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urrently, we're used to sniper rifles being spe-cially built contrivances, put together from theground up by their makers to suit that particu-lar specialty role, with high-end optics, specialbedding, unique designs-theworks. But that

was not always the case. Economy-minded ordnance officialswere always on the lookout for some way to turn exiscingbattle rifles into snipers-with more or less success. Onething is for sure, at least in the U.S. they had some prettygood platforms to start with, so all that was needed was ad-equate oPtics and mounts.

The cult ofthe sniper rifle is such that original ex-amples of some of the earlier efforts bring serious moneyfrom collectors, and sometimes no matter how much youhave to spend the product simply isn'r available-hence thecurrent enthusiasm for replicas of the originals. One of the

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,and most interesting is the subject of this piece, theRifle Company 03A4. But before we talk about thisit might not be amiss to go into the history oftheSpringfield itself to put things into perspective.In these days of stamped parts, anodized aluminumtough to imagine a rifle being issued to theGI that was every bit as good as some of the best

rifles being produced, but such was the case withModel 1903 Rifle.The fit, finish and design of che '03 were wonderment.produced in government armories by truly skllledwho, despite the fact that it was a military-issuestill took pride in the product they turned out.The "Springfield," as it came to be called, was actuallyto another beautifully made arm, the .30-40Jorgensen. Frankly, there was no difference in theof the two arms, simply in design. The Krag was

Norwegian-designed bolt-action with a funnythat could not be clipJoaded.the burgeoning of other fine foreign and domesticdesigns, the Kragwas virtually obsolete fromit was issued. Vhen the Model 1898 Mauserit was painfully obvious that the lJnited States

get cracking on a new battle rifle.After some experimentation, what finally emerged inwas a handsome five-shot bolt-action that employed aofthe'98 Mauser action. Actually, it was something

of an improvement over the Mauser Gewehr 98 in that itwas shorter and a bit easier to handle. The gun's srock wasfull-length walnut. The action employed the bolt-mountedMauser-type safety, but on the left side of the receiver therewas a cutoffthat, when up, allowed the gun to be fired sin-gle-shot.'V?'hen down, cartridges could be chambered fromthe integral box magazine, and when it was in rhe ienter thebolt could be removed from the action.Finish ofthe gun was exquisite, with most parts highlypolished and blued. The receiver went through a case-hard-ening and oil-quenching that gave it an interesting multi-colored appearance.First 1903s were chambered in a new .30-03 caliber.The cartridge employed a rimless, necked-down case with a220-grain roundnose bullet that left the rnuzzle of the 24-inch barrel at some 2,300 fps.

Though the round was certainly ade quate for militarywork, when the Germans adopte d a superior pointed spitzerbullet in l904the Americans followed suit with their ownversion that had a 150-grain cupro-nickel-jacketed bulletthat boosted the older roundt velocity by some 400 fps. Thefamed.30-06 was born.All guns from that poinr on were manufactured tochamber the new caliber, and rifles then in service weretaken back into the armories and altered to handle theshortened .30-06 cartridge by setting back rhe barrel .200inch, or approximately two threads.Also, the original 1903 was equipped with an in-tegral rod bayonet similar to ones seen on an early Hallcarbine and the Model 1888 Springfield trapdoor rifle.President Theodore Roosevelt took one look at the fimsysetup, had a fit, and the guns were altered with a shorterstock and more traditional frontband that incorporated a

The Gibbs copy of the M73BIscope has lhe compony's nomestamped on the right sideof the xope body, while theoriginal hos the stomping onlhe odiu stmenl.knob hou sing.

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Ihe Gibbs 03ld borrel markins htShil compored io the originol Rem-ington, mode in Morch of 1944, has its own iniriols, Iogo ond date tomoke sure lhe copy connot be not passed off os the reol thing.stud for a 16-inch-bladed-knife bayonet.

