but low for a USMC rifle.

I saved the seller's pictures. Just so you can see what I first saw.





I'll admit I got a little excited right off the bat. So I called the shop the next morning and spoke with the seller and started asking some questions. He openly admitted that military surplus rifles seldom show up in his shop and he doesn't know much about them. But I asked was the stock sanded, no cartouches, serialized bolt and greenish coloring. He answered yes to everything and I requested some more pictures which he quickly e-mailed me.

I asked if he would be willing to accept a lower off to see if I could get a better deal, he said it's a consignment but been sitting there for 4 years so he's sure the seller is gonna take my offer, he called back a couple hours later and said he accepted and shipped priority.

When it arrived I got even more excited. It's nicer than I expected and it's a true USMC rebuild. Has several characteristics.

Serial number on SRS falls in a high number of documented USMC rifles.
High Number RIA action.
Greenish parkerizing.
Blackish blued (serialized bolt) and blackish rear ladder sight
heavily sanded stock with no cartouches
It came with a fine checkered butt plate but I had a spare stippled buttplate so I threw it on there.
hatcher hole
No vice marks but because of the barrel date I'm told that's not the kiss of death.

I really like the grease and wood fibers in the stock I'm assuming were for long term storage.

Your thoughts?

 

[bbarer]

It looks pretty good, but I thought most if not all USMC rebuilds had a punch mark in front of the serial number and clamp marks on the barrel. I think the barrel should have an S on it as well for Sedgley, but I have been told that they may have used others as well especially the later ones. All in all a very nice 03 and the serial number definitely fits and is backed up by the SRS! Nice find for sure!

 

[413dan]

beautiful. I'm in the market for my first 03 now, patiently waiting for the right one to come up, and still doing my research as well… enjoy

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

It looks pretty good, but I thought most if not all USMC rebuilds had a punch mark in front of the serial number and clamp marks on the barrel. I think the barrel should have an S on it as well for Sedgley, but I have been told that they may have used others as well especially the later ones. All in all a very nice 03 and the serial number definitely fits and is backed up by the SRS! Nice find for sure!

The Marines did have a Sedgley Contract from 1941-1942, after the Battle of Guadalcanal they canceled the contract. So 1943 and 1944 Sedgeley USMC barrels were never used and sold in the 1950s to companies like Numerich for $5.00 new in wrap.

Some rifles do not have punch marks but that is definitely a USMC trait. If the punch mark is in front of the serial number it's a Marine mark, below it's simply a hardness test.

This barrel is most likely original to the rifle. Sent to Springfield in mid 1918 and was completed and left in storage until the late 1920s. If it had a Late 1920s, early 1930s or even a SA 1940 or 1942 barrel it would have "vice" or "wrench" marks but since it was the original barrel it was just left in storage until it was refinished prior to WWII.

But I'm just going on the Dick Culver article he wrote some years ago. That's about got me tapped out on the rebuild. Apparently you could write volumes on the subject. But I'm just not there yet.

I love it now I want another!

 

[bbarer]

I love it now I want another!

I hear you on that! 03's are like M1's and Lays potato chips, you can't have just one!
Interesting story on the "surplus" Sedgley barrels, most were straightened and resold as new after having been bent and sold as scrap so that they could not be reused! They were expertly straightened but the ones I have seen you could tell by looking down the bore as the rifling was wavy.

 

[OfficerObie59]

Beautiful rifle. Should fetch around $750-900, maybe even as much as $1k if the rifle is even better than the pics.

Although I've never see a buttplate like that but I also don't know a lot about the USMC "variants".

EDT: reread the op re: the buttplate

 

[PATRON]

Congrats on the rifle,I always had a soft spot for 03,s because my grandfather carried one.

 

[martin08]

Still have one of those on my wishlist. Not common to find.

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

Beautiful rifle. Should fetch around $750-900, maybe even as much as $1k if the rifle is even better than the pics.

Although I've never see a buttplate like that but I also don't know a lot about the USMC "variants".

EDT: reread the op re: the buttplate

When they're identified as USMC service rifles, they easily fetch 1200. I've seen them as high as 1500. People go crazy for marine stuff. A SRS hit would probably go even higher if properly advertised.

 

[jpm]

Nice find Andrew! Glad that elusive USMC 03 finally found you. What's the mark below the barrel date? Looks almost like the eagles head you find on 1918 stocks.

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

Nice find Andrew! Glad that elusive USMC 03 finally found you. What's the mark below the barrel date? Looks almost like the eagles head you find on 1918 stocks.

The mark is just a A, I don't think anything is too special about A barrels although I'll admit I don't know much about them.



Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it. I absolutely have an unhealthy obsession with these 1903s.... Must be something in the wood.

 

[jpm]

I think it was John Beard who said the A means it was inspected at an arsenal and didn't need replacement.