This Springfield Model 1903A1 rifle was manufactured in 1934 and fitted with a surplus U.S.M.C. The adjustment knobs in the rear base were threaded in the mounts and pressed against the scope and are countered by a spring-loaded plunger on the opposite side. The weight of the heavy scope and the mounting position made the rifle top heavy and unbalanced. At the front of the scope there is a stop ring which allowed the shooter to adjust for their eye relief. Additionally the scope had the capability to adjust the focus at the front and rear of the optic. Great Britain and Germany developed official schools and sniper programs through the WWI, but the US only participated in the British school on a limited basis and came late to the war. The scope was prismatic design which means it used glass prisms instead of lens to focus and magnify the image, which is why they are short and compact. Become an ASP Patron on Patreon! Excellent condition throughout, have only taken this to the range and it hits … However, Numrich’s reproduction M82 rifle scopes had high praise on the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) forum. The rifle has a replacement SA barrel dated "6 … The scope was mounted offset to the left by a rail on the side of the receiver, this allowed the shooter to be able to continue loading the rifle using stripper clips as well as to be able to use the iron sights. This floor plate will also fit the Springfield … The M1903’s seller’s explaination of the original scope being lost is curious. The manufacturing marks and serial number on the rifles were still visible. Required fields are marked *, These are rare and very collectible sniper rifles. We offer receiver mounts and long eye relief scope mounts. There are few differences, other than cosmetics, from the original M1903 prototype rifles and while it was officially adopted in 1906, it retained the M1903 model number. When selecting a scope to use on their sniper variants of the M1903, the USMC went with the five power A5. You may know about the famous M1903A4 and A1 Unertl versions of the M1903 used during WWII, but what about the sniper versions used in WWI? The original M1903 rifles featured a straight stock, lacking the pistol grip that was added with the later A1 version of the rifle in 1929. You can find them on the collector market for about $5000-$8000, Your email address will not be published. Reproduction scopes seem to have ranged from around $400 to $500. When developing the M1903, Springfield Armory patterned it after the renowned Mauser designs and then paired it with a 150 grain .30 caliber pointed-nose bullet which would come to be known as the .30-06 cartridge. For the Army, they elected to go for a prismatic “musket sight” developed by Warner and Swasey. It had a 24″ barrel, a “turn-down” bolt, five round internal magazine that could be either loaded with a stripper clip or individually, and was fitted with a ladder style rear sight. Compared to today’s standards, both of these rifles and optics were not much and even the worst optics of today are leaps and bounds better than what our WWI veterans had to use. The total length of the rifle was 43.2″ and it weighed in at 8.69 lbs. The rifle was officially adopted on 14 Jan 1943 as the M1903-A4 (sniper). Verified Purchase. That is where the US M1903 rifle came onto the scene. The Model 1903 Springfield Rifle and its Variations, 4th Revised Edition: Joe Poyer: … During the final development of the M1903 the Small Arms Firing Regulations of 1904 was released and authorized the issue of telescopic sights on rifles to specially designated marksmen. It stated in Chapter II, Section 235 of the Regulations: “Telescopic Sight—To encourage efforts, to award efficiency, and to properly equip a special class of shots who shall not only be designated as expert, but who, in action, shall be employed as such, the telescopic sight is adopted. It may seem odd that a scope would have adjustments out to ranges as extreme as this, but it wasn’t uncommon for iron sights to have markings to those ranges as well. It was more a matter of taking a battle rifle and mounting some optics on it and then issuing the rifle to the best marksman. *SPRINGFIELD MODEL 1903 MILITARY RIFLE WITH WARNER & SWASEY SNIPER SCOPE. The scope was constructed of steel and brass and the interior and exterior were painted black and it was quite heavy at 2.25 lbs (1.02 kg). An interesting aspect with the W&S scope is how the windage and elevation adjustments were setup. The armorer also scalloped the top front handguard to mount the forward scope base. These are very unique and special rifles that have significant historical meaning. Model 1903 Springfield with Rod Bayonet The 1903 Springfield as originally adopted used a "rod bayonet" and a .30-caliber Model 1903 cartridge (".30-03") with a 220 grain round nose bullet. But only 4,200 were delivered by the end of WWI. Original 1903 A3 US Springfield Magazine Floorplate 1903A1 1903A3 and 1903A4 This is a very rare item and will not last. During World War I, the standard U.S. Army sniper rifle was the M1903 fitted with a W&S M1913 scope. 