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The Springfield M1903, formally the United States Rifle, Caliber .30, Model 1903, is an American magazine-fed, bolt-action rifle used primarily during the first half of the 20th century.

It was officially adopted as a service rifle on June 19th 1903, and was officially replaced as a service rifle by the faster-firing, semi-automatic M1 Garand, starting in 1936. The M1903 saw notable use in World War I and World War II, and some cases in Vietnam. It was also used as a sniper rifle in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Furthermore, it remains in use as a civilian firearm and among some drill teams into the 21st century.

Background

The 1903 adoption of the Springfield bolt-action was preceded by nearly 30 years of struggle and politics, as well as lessons learned from the recently adopted U.S. Models 1892-98 Krag and contemporary German Mauser bolt-action rifles. The M1903 not only replaced the various versions of the Krag, but also the Lee Model 1895 and M1885 Remington-Lee used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, as well as the remaining trap-door Springfields (Model 1873). While the Krag had been issued in both a long rifle and carbine, there would be only one Springfield type; this was a break from the existing trend.

The two main problems usually cited with the Krag were its slow-to-load magazine and its inability to handle higher chamber pressures for higher-velocity rounds. Which of these was more important is a matter of debate, as is the impact of the Mausers encountered in the 1898 war. What is known is that the Mauser design that competed in the 1890s competition with a stripper clip magazine was defeated by the Krag (as well as many other designs) with its rotary magazine reloaded one cartridge at a time. Note that a special sort of stripper clip for reloading the Krag magazine all at once came later. Also the Mauser model in the trial had about the same muzzle velocity as the Krag.

After the Krag's adoption, however, there was a trend to greater cartridge power, such as the Model 1893 Spanish Mauser, which generated a flatter trajectory, and a higher muzzle velocity (about 2300 ft/s) from the 7 x 57 mm Spanish Mauser cartridge.

The ballistics of the .30-40 Krag and the 7 x 57 mm Mauser rounds were actually not that much different. Both cartridges had round-nosed bullets; pointed, streamlined bullets (spitzers) were later introduced by Germany. The smokeless powder used by both was an advantage over the older black-powder rifles still used in the war (on both sides of the conflict), such as issued to volunteers and the local militia. U.S. troops were greatly impressed, however, with the volume of fire that the Spanish troops could produce with their faster-loading Mausers, compared to the U.S. Krags.

The U.S. Army attempted to introduce a higher-velocity cartridge in 1899 for the existing Krags, but its single locking lug on the bolt could not handle the extra chamber pressure. A stripper-clip arrangement was also worked out for loading the Krag. It was around the same time that work on a new rifle began.

The fact that the U.S. was adopting a new rifle after a few years was not actually much of an oddity, as many nations were switching to new firearms in this general period.

[edit] Late 1800s: the lead up to adoption

The situation from which the 1903 resulted itself stems from a previous period going back nearly thirty years. Since the late 1870s, the Army had been looking for a replacement for the existing service rifle of the average soldier, the trap-door Springfield (i.e. the Model 1873). The Army was rather under-funded during the period so the regular soldiers were usually stuck with model 1873, though a variety of bolt-action rifles and carbines were also used to varying degrees, and more wealthy soldiers often bought commercial weapons. The Army budget in 1865 was over a million dollars, but this had rapidly tapered down with end of the U.S. Civil War; the Army budget in 1892 was less than 50,000 dollars a year. The need for a new rifle had become apparent, especially with a switch to a smokeless powder going on (started by the French in 1886). The bolt action Lee rifle in 1879, which had a newly invented detachable box magazine, was adopted in the 1880s in limited numbers by the Navy. A few hundred 1882 Lee Models (M1882 Remington-Lee) were given a trial by the Army during the 1880s, though it was not formally adopted. The Navy went on to field the 1885 model, and later, a rather different style Lee 1895 Model (a straight pull type). Both the 1895 and 1885 would see service in the Spanish American war along with the Army weapons. The detachable box magazine used on the Lee rifle was invented by James Paris Lee, and would be very influential on later designs. Other advancements like the aforementioned smokeless powder had made it clear that a replacement was needed. This led to the 1890s' competitions that resulted in selection of the Krag over 40 other types (including the Mauser design). The Krag types entered production in 1894 after a delay, but would be officially replaced about ten years later by the M1903. The Krag rifles were slowly replaced during the next decade as 1903 rifles became available.

