Make: Springfield Armory
Model: 1903. Configured as a USMC Sniper Rifle with a Winchester A5 Scope.
Serial Number: 948483
Year of Manufacture: Receiver dates to 1918. Barrel is dated June 1918.
Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
Action Type: Bolt Action, Internal Magazine
Barrel Length: 24” Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a pinned blade set in a raised base. The rear sight is a “U”-notched blade attached to a fully adjustable sight ladder. When flipped up, separate notches and an aperture on the ladder can be used for sighting. The rear sight cannot be used with the scope installed. Sight bases have been installed on the barrel and receiver. They are secured by screws. Two rings hold the fixed 5-power scope to the bases. The scope is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. / NEW HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A. PATENTED FEBRUARY 9, 1909-A5”. The scope uses a crosshair reticle. The view is cloudy with gray flecks in the view. The scope tube shows scrapes, thinning, and light discoloration from oxidation.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a nose cap, bayonet lug, stacking loop, barrel band, 2 sling loops, 2 through bolts, straight grip, and a metal buttplate with hinged door for storage. The wood shows several scratches and compression marks. The bottom of the butt is missing surface wood at the buttplate. The LOP measures 12 ¾” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate shows oxidation and wear. The nose cap shows surface erosion. The stocks rate in about Very Good overall condition.
Type of Finish: Parkerized
Finish Originality: Original to Rebuild
Bore Condition: The muzzle and grooves are gray. The rifling is deep. There is erosion at the muzzle and in the grooves. The bore shows an M.E. of 0.3. In this writer's opinion, this bore rates a 6.5 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 90% of its metal finish. The metal shows scrapes, scratches, and areas of thinning. The thinned areas of the metal show varying degrees of discoloration from oxidation. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads show substantial use. The markings are deep. Overall, this rifle rates in about Very Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This rifle comes with a Vintage Commercial Winchester 5X A5 Scope and assembly installed, a salty but intact US WW1 M-1907 brown leather sling marked “ROCK ISLAND / ARSENAL / 1915 / J.N.S.” attached, a metal oiler tube stored in the butt, and a modified canvas breech cover used as a scope cover.
Our Assessment: US Marine Corps snipers used Model 1903 Springfield rifles fitted with Winchester A5 telescopic sights for shooting competitions prior to WW1. When America entered the Great War in April 1917, many Marine snipers simply took those M-1903/A5 rifles with them to France, and used them as sniper rifles. The combination was again used in the dark, early days of WW2, as they were the only sniper rifles in Marine Corps inventory. They were the ones taken by the first Marines to hit the beaches on Guadalcanal in August 1942. This US WW1 WW2 Springfield M-1903 is configured as a USMC Sniper Rifle with a Vintage Commercial Winchester A5 Scope; Winchester ceased manufacture of the A5 in the late 1920s. It features a 24” barrel, 90% of its original to rebuild parkerized finish, tough walnut stocks, and a gray bore with deep rifling. While we can’t say for certain the exact service history of this particular rifle, it’s a fine representative example of the sniper rifle that served the US Marine Corps in both world wars.
RIFLE