A Springfield 1903 woods rifle

[oregon45]

I used to have one just like that, complete with the long-slide Lyman rear target sight and 1950s vintage after market stock. Great gun, and I regret letting it go. I agree with Okie John that lighter loads are the way to go. When I had mine I shot mostly cast bullets over AA5744 because I was using it for vintage rifle silhouette competition.

[Duelist]

Grandpa sporterized one in the fifties. It was just an inexpensive surplus rifle, and he needed a hunting rifle. The way dad tells the story, he ordered it from the NRA or the DCM for about $20, and they walked together down to the train station to pick it up when it arrived. Then they spent some time breaking it down and doing whatever it was Grandpa wanted to do to it.

He hunted with it for years, until he retired from hunting the year he missed a child’s birth while out killing a deer. Probably were some words from my spicy grandma about that.

My younger cousin ended up with it, and it was later stolen when his house was burglarized.

When i was helping clean up the house after Grandpa and Grandma moved to a care center, I found a single box of 150gr Winchester soft points. 6 of them were missing.

[okie john]

When i was helping clean up the house after Grandpa and Grandma moved to a care center, I found a single box of 150gr Winchester soft points. 6 of them were missing.

That probably works out to six deer.


Okie John

[03RN]

If you're gonna sporterize one, then that's not a bad way for it to end up.

In deference to the low-numbered action, I'd be tempted to set it up for a 170-grain flat-point built for the 30-30 at 2,300 fps over H4895. Ken Waters used to call that the "30-30-06." It should handle almost anything you'd care to tackle with peep sights and might even put some newer rifles to shame.


Okie John

I've seen some pretty gaudy sporters that I do not care for. This one looks good to me.

I've got a couple boxes of 150gr Barnes 30 30s I could load up. I had a load worked out with my m1. I think I was getting 2600fps

[oregon45]

I've seen some pretty gaudy sporters that I do not care for. This one looks good to me.

I've got a couple boxes of 150gr Barnes 30 30s I could load up. I had a load worked out with my m1. I think I was getting 2600fps

Are there any markings on the stock? The stock '03 Sporter I had, which looked quite similar to yours, was marked "Bishop" on either the buttplate or the pistol grip cap, I can't recall which. It was a classy looking design, unlike many of the 1950s-60s stocks that were intended to make mil-surp rifles look like jet-age Weatherbys.

[gato naranja]

Are there any markings on the stock? The stock '03 Sporter I had, which looked quite similar to yours, was marked "Bishop" on either the buttplate or the pistol grip cap, I can't recall which. It was a classy looking design, unlike many of the 1950s-60s stocks that were intended to make mil-surp rifles look like jet-age Weatherbys.

An awful lot of sporterized surplus bolt-action rifles ended up with Bishop or Reinhart Fajen stocks after their owners bungled remodeling the issued wood. IIRC, their basic stocks were generally tasteful but could get pretty gaudy if you went nuts with the "extras."

[03RN]

Are there any markings on the stock? The stock '03 Sporter I had, which looked quite similar to yours, was marked "Bishop" on either the buttplate or the pistol grip cap, I can't recall which. It was a classy looking design, unlike many of the 1950s-60s stocks that were intended to make mil-surp rifles look like jet-age Weatherbys.

No writing on either

[03RN]

Cleaned and put a few coats of linseed oil on her. Put on sling studs and a usmc .1 front sight.

[03RN]

That sling belongs to another rifle. A brown one came in today after I shot

[Salamander]

I've had the same thought about using one as a woods rifle. In my case it's a 1943 vintage 03-a3 still in the original stock, but picked up as an inexpensive ($425) C&R a few years ago because someone long ago drilled and tapped it for a scope mount. It also had an aftermarket safety to clear the long gone scope, that I replaced with the correct part found at a local gun show. It's a mix of milled and stamped Remington furniture and has some external wear but a nice bright four-groove barrel. The bolt is slick, better than some of my newer rifles.

The really thin front sight blade of the 03-a3 can be a little tricky in certain lighting conditions, however the longer sight radius of the a3 is nice and I've had no trouble ringing steel at 300 yards with handloads. Most importantly, it's a lot of fun to shoot. At a spec'd 8.8 lbs (haven't actually weighed mine), there are lighter options but few as cool as this piece of history and somehow it seems to handle better than some other rifles of similar weight.