So by 1905 we had the 1903 lookingpretty much likethe one we are used to today. The sight was a rear ladder stylegraduated to 2,850 yards and incorporated a peep, notch andbatde sight. The front blade was criticized as being ratherdelicate, so a removable blued-steel cover was devised to snapover it and offer some protecrion. On top of the barrel,'03swere marked with the month, year and place of manufac-ture. Because of this, along with the serial number on rhereceiver and many small modifications (handguards, stockbolts, bolt handles, etc.), it is easy for the modern enrhusiast to

tellwhen agunwas madeand whether there havebeen some alteradons inits lifetime.fught from the get-go, rhe Springfield washighly regarded by allwhoused ir. It was found tobe reliable and accurate.Despite their appellationof "Springfield," some345,779 03s were alsomanufactured at Rock Is-landArmory though thiswas just a small portion ofthe almosr a million and ahalf rifles t-har were origi-nah turned out between

1903 and 1927. Below Springfield serial number 800000 andRock Island number 285506 there is some question as to thestrength of the guns' receivers because of a britdeness causedby a double case-hardeningprocess, and in the final year ofproduction all guns wirh the offending numbers were rakenout ofservice. Today they're fine for collecting but not recorn-mended forshooting.Despite the fact that rhe 1903 was America's primaryissue rifle, by the time'World NTar I came around rherewere not enough ofthem in the system and productionwas not high enough to put rhem into every Doughboythand. Actually, the .30-06 Model l9l7 "Enfield.," whichwas a modification of an earlier British rife being made

under contract by\Tinchesrer and Remington U.M.C., wasfielded in greater numbers than the Springfield.The Model 1903 was an adaprable arm.Many were turned to sniper use during the Great\Var using an elaborate'VTarner-Swasey scope,some were stripped down and fitted with extend-ed 25-shot magazine for air service in observarionballoons, and others were set up to take a curioussemiautomatic repeating mechanism designedby John D. Pedersen but made too late for usein \7\7I. There were also .22 trainer and targervariants.

Too, the Springfield proved irselfto be anexcellent match rife, and several differenr ver-sions were set up from the early 1920s into 194O.Needless to say, all of the guns mentioned in theabove paragraph bring collector premiums, withthe exception of the 1903 Mark I that was alreredfor the Pedersen device. ht generallyworth alittleless than a standard Springfield, unless ofcourseyou have a Pedersen device (most were destroyedin 1931); then the value of rhe piece climbs intothe stratosphere.

Even though the 1903 Springfield was re-placed by the Ml Garand semiauto in l936,whenthe U.S. entered \forld Var II a simplified, Parkerized ver-sion of the'03, called the Model 1903A3, that used many

Both lhe originol Remington 03y'd(lopJ ond the Gibbs copy hoveoiginol pistol-grip "P" proofma*-ings. Either sib is correct.

Originol 03fu4s hod iheir receiver stc,mps odiusted so they could beeosily discerned wilh ihe mounl oltoched.lhe Gibbs cory uses ston-dord svrplus 03 receivers ond lhus mointoins lhe stondard ma*ing.gunsondommomog.com GUNS & AMMO I SURPIUS FIREARMS 7

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RESURRECTION OF THE O3A4

Gibbs 03M copy (boitomJ, with an original Reminglori lrod, comes pretty close in rte boks deportment, but there are subtle differences.parts was manufactured by Remington and Smith-The gun proved to be rugged and accurate, andmost never saw combat, scoped versions of the rifle,l9O3A4, ended up being the principal sniper rife\Var II.

