I inherited a 1903 springfield from my dad. He had a local gunsmith cut the stock down, removed the handguard and put some weaver rings and 4X scope on it. It looks like a 1940's manufacture, because the barrel is parkerized and not smoothly finished. Not sure how many grooves in the barrel. I am curious about the collectors value, and how expensive and or complicated it would be to covert it to 35 whelen. :confused:

In my humble opinion, drilling additional holes in the receiver and cutting the stock has seriously degraded the collector value of your rifle. Unaltered, it was worth much more as a classic firearm.

There are many opinions regarding altering and rebarreling a military rifle. I've done it and was pleased with the results. The costs will probably exceed the price of an excellent used Remington 700 in .35 Whelen. All the best...
Gil

I inherited a 1903 springfield from my dad. He had a local gunsmith cut the stock down, removed the handguard and put some weaver rings and 4X scope on it. It looks like a 1940's manufacture, because the barrel is parkerized and not smoothly finished. Not sure how many grooves in the barrel. I am curious about the collectors value, and how expensive and or complicated it would be to covert it to 35 whelen. :confused:
Jimbo,
When your Father bought that 30'06,it was selling for 15 dollars from the DCM(excellent rifles),and sporterizing them was just plain common sense.
Today,things are much different,sporterizing Springfields is usually not a good idea.
If it's already been drilled and tapped,you can't hurt it,and the 35 Whelen is simply a 30'06 on steroids.I believe,all you need is a new barrel.
Frank

Dad had a couple of them and like you said Kragman, they probably were cheap and available. the other one was sporterized and went to my older brother when he turned 15. Who would sell barrels to fit this action, and what kind of cost would I be looking at?

I remember as a young boy, getting to hold a 1903 that had been sporterized with a new walnut swirl stock and had Williams sights installed on it. That rifle along with a 30-40 Krag got my interests up in firearms. The were both real beauties in my eyes.

I remember as a young boy, getting to hold a 1903 that had been sporterized with a new walnut swirl stock and had Williams sights installed on it. That rifle along with a 30-40 Krag got my interests up in firearms. The were both real beauties in my eyes.

As far as dad was concerned, guns were tools, and he put no more expense into them than they needed to be functional. Even so the old springfield still has some sentimental value.

Dad had a couple of them and like you said Kragman, they probably were cheap and available. the other one was sporterized and went to my older brother when he turned 15. Who would sell barrels to fit this action, and what kind of cost would I be looking at?
Jimbo,
Numrich Arms is the best place to look,that I know of.
www.gunpartscorp.com
Frank

As others have said the collector value is nil because of the modifications. As a shooter, it would have the normal $200 - $300 value, depending on area and a willing buyer.

As you stated the barrel is still parkerized, would have to anticipate the receiver, bolt and bottom metal are still parkerized also. If you rebarrel with a commercial replacement, it will either be blued or in the white. That would require the action and other parts to be reblued to match, if desired. Figure approximately $150 - $200 for the barrel, $65 for finish reaming of the chamber and headspacing, $100 for rebluing.

As also previously said - the cost of a new factory rifle is soon reached.

If you can find a gunsmith that rebores, you could have the present barrel rebored and rechambered probably for the price of the replacement barrel alone. Several smiths advertize this service in the various gun magazines.

Hi all,
I'll play the devil's advocate. In my safe is a R.F. Sedgeley sporter. My FIL bought this (used) in the '60's and has given it to me. This rifle is my most prized. While I'd shudder to sporterize a clean '03 these days, if you already have one that's altered, why not go full bore if you can afford it? As long as the action is sound, have a new barrel installed, drop it into a new stock and proceed to make yourself happy.
I have 4 '03's, all of which were sporterized to some degree when I got them. One has been put back into military form (except for the scope base holes in the action), of course the Sedgeley, and the other two remain as as I first aquired them. Eventually I plan to re-barrel one to 35 Whelen and re-stock to match the Sedgeley. The other will stay as it is (family memories) and be passed down to my kids as a reminder.
While refinishing an action can cost you some bucks, I feel that the '03 just works too well to ignore if you decide to make up a custom rifle. If you're going to pay for it any way, why not go whole hog to get a good looking rifle?
I'll go back to staring at my Sedgeley now.....
Good shooting,
HP

Hipressure- I was thinking along the lines of finding a rifle for my oldest (23) daughter to use. I also bought a cheap ($65) swedish mauser and wonder if sporterizing it instead of fixing up the springfield would be a better gun for her to use on antelope, deer and possibly elk. Less recoil might help her with accuracy. It would be nice to spend lots of cash to create a custom rifle, but the problem of cost is still a major consideration for me. ;)

If your daughter has good eye sight and can see the 'Swede's military sights, the rifle is plenty accurate in the original form for most hunting conditions. Might have her do some benchrest shooting with it before modifying to see if it really needs it.