There are various reasons given about why development started on a Mauser based design; the rifle is often said to have been developed due to observations of actions during the Spanish American War, in which Spanish troops were armed with Mauser Model 93 rifles. As mentioned, these were deemed superior to the U.S. Krag-Jørgensen rifles, either attributed to their magazine design or the ballistics of the round. The Mausers were fed from a stripper clip, which tends to allow for faster reloading. While the U.S had actually fielded some removable magazine fed weapons earlier in 19th century (such as the Spencer, or the various Lee models), the Krag was the existing Army service rifle and its 5 round magazine had to be reloaded one cartridge at time. The other issue was that while the Mauser trialled in the 1890s had a muzzle velocity of about 2000 ft/s (600 m/s) (about the same as the Krag), the latest designs being adopted by other countries had gone to higher velocities and the Krag could not handle the increased loads for higher velocity. The extent of the actual effect of the Mausers on the war is a matter of debate, for example only the Spanish regulars had the Mauser 93, while other troops had older single-shot weapons. Whatever the extent, the Army leveraged the events to garner support for a new rifle.

[edit] Adoption

The basic time line is that work began on creating a rifle that could handle higher loads and adopted some of Mauser's features, began around the turn of the century by Springfield, with a prototype produced in 1900, and going into production in 1903, thus gaining its nomenclature. There was actually an interim rifle that almost entered production, the Model 1901. Springfield was sure enough that the Model 1901 would be accepted that they began making some parts, but it was not accepted and further changes were asked for. The design was further modified and accepted, type classified and entering production in 1903.

The War Department had exhaustively studied and dissected several examples of the Mauser Model 93 rifle captured during the Spanish-American War, and combined features of both the U.S. Krag Rifle Models 1894-1898, and the Mauser Model 93, to produce the new U.S. Springfield Rifle, Model 1903. Still, the 1903's used so many design features from the German Mauser that the U.S. government paid royalties to Mauserwerke.

By January 1905 over 80,000 of these rifles had been produced at the federally-owned Springfield Armory. However, President Theodore Roosevelt objected to the design of the bayonet used (a rod-type) as being too flimsy for combat. All the rifles to that point consequently had to be re-tooled for a knife-type bayonet, called the M1905. A new improved Model 1904 sight was also added.

The retooling was almost complete when it was decided another change would be made. It was to incorporate improvements discovered during experimentation in the interim, most notably the use of pointed ammunition, first adopted by the French in the 1890s and later other countries. The American rounds with this feature to be used in the Springfield were designated "Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of 1906"; this is the famous .30-06 ammunition used in countless small arms to the present day. The rifle's sights were again redone to compensate for the speed and trajectory of the new cartridges. The round itself was based on the .30-03, but rather than a 220-grain (14 g) bullet fired a 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s), it had a 150-grain (9.7 g) pointed bullet fired at 2,800 ft/s (810 m/s); the case neck was a fraction of inch shorter as well.

Additionally, tests revealed that the design was effective with a short, "cavalry-style" barrel of 24 inches (610 mm) in length, so the decision was made to issue shorter rifles to the infantry as well, an innovation during a time when long rifles for infantry were the norm.

As a whole, these changes led to a vastly efficient and deadly shoulder arm. Some dubbed it the "weapon of the silent death," since a person could be struck by its bullet before ever hearing the weapon's report.