3x, 4x, and 5x, which were known as the A3, A4, and A5 respectively. While the war department was working on developing scoped versions of the M1903, there was no real development of a complete sniper weapon system like there was just 25 years later. At the end of the 19th century, the United States needed a new battle rifle to modernize their current rifles and to bring them into the 20th century. Each line represented the height of the average man (5′ 8″ or 1.73 meters) standing at a distance of 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 yards . The floor plate is used and needs some buffing and re-bluing. The rifle comes with a minty condition M84 … This allows movement in either direction when the adjustment knob is turned. 8 power Unertl sniper scope serial number 2588. When the United States entered World War One, there was no formal sniper school or training in place. The … Springfield M1903 with the Warner & Swasey telescopic sight – Model 1908 and 1913 By David R. Tomkinson (The first ‘official’ U.S. Army Sniper) The first ‘official’ use of rifles fitted with … The author used this Hi-Lux copy, which is a … Very good imitation and fits very tight. 1903 Springfield Rifle Scope Mount Frequently bought together + Total price: $95.94. While WWI is considered the birth place of modern sniping and it was a time when much of the modern sniping concepts and practices were developed, a lot of the sniper programs and their rifles, were developed on the fly and were not nearly as defined as they were even during WWII. Mark snagged the whole M1903A3 sniper … Springfield Armory took those sights and would mount them to specially selected M1903 rifles, presumably ones that shot better. Honestly, that was about the extent of the U.S. sniper program throughout the first World War. Prior to firing again, the scope was manually pulled back into its proper position. This is not for sale, rather a writeup on a classic WWI sniper rifle. It had a 2.75X M73B1 Telescopic Sight and fired the powerful.30-06 … It had a very short eye relief of only about 1.5 inches (38mm) so they added a rubber eye cup to help prevent head damaging contact with the scope when the rifle was fired. The thoughts and concepts that were introduced pushed the industry to what we have today. The scope used on the M1903A4 was a Weaver Model 330 or 330C, which was a 2.75x telescopic … As was common at the time, the standard reticle was a simple fine crosshair. There were no additional markings made to the rifle to indicate that they were a sniper rifle. Your email address will not be published. Soon after the bolt-action .30-cal. U.S. M1903 Springfield was introduced and into production, the Ordnance Department began developmental work on a telescopic-sighted version of the new rifle. No additional markings were made to the rifle to indicate they were a sniper rifle and the rifle serial numbers fall into a very broad range: 340,000 to 500,000 for the M1908 W&S sight and 577,000 to 935,000 for the M1913. These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Get a copy of "The Model 1903 Springfield Rifle, and its variations" by Joe Poyer. The standard reticle for the Warner and Swasey was a fine crosshair, very typical for the period, and on the left hand side of the field of view were three stadia lines to aid in range estimation. 5.0 out of 5 stars 1903-a-4 Springfield Sniper Rifle Scope Lense Cover. WW2 1903 Springfiled M1D M1C M84 Scope Used Condition, WW2 1903 Springfiled M1D M1C M84 Scope Originally Reconditioned, 3 product ratings - Top Mount Aluminum Scope Base, Black, 19, Winchester 1903. However, the US Army had adopted a sniper optic for the M1903 … Looks good on the scope for the 1903-a-4 Springfield Sniper … - .30-06 Springfield $1,890.00 0 $1,890.00 2d 11h 49m 17122655 The Warner and Swasey 1908 optic had a 6 power magnification, the later adopted 1913 version had a lower 5.2x power. Copyright © 1995-2021 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. The windage adjustments had 38 inches of left and 46 inches of right adjustment at 100 yards. Iconic rifles like the M1903 Springfield … 1903/A3 Springfield. I see that many of the A4 “sniper” rifles seem to be based on the 1903A3; I would be using a 6x Burris scope… Having the ability to use the iron sights allowed the marksman to confirm the zero or make adjustments to the sight to maintain accuracy. There were no provisions for bullet drop compensation or range estimation, that was the expected job of the sniper, not the rifle. When developing the M1903, Springfield Armory patterned it after the renowned Mauser designs and then paired it with a 150 grain.30 caliber pointed-nose bullet which would … Later models would also have a wing added that would not only act as a marker but add friction to the knob to help keep them in place. 