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Zone #68 - Great Firearms - The 1903-A3
Springfield Rifle - Page 1 |
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I
have long admired the Springfield 1903-A3
rifle.
I looked for an example to add to my collection
for many years.
I saw a lot of good examples, but I wanted
a really nice one.
Then one year at the Big Houston Gun Show,
I finally found the one I wanted and it was
at a great price.
I snatched it up!
Here it is. |
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The
Springfield bolt action rifle, caliber .30-06,
was developed in 1903 for use by the U.S.
Military.
It originally had a set of partridge sights,
but these were later replaced by an aperture
sight (also called peep sights) and this model
was called the 1903-A3.
This was the main battle rifle for the U.
S. from 1903 until 1936, when it was replaced
by the M-1 Garand rifle.
My rifle is an excellent example, which I
have not refinished in any way. It is a rifle
made by Remington and is marked as such above
the chamber. |
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It
has an absolutely new barrel that is marked
"7-43" to show that it was put on
the rifle in July, 1943.
As a person who has pushed many thousands
of patches down barrels, I can assure you
that this barrel is a perfect barrel. 
These rifles were originally made in caliber
.30-03, and had a 220 grain bullet that was
pushed to around 2,300 fps.
But in 1906, the U.S. Military switched to
the wonderful .30-06 Ball, which pushed a
150 grain spitzer bullet to around 2,800 fps.
The .30-06 is one of the best cartridges ever
invented. |
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Let's
look at the rifle. The front sight is a high
blade type sight. |
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The
rear sight on the Model 1903-A3 is an aperture
with both windage and elevation adjustments.
It is also located farther back on the rifle
giving a longer sight radius than the 1903
Model. |
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