Nothing beat the good old Springfield 30-06

[Michiana]

I know a lot of folks on this site like the military look in their long guns but personally I’ll take my Springfield 03A3 30-36 when the going gets tough and you need real stopping power. This is another rifle I inherited from my Camp Perry shooting uncle and I shot it many times when we went woodchuck hunting together. He had his Husqvarna chambered for the 220 Swift and I shot my Remington 222 and once in awhile this Springfield when there was that long shot to make. I know it was overkill on those poor chucks but we often shot at 300 plus yards, sometime over 500. Those were the good old days when my eyes worked.

When I received this rifle the stock was cracked so I replaced it with one that I felt looked good with the rifle. As you can see this is a “Sporter” style and has a 6-18X40 scope mounted on it. Again it came with a Weaver scope that had a crack in one lens so I traded it out with an extra Tasco that he had in a box. Not the best brand but does the job.

While in the Navy I was assigned to cover the boarding parties during junk inspections off Vietnam and carried a BAR. I shot many a round through my 30 carbine and an M1Garand; plus shot a Japanese 7.7 Arisaka and a British Enfield many times so I appreciate the military look that attracts people. These new AR’s sure look mean and I am sure they do the job but I still enjoy the smooth lines of the older guns. Attached some pictures of my rifle for those of you not up on the 03A3 firearm.

[4sarge]

Good looking rifle

[shooter521]

So many service rifles were "sporterized" without a second thought, because at the time, the surplus market was overflowing with them and they were a dime a dozen. Knowing what we know now, though, it almost hurts to look at one. A buddy of mine has his granddad's .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen. It's in fantastic shape for its age and would probably be worth some pretty good money if it was original, but it had been scoped and put into a Weatherby-type stock decades ago...

Another buddy of mine recently picked up a cherry Smith-Corona '03A3... gorgeous gun, and a helluva shooter. 2nd from left in the photo below:

[haldir]

The old Man had a 03 Springfield that he brought back from WW 2 (Pacific theater). I can remember when I was a kid when we would have ground hogs get in the garden, he would sit at the picnic table drink his coffee in the morning and wait for them to stick their head's out. He would pop them off from about 150 yards without fail with his little crank up sites. Unfortunately my brother got the gun when Dad died and pawned it without any knowing about it.

[Max Volume]

I would love to have an 03-A3 but haven't got one yet. I do have a very nice 30-40 Krag on layaway at the local fun shop yet to be picked up.

[Michiana]

Looks like I am not alone with my enjoyment of the old military rifles. I also received another military model 1903 Springfield that was original and sold it to a friend and am sorry now that I did. My uncle also had his 30-06 M1 Garand that he used to shoot with at Camp Perry at 1000yds, open sites. He bought it new in the late 50's and had it accurized and glass bedded at the advanced army marksmanship unit at Ft Benning GA. I know he used to tell me it shot “minute of angle or better” with match ammo. He did all his own reloading and was always playing with powder loads.

When people moved him to assisted living residence I think the maintenance man stole that along with the Husqvarna 220 Swift and a German Luger he owned. He claimed my uncle, (who had dementia) sold him all his guns for $500. I went to the local police and they said it was a civil matter so back I went to the home and under threat of death he returned most of the guns except the ones mentioned above, which he claimed were not there. Coincidence that they happened to be the three most valuable pieces my uncle owned. I bet that goes on all the time with old people in Florida. They also ripped off all his reloading equipment but I couldn’t prove that either.

[ashtonjj100]

this was my Grandfathers rifle, he was in the military.