[edit] World War I

By the time of U.S. entry into World War I, 843,239 of these rifles had been produced at Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. The demands of the war, however, spurred the production of an additional 265,620, still not nearly enough to train and arm American troops. This prompted production of 2.5 million of the U.S. Model of 1917 (M1917 Enfield), also in .30-06 caliber, but from British (Enfield) P13 and later P14 rifle designs. Most US soldiers were in fact armed with M1917 rifles during the conflict. Towards the end of the war, Springfield turned out the Model 1903 Mark I. The Mark I has a cut on the left hand side of the receiver meant to act as an ejection port for the Pedersen device, a specialized insert that replaced the bolt and allowed the user to fire .30 caliber pistol cartridges semi-automatically from a detachable magazine. The stock was also slightly cut down on the left side to clear the ejection port. In all other respects, the Mark I is identical to the 1903.

World War II

World War II saw new production of the Springfield at private manufacturers Remington Arms and Smith-Corona Typewriter. Remington began production of the M1903 in September of 1941, at serial number 3,000,000, using old tooling from the Rock Island Arsenal which had been in storage since 1919. The very early rifles are almost indistinguishable from 1919-made Rock Island rifles. As the already worn tooling began to wear beyond use Remington began seeking Army approval for a continuously increasing number of changes and simplifications to both speed up manufacture and improve performance. The milled parts on the Remington M1903 were gradually replaced with stamped parts until, at about serial number 3,330,000, the Army and Remington recognized that a new model name was appropriate. Other features of the M1903, such as high-grade walnut stocks with finger grooves, were replaced with less expensive but serviceable substitutes. Most parts made by Remington, stamped or milled, were marked with an "R". The M1903 became the M1903/A3. The most noticeable visual difference in the M1903/A3 was the replacement of the barrel-mounted rear sight with a smaller, simpler "peep" rear sight mounted on the rear of the receiver. All stock furniture was stamped metal. In early 1942 Smith/Corona Typewriter Company also began production of the M1903/A3 at its plant in Rochester, NY. Smith/Corona parts are usually identified by the absence of markings (Smith/Corona bolts are sometimes marked with an "X" on top of the bolt handle root). Original production rifles at Remington and Smith/Corona had a dark gray/black finish similar to the Parkerizing of late WW1. Beginning in late 1943 a lighter gray/green Parkerizing finish was used. This later finish was also used on arsenal repaired weapons. It is somewhat unusual to find a WW1 or early WW2 M1903 with its original dated barrel. Much, if not all, WW2 .30-06 ammunition used a corrosive primer which left corrosive salts in the barrel. If not removed by frequent and proper barrel cleaning these residues could cause pitting and excessive wear. In the jungle fighting on various Pacific islands cleaning was sometimes lax and the excessive moisture compounded the corrosive action of the residue.

The M1903 and the M1903A3 rifle were used in combat alongside the M1 Garand by the U.S. military during the Second World War and saw extensive use and action in the hands of U.S. troops in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. The US Marines were initially armed with M1903 rifles in early battles in the Pacific, such as the Battle of Guadalcanal. The US Army Rangers were also a major user of the M1903 and the M1903A3 during World War II with the Springfield being preferred over the M1 Garand for commando missions. By mid-war, however, US combat troops had been re-equipped with the M1 Garand. However, some front-line infantry units in both the US Army and the US Marine Corps still used the M1903 and the M1903A3 despite large quantities of M1 Garands being made available to front-line troops during the later years of World War 2.

It remained in service for snipers (using the M1903A4) and grenadiers (using a spigot type rifle grenade launcher). The M1903A4's magazine could only be loaded one cartridge at a time, due to the scope position directly over the action, which prevented charging the magazine with 5 round stripper clips.

Following August 1943, the Free French were re-equipped by the United States primarily with Springfield M1903 and M1917 Enfield rifles, making the Springfield M1903 rifle one of the primary rifles of French forces until the end of the war.

Springfield M1903 rifles captured by the Germans were designated Gewehr 249(a).

The 1st Brazilian Infantry Division, operating in the 5th Army in Italy was equipped with Springfield M1903 rifles.

[edit] Korea

The M1903A4 was slowly phased out during the Korean war by the Army, but saw extensive use in the Marine Corps in the form of the M1941 Sniper rifle. This new rifle was simply equipped with a very long and powerful Unertl 7.8x (as compared to the M73B1 2.5X telescopic sights issued with the army's M1903A4) variant type scope. It was used in situations when the range to the target simply exceeded that of the Marines' M1C and M1D sniper rifles, which were effective to about 500 yards. In some rare cases, kills from up to 1,000 yards were reported by Marines using the M1941 sniper rifles.

