M1903 Springfield Rifle (gun)

History and information for M1903 Springfield Rifle (gun)

On June 19, 1903, the U.S officially adopted the M1903 Springfield. The M1903 was initially referred to as the United States Rifle. It was a .30. Model 1903 American clip-loaded, 5 magazine-fed bolt-action service rifles are popular for their power and speed. The M1903 Springfield Rifle was a magazine-fed clip loader capable of firing a shot every three seconds. However, the rifle was replaced by the faster-firing and more powerful semi-automatic 8 round M1 Garand in 1937. However, this rifle remained in service during the Korean War, World War II and the Vietnam War. Probably due to its heavy use in the world war, the M1903 Springfield is very popular to collectors but it remains a civilian firearm and sometimes a military drill rifle. During the Second World War, the Springfield was produced at private manufactures Smith-Corona and Remington Arms. Then latter began production of the M1903 model at serial number 3,000,000 in the late 1940. The M1903 Springfield was 44â…ž inches long and weighed 3.95 kilograms (8 lb. 11 oz.) The M1905 bayonet blade that was 406 millimeters (16 inches) and weighed 0.45 kilograms (1 lb.) could be attached to the rifle. After some improvements and modifications in 1906, the M1903 Springfield was chambered to fire the .30-06 cartridge (.30-caliber M1906 cartridge) and later the M1 (1926) and the M2 Ball rounds in 1938.


The four standard cartridges available were the Blank which instead of a bullet contained a paper cup- dangerous within thirty meters, Ball that consisted of a shell or brass case, a charge of smokeless powder, primer, and the bullet. The bullet was composed of lead core and a jacket made out of cupronickel, it had a sharp point, Guard (this cartridge had a smaller charge of power while compared to the ball cartridge. Also, it had its body encircled by five cannelures at around the middle so as it was not confused with the ball cartridge. It was used in riots and yielded good results up to a 196.8 yards (hundred and eighty meters) and lastly the dummy that was a tin-plated cartridge whose shell was provided with three circular holes and six longitudinal corrugations. The cartridge was used primarily in drill operations, meant to accustom the solder to loading the rifle. The M1903 Springfield bears much resemblance to the Mauser 98 but has a very notable knob at the rear of the bolt whose main purpose is to allow the rifle’s trigger tension to be released without damaging the firing pin as a result of dry firing. The main problems of the M1903 Springfield were that it had a slow-to-load magazine and was unable to handle higher chamber pressures that were common results of high-velocity rounds. Its precision rear aperture was located a little far from the eye this was quite inefficient. Also, the narrow and overexposed front sight was not only difficult to see in poor light but very prone to damage. For this reason, the U.S Marine issued this rifle with a hood to protect the front sight. Lastly, the two-piece firing pin was not a single improvement from over the Mauser one-piece design. The two-piece design resulted to countless Ordnance repairs and reports of jammed magazine followers.