The 0344, while probably not as good a sniper rifle asNo.4 (T) or some of the German K98 efforrs, wasregarded as ar leasr as adequate, depending uponkind ofoptics were fitted to it.Actually, the rifle itsel{, while not as eleganr as rhe pre-03, was every bit as accurate as the original, so thereno reason why it shouldnt be up to rhe sniping role.During its lifetime, the 03M was fitted with four diFscopes: the M73Bl, which in civilian life was actuallyN(eaver 330C; the M73 (Lyman Alaskan); the M81; andM82, which were really the same scope with the excep-that the M8l had a crosshair reticle and the M82 a post.used a special Redfield mounr with different rings tothe scopes' vagaries.Awhile back Gibbs Rife Company (304/262-1651,

www.gibbsrife.com) came inro possession of a slew of dewat-ted 1903 training rifles. While a bunch were sold as-is, otherswere deemed in good enough condition to be refurbished intoshooters, and what better configuration to make them intothan the 03A4, originals ofwhich are commandingextremelyhigh prices from collectors? Because of this, few ever make itto th range.Gibbs' M9103A4 is made using original RemingtonVorld \Var II actions and turned-down bolts, which Glbbsacquired when it bought the rifle division of parker-Hale inthe 1990s. The new 03A4s are fitted wirh four-grooved barrels

made by Pedersoli in Italy and mounted on replica 1903 .,C"stocks made of walnur-finished hardwood, -omplete withperiod-style inspectors' carrouches. The Redfield mounr andrings have been carefully duplicated, as has the M73B1 scope(Chinese made), to produce apretry good likeness of the realarticle, The action is Parkerized and has blued srock furnitureas per the original.

Gibbs has purposely made some alterations to the rifleso it cannot be passed offas the real thing. The muzzle marla:::ryq"Y^) c?mpy:s fworTbl4h r,h: oripinol' 1lougl th.ere ore vorionces. Gibbs' version hos odiustmenr anows on thelos ct,ct some onginots' such os fihose mode by Fronffiofi Arsenol), while lhe Wewer origina! hos the mo*s on the'funet housing,

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RESURRECTION OF THE O3A4

the Gibbs stock cofiouche (boltoml copies the period mark of inspeclorFronkJ. Atwood, lft shown in comporison wilh on originol Reminglon's.ings feature the Gibbs crown rather than the U'S. C)rdnancebomb and "GR' (Gibbs Rifle) instead of "RA, (RemingtonArms) and the current date. As well, the receiver markingsare those of the standard 03A3. No attempt was made toalter them to the 03M style. The mounts and scopes are alsomarkedwith Gibbs designations to forestall any fakery.I had the opportunity to compare the Gibbs productwith a vintage Remington 03M, and as you can see by theaccompanying illustrations, it holds up very well. There areminor differences in configuration, especially in the scope,but they are not blatant enough to stand out when the rifeis on its own.

Once the scope was dialed in, the Gibbs rifle shot close to minute-of-ongle wili severol brands of ommunilion, though the Homody168-groiners come oul on IoP,IO GUNS & AMMO I SURPLUS FIREAR,MS

Originol 03Ms were litted with Redfield Jn one-piece mounts ondwere morked with lhe moker's name, The Gibbs copy hos thot com'pony's moniker slomped on it lo avoid confusion.

The Gibbs 03ld lunctioned perfectf ond hondled pretty much likeoriginals the ovthor has fired in the post.Like the period scope, the Gibbs M73Bl has simple

crosshairs and is 2.5X. Adjustments are made via a pair ofknurled knobs on a housing at the rear Portion ofthe scope'It can be focused via a rotating eyePiece.\7e took our Gibbs 03A4 to the range alongwith someHornady 165-grain BTSP .30-06 and Black Hills 168'grain

with Hornady match hollowpoint bullets. After some ini-tial dialing in and adjusting of the scoPe' we had excellentresults with both batches of ammunition, producing justslightly over minute-of,angle accuracy. This is just about asgood as any period pieces I ve fired.The rifle functioned flawlessly, and more than oneshooter thought I was shooting a W\fll-vintage 03A4-the gun looks that good.Theret an old saying-I dont remember who coinedit-to the efFect that the Mauser was a hunting rifle, the En-field a battle rifle and the Springfield a target rifle' The neGibbs certainly holds up its end of that aphorism. Retailingfor $995 (the rife comes with a replica M1907 sling' M1903dust sleeve and Scott Duffs reprint of the original 03A4manual), it's worth looking at and a more than viable alterna-tive to takingyour $4,000+ into the field.

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