[edit] Today

Due to its balance, it is still popular with various military drill teams and color guards, most notably the U.S. Army Drill Team. M1903 rifles are also common at high school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) units to teach weapons handling and military drill procedures to the cadets. JROTC units use M1903s for regular and inter-school competition drills, including elaborate exhibition spinning routines similar to a majorette spinning a baton. Exhibition teams often use fiberglass stocks in place of wooden stocks, which are heavier and more prone to breakage when dropped.

For safety reasons, JROTC M1903s are made permanently unable to fire by having a metal rod welded into the barrel and soldering the firing pin hole on the bolt.

In 1977, the Army located a rather large cache of un-issued M1903A3 rifles which were then issued to JROTC units as a replacement for their previously issued M1 Garand and M14 rifles, which were then returned to Army custody due to concerns about potential break-ins at high school JROTC armories. After the creation of the privatized Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) in 1996, the Army has located additional M1903 and M1903A3 rifles which have been made available for sale to eligible CMP customers.

[edit] Specifications

The US rifle, Model of 1903 was 44 7/8 inches (1.098 m) long and weighed 8 lb 11 oz (3.95 kg). A bayonet could be attached; the M1905 bayonet blade was 16 inches (406 mm) long and weighed 1 lb (0.45 kg). After the 1906 re-fit, the rifle fired the .30-caliber model 1906 cartridge (.30-06 cartridge). There were four standard types of cartridge:

Ball— consisted of a brass case or shell, primer, a charge of smokeless powder, and the bullet. The bullet had a sharp point called a spitzer bullet, and was composed of a lead core and a jacket of cupro nickel, and weighed 150 grains (9.7 g). The bullet of this cartridge, when fired from the rifle, had an initial velocity of 2,700 feet per second (820 m/s).
Blank— contained a paper cup instead of a bullet. It is dangerous up to 33 yards (30 m).
Guard— had a smaller charge of powder than the ball cartridge, and five cannelures encircle the body of the shell at about the middle to distinguish it from ball cartridges. It was intended for use on guard or in riot duty, and it gave good results up to 200 yards (180 m). The range of 100 yards (90 m) required a sight elevation of 450 yards (410 m), and the range of 200 yards (180 m) required an elevation of 645 yards (590 m).
Dummy— this was tin-plated and the shell was provided with six longitudinal corrugations and three circular holes. The primer contains no percussion composition. It was intended for drill purposes to accustom the soldier to the operation of loading the rifle.

The rifle was sighted for 2,500 yd (2,300 m) and had a point-blank range of 500 yards (457 m). The maximum range of the ball cartridge, when elevated at an angle of 45°, was 4,890 yd (4.47 km) .

The rifle was a magazine-fed clip-loader and could fire at a rate of 20 shots per minute. Each stripper clip contained 5 cartridges, and standard issue consisted of 12 clips carried in a cloth bandolier. When full the bandolier weighed about 3 lb 14 oz (1.76 kg). Bandoliers were packed 20 in a box, for a total of 1,200 rounds. The full box weighed 100 pounds (45 kg).

The following table gives the approximate maximum penetration in various materials.

**Penetration of a rifle bullet**.
Material	At 200 yards 180 meters	At 600 yards 550 meters
Commercial steel	0.30 in 0.76 cm	0.01 in 0.25 cm
One-inch broken stone, gravel	4.80 in 12.2 cm	4.29 in 10.9 cm
Hard coal between 1-inch boards	9 in 23 cm	7 in 18 cm
Brick masonry, cement	2.20 in 5.6 cm	1.2 in 3.0 cm
Brick masonry, lime	2.4 in 6.1 cm	1.2 in 3.0 cm
Sand, dry	9 in 23 cm	12.2 in 31 cm
Concrete, 1-3-5	3.0 in 7.6 cm	2.0 in 5.1 cm
Oak	27.2 in 69 cm	11.8 in 30 cm
Sand, wet	15.0 in 38 cm	13.0 in 33 cm
Pine	26 in 66 cm	11.8 in 30 cm
Earth, loam	20.1 in 51 cm	16.1 in 41 cm
Grease clay	59.8 in 152 cm	31.9 in 81 cm

150 rounds concentrated at one spot will break a 9 inch (23 cm) wall of brick masonry at 200 yd (180 m).

