WW1 Springfield 1903 price.

[hatman1793]

A friend of mine is thinking of liquidating a 1903 Springfield rifle. I told him to keep it since the bore is very good, and the condition of the receiver and frame are very good. Only thing is the wood. Its not really bad and has the usual dings and scratches, but it appears that someone applied a coating of near black paint/varnish/stain or what-have-you. So the stock is kinda ugly.
According to my research, it is WW1 production from SA, serial number range is 976###. Everything is there and appears to be in working condition except for that stock.
What's it worth as is?
Should my friend get a replacement stock?
Since this gun is original WW1 production, should he just keep it as is or maybe try to rehabilitate the stock? Thanks for you comments...

 

[purple]

The s/n of the rifle places it in the double heat treated carbon steel receiver category-a good one. Tough to say more or ball-park a value w/o pics and more details.

What are the initials and month-year stamp on the top of the bbl behind the front sight? this will indicate whether or not the barrel is original to the rifle. Many were replaced in service.

Original parts/stocks enhance the collector appeal and value. If the stock isn't cracked or split, it could possibly be salvaged by stripping the paint and existing finish with a stripping agent such as Minwax Antique Finisher and a synthetic pad, steaming out dents, and then refinishing with a light stain and linseed oil. Be careful not to destroy/obliterate any existing stock stampings. Original vintage stocks are next to impossible to find. There are a lot of new WW2 replacement "scant grip" stocks being sold, but they are seldom seen on the loose in Canada.

 

[bearhunter]

03 stock

Stripping off that paint may not be such a good idea. It depends on whose armed forces actually used that rifle last. When I worked for an importer of milsurp arms many years ago, it wasn't unusual for some of the rfles coming in to have a coat of some sort of paint on them. Especially arms from Brazil. Brazil had quite a few early 1903s. It wasn't unusual for rifles used by the Philipine police to be painted with a thick, shiney dark brown, coat that almost looked like resin.

That coat of whatever it is, may just be a bona fide part of that particular rifle's martial history. Just remember, many 1903 rifles saw service in many other armies, other than the US army. The big problem is that most of the information on these rifles, comes out of the US and it doesn't encompass a wide general history of their use out of US hands.

The same thing happens with Lee Enfields. Not nearly as bad though. The Brits and most of the nations they left the rifles in, usually kept some sort of track of them.

 

[Tyler]

+1 on required pics. Get him to e-mail some to you and post them here.

If it turns out to be bubba paint or varnish, I highly recommend Circa 1850 furniture stripper. I've used it on two century old pieces that people saw fit to varnish, and it worked exceptionally well, with no damage to the wood.

 

[JP]

Those that came from China, also had the dark brown varnish finish. The dark finish in many circumstances covered patches of lighter colored wood. Many of those were also had counterbored barrels.

 

[purple]

Those that came from China, also had the dark brown varnish finish. The dark finish in many circumstances covered patches of lighter colored wood. Many of those were also had counterbored barrels.

There was quite an influx of ex-Chinese M1903s in the late '80s/early '90s. A lot of them were junkers with shot out bores, cracked stocks, and pitted metal. Some 20 yrs ago I salvaged a clapped out early Remington receiver with some pitting on it and turned it into a very nice sporter.

 

[hatman1793]

Sa 9-18.

The characters noted above are on the top of the barrel behind the front sight. It seems that this gun was made in September 1918 which would confirm the history. Only thing is, did this rifle make it to the European theatre with only 2 months of the war left?
Like I said, the receiver is good and the bore is very good. There might be a bayonet...

 

[purple]

The barrel would appear to be original to the rifle. No way to track the service history of this rifle, except that it probably remained in US service from manufacture until the post WW2 disposals occurred.

Classification of rifle/ bore condition using terms from excellent through poor tends to be quite subjective. Bore condition is best determined by the presence/absence of rust/pitting and the degree of throat and muzzle erosion as seen on the appropriate wear gauges.

Photos would be helpful.