30-06. The Model 1903A4 was the first issued sniper rifle to all U.S. military services during World War II. I see that a lot of shooters seem to use the 1903A3 springfield instead of the 1903 like I have; is the 03A3 better suited to mounting a 6x scope? Cal. We did find, however, that about 400 of the A5 equipped rifles had found there way into the inventory of the US Army by the end of WWI. The scope tube is free floated in the mount’s, common for the era, and when the rifle is fired it slides forward with the inertia of the recoil which in turn protects the sensitive internals of the scope. For the USMC, their scope selection was quite different. Show details. Official documentation showed that the Army made an allowance of 96 of these scoped M1903s per Division. The US Army procured 2075 of the Warner & Swasey 1908 models from 1909 through 1912. Kudos to our sniper forefathers and their rifle builders. In fact, the M1903’s own ladder style sight was marked out to 2850 yards. 1903A4 Springfield Scope Base Sniper. The rifle and cartridge were officially adopted by the US Military in 1906 and remained the standard service rifle for 40 years and served as a sniper rifle for nearly 60. Description 1/17/20 - This is a WW2 production 1903 Springfield that was later sent to Rock Island Arsenal and reworked into a 1903-A4 sniper rifle. SN 753794. These sights will be supplied by the Ordnance Department and assigned to enlisted men who have qualified under these regulations as expert riflemen. The A5 scopes were mounted to the rifles by marine armorers and not the rifle manufacturer, which set the precedence for the USMC and their sniper rifles and continues through today with the M40A6s being built by USMC armorers a century later. Springfield 1903 NICKEL STEEL WW2 ABOVE SER NO 1, 200, XXX ALL ORIGINAL - .30-06 Springfield $3,595.00: 0 $3,595.00 5d 15h 33m 13956221 Add a scope to your old military rifle to increase accuracy and increase distance. Of those, about 450 were mounted to the Benet-Mercie 1909 automatic machine guns and the rest are assumed to have been mounted to M1903s. The Army changed to the lower magnification for the larger field of view and improved light gathering capability. They decided to go a different route than the W&S and they elected to use the Winchester model of scopes. The '03A4 used a very simple and inexpensive Weaver 330C 2.75X scope. They will be issued to and accounted for by the company commander, and, in his discretion, may be carried by the men at inspection under arms.”. When adopted by the Army, it became the M73 scope. 1903/A3 Springfield The Springfield Armory was the first federal armory in the USA, producing firearms for the US military for nearly 200 years until its closure in 1968. It is unlikely that any confirmed kills were made at such dramatic ranges, but the advancement in technology with modern cartridges was evident. The scope mount is … Weaver 4x K4-60 Rifle Scope USA Post Reticle - Springfield 1903 / Remington 700 The Springfield M1903-A4 Sniper Rifle An excellent representation of sniper rifle technology from the 1940s, the Springfield M1904A4 is still plenty enjoyable and accurate today. The M1903-A4 was an accurate rifle with an effective range of about 600 yards (550m), with the … The USMC M1903s were not specially designed sniper rifles, but just converted infantry rifles which means the Mann rear base covered the markings on the receiver, including the serial number. As is the USMC way, the rifles and scopes focused primarily on precision marksmanship. It is a run of the mill mix-matched Rock Island 1903 Springfield fitted with an S&K “Insta-Mount” and a Hi-Lux M73G2, replica scope from their “Malcolm” line. Remington Model 1903 with Excellent Bore with Marine Specified Hatcher Hole in Reciever Left side. Fixed to the scope were several brass plates with data printed on them to help the shooter know how much to adjustments to dial in to compensate for elevation, windage and even spin drift. This is an original steel floor plate for the Springfield 1903 rifle. The Army purchased significantly more of the model 1913, about  5,730. Fits Springfield 1903 Weaver Style Picatinny Scope Mount & 1" Rings New B-Square :(https://www.patreon.com/user?u=972155)ASP PRESENTS:Today on the firing line, the Model 1903 Springfield Sniper Rifles.