The bore of the rifle is 0.30 inches (7.62 mm) in diameter. It was then rifled 0.004 in (0.1 mm) deep, making the diameter from the bottom of one groove to the bottom of the opposite groove 0.30787 in (7.82 mm) of the barrel.

The 1903 rifle included a rear sight leaf that could be used to adjust for elevation. When the leaf was flat, the battle sight appeared on top. This sight was set for 546 yd., and was not adjustable. When the leaf was raised it could be adjusted to a maximum extreme range of 2,875 yd. The rear sight could also be adjusted for windage. The 1903A3 rear sight was an aperture sight adjustable both for elevation and windage.

[edit] Variants

There were four main variants given official nomenclature, though there are a number of important sub-variants:

M1903

M1903 with 'scant' stock

M1903A3

M1903A4 with M84 sight

M1903 (1903)— developed for the .30-03 (also known as the .30-45) cartridge. Used original Type S stock.
- M1903 (1905)— changed from a rod type bayonet to the knife type Model 1905 bayonet and to the improved Model 1905 sight.
- M1903 (1906)— modified again to specifically fire the new M1906 .30-06 cartridge ("Ball Cartridge, caliber 30, Model of 1906").
- M1903 Mark I (~1918)— modified for specific use with the Pedersen device.
M1903A1 (1930-1939)— changed to a straight stock with different pistol stock grip (Type C stock).^{[citation needed]}

M1903A1 also manufactured by Remington Arms under contract in anticipation of WWII, with Remington producing an estimated 350,000 of these rifles in 1941

M1903A2 (1930s–40s)— basically a stripped A1 or A3 used as a subcaliber rifle with artillery pieces.
M1903A3 (1942)— modified for easier production with stamped metal parts and somewhat different grip and stock (late model Type S stock; no finger grooves).
M1903A4 (1942)— a M1903A3 modified to be a sniper rifle using a M73 or M73B1 2.2X telescopic sight and different stock.
M1903 Bushmaster carbine (1940s)— the barrel and stock were cut down 18 inches for easier use in Panama; 4,725 such rifles were made. It was a training rifle and saw no action. After WWII most were dumped into the ocean and surviving pieces are rare.

There are two main other types, various training types, and competition versions such as the National Match types. Aside from these there are some other civilian versions, experimental versions, and other miscellaneous types. Due to the duration of its service, there is also a range of smaller differences among ones from different periods and manufacturers. In regard to its military use, it is important to note that during WWI it was actually outnumbered by the M1917 Enfield for much of the war. Also, during WW2 many remained in use early on, especially in the Pacific (generally replaced as M1 Garands became available), in addition to service (along with other weapons) as a sniper rifle and to launch rifle grenades.

Probably the most exotic of the Springfields, in my opinion, are the sniper rifles that were built on the M1903 and later M1903A3 rifles.

In World War 1, the M1903 was equipped with a variety of sights, but the most common was the Warner and Swasey, "Telescopic Musket Sight, M1913." This monstrosity attached to the rifle with a special rail that had to be screwed to the receiver on the left side and the all-up weight of the sight was about a pound and a half. The scope's optics weren't the best and it used an offset internal prism (similar to that used in your binoculars) for sighting -- that is, the line of sight was not straight, but bent through two 90 degree corners. A huge rubber eyepiece was attached to the back of the scope to protect the shooter's eye from recoil. The problem with the early scopes scopes was they did not have vent holes (added later). When the shooter fired, the rifle's recoil compressed the rubber eyepiece and formed a partial vacuum leaving the cup attached to his eye socket!

Above: A WW1 Springfield M1903 rifle with the M1913 W&S sight and a Maxim silencer.