The Swedes have some of the better military sights you will find on a mauser. Instead of the pointy front post, it's a square post like most revolvers have.

For the price you can't go wrong. Mine loves 120 Ballistic Tips, of all things, and shoots to the sights at 100 yards with 125gr. Partitions.

Wouldn't bother with much sporterizing, unless it's just too heavy to drag around.

You're right on the Ballistic Tips, Mike -

All three of my 6.5mm's (6.5 Swede, 6.5x257 AI and 6.5-06) show a decided preference for 120 grain bullets, with the Ballistic Tips being the most accurate.

The only loads I have tried in the swede are 140 gr. commercial. They seem to shoot pretty well at 100 yards, but the sights are small and hard for me to see. I Have read about and seen advertized the replacement peep sights that fit the factory rear- for only 25 to 45 bucks it might make a good shooter out to maybe 200 yards. The only shots you get at antelope around here closer than that are the young dumb ones on the first day of the season. :)

Hey, Jimbo -

At the local weekend gunshow, saw a Rock Island '03 mf'gd in 1910 that the dealer was asking a cool $1,000.00 for.

I've forgotten the serial # cutoff for low numbered '03's to stay clear of, but this one had a 6 digit number, so gently layed it back down on the table. Was all original and was parkerized. Guess I steered you wrong on the older models being blued.

According to Smith and Smith in "The Book of Rifles", Springfield receivers below 800,000 "...were made of Sprinfgfield Armory class C steel. These are commonly considered 'brittle' receivers. They should not be used with modern or stepped-up loads. Receivers between 800,000 and 1,275,767 serial numbers are Springfield Armory class C steel which were specially heat treated by improved methods. These are not as desirable as the later numbers, though far superior to the earliest manufacture. All receivers between serial number 1,275,767 to 3,000,000 are made of nickel steel WD 2340 and represent the most advanced type of receiver designed..." The authors further state ..."Springfield receivers made at Rock Island Arsenal between serial No. 1 to Serial No. 285,507 were made of Springfield Armory class C steel. From No. 285,507 to 519,921 were made of Springfield Armory class C steel with improved treatment. Receivers over serial No. 319,921 were made of both class C steel and hot rolled nickel steel WD 35NS..."

All the best...
Gil

Thanks, Gil - that clarifies things.

The one at the gunshow was a R.I. with a 6xxxxx sn, so guess it passes muster.

According to Smith and Smith in "The Book of Rifles", Springfield receivers below 800,000 "...were made of Sprinfgfield Armory class C steel. These are commonly considered 'brittle' receivers. They should not be used with modern or stepped-up loads. Receivers between 800,000 and 1,275,767 serial numbers are Springfield Armory class C steel which were specially heat treated by improved methods. These are not as desirable as the later numbers, though far superior to the earliest manufacture. All receivers between serial number 1,275,767 to 3,000,000 are made of nickel steel WD 2340 and represent the most advanced type of receiver designed..." The authors further state ..."Springfield receivers made at Rock Island Arsenal between serial No. 1 to Serial No. 285,507 were made of Springfield Armory class C steel. From No. 285,507 to 519,921 were made of Springfield Armory class C steel with improved treatment. Receivers over serial No. 319,921 were made of both class C steel and hot rolled nickel steel WD 35NS..."

All the best...
Gil-----
Gil,
Those double heat treated rifles were in no way inferior to the newest nickle steel rifles.They were more expensive to make,that's why the were replaced.
Julian Hatcher,in his book"Hatcher's Notebook",mentions(quote)"On April 1,1927,at rifle #1275767,Springfield Armory changed to nickle steel.The receivers,while not quite as strong,still had ample strength,and the manufacture was simpler."
The double heat treated rifles were also smoother working because the metal was harder.
Frank

The Swedes have some of the better military sights you will find on a mauser. Instead of the pointy front post, it's a square post like most revolvers have.

For the price you can't go wrong. Mine loves 120 Ballistic Tips, of all things, and shoots to the sights at 100 yards with 125gr. Partitions.

Wouldn't bother with much sporterizing, unless it's just too heavy to drag around.


I built one for my daughter....makes a fine rifle..check the thread under rifle for my daughter.building a custom rifle can be very expensive.....but you could get out a lot cheaper by just buying her a new Savage or Ruger......however...if you want to go the mil route....check with Brownells...they have a great set of iron sight replacements for the M96.

E.R. Shaw in PA will do the work and they one of the most reasonable semi-custom jobs out there.I have several and they all shoot well.