Below: Top view of the M1913 sight, infamous rubber eyepiece, and details. The brass plate on top of the sight are used for sight corrections at different ranges.

An American shooter, Walter McBride and author of the sniper masterpiece "A Rifleman Went to War", joined up with the Canadian Army in 1915 and went to France where he became a sniper and sniper instructor. When America entered the war in 1917, McBride transferred to the U.S. Army to train the new American snipers. McBride was issued a M1903 rifle with the M1913 sight. The sight kept loosening up and shifting zero (another problem with this scope). So, McBride took an old razor blade, dipped it in salt water and used it for a shim beneath the scope mount and rail. They parts rusted together so that the sight could not be removed -- even by his armorer -- but he never had to re-zero the weapon after that. Other American snipers carried M1903 rifles with Winchester A-5 and Lyman commercial target scopes. These were straight tube affairs; the windage and elevation adjustments were external and applied to the scope mount itself (not the scope).

Above: Left side details of the M1913 sight and mounting features. The mounting rail is under the black extension with the dials that support the optics.

Center: Detail of the scope mounting bracket attached to the left side of the receiver. The M1913 sight was continually plagued by loosening up of the optical mount that attached to the bracket and resultant loss of zero.

Below: The same rifle with a cutaway of the issue Maxim silencer for the rifle. The Maxim was also used to a limited extent in World War 2.

After WW1, sniping went out of fashion in the downsized Army and Marine Corps. When WW2 came onto the horizon, certain members of the American Armed Forces realized that there would be a great need for trained snipers. The Marines were the first at establishing a Scout-Sniper School at Camp Elliot near San Diego, CA. Called "The Farm", the Marines pioneered the scout-sniper concept there in 1941 and 1942. At first, the Marines used just about anything with a scope sight. Eventually, they settled on the M1903A1 National Match rifle and married it to the Unertl 8-power target scope. The Unertl was designed by John Unertl, a German sniper in WW1, and was externally adjustable like many target scopes of the day. Unlike the civilian target scopes, the Marines deleted the compensating spring. The spring surrounded the scope and was used to reposition the optics after recoil -- the scope actually moved back and forth in its mounts during recoil. The reason for external adjustment to seal the tube and prevent fogging as temperatures changed.

Above: An illustration of a Marine Scout-Sniper, 9th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He takes aim with is M1903A1 rifle topped with a Unertl 8-power optical sight during the Bouganville campaign in 1943. Note the specialized jungle camouflage uniform. Eventually, the Marines discarded it, but the USMC retained the mottled helmet (reversable) cover into the early 1960's. A bandolier of ammunition is on the ground by the sniper's foot. No specialized sniper ammunition was issued to snipers during World War 2. Snipers used .30 caliber AP (armor-piercing or black tipped) ammunition selected for accuracy.

The Marines called this rifle (variously, the M1941 or M1942 sniper's rifle). [During the Guadalcanal campaign, sniper rifles were in such short supply (and snipers) that some of the WW1 Springfields with the old Winchester A-5 scopes were used. They were quickly replaced by the M1903A1s with the Unertl scopes.]

Below: Details of the M1903A1 and 8-power Unertl optical sight installation on the M1941/M1942 Sniper's Rifle. Note the cutdown handguard and location of the mounting blocks for the sight rings. The knobs on the rear rings are the external windage and elevation knobs. The rib along the top of the scope centers the scope and allows it to move straight during recoil. The gap between the clamp behind the forward ring is where the compensating spring mounts on the civilian target scope. The Marines deleted this feature over concern that dirt and coral dust would prevent movement of the scope -- later proved unfounded. When the rifle was fired, the rifle moved back in recoil and the scope moved forward relative to the rifle. For follow-up shots, the sniper reached up to pull the scope back as he reloaded. Note that the scope prevents use of the rear sight when installed and that it also prevents the use of the Springfield 5-round stripper clip. Rounds have to be loaded one by one into the magazine. The knurled ring on the front of the scope's objective end is to focus the optics at various ranges. Although the rings were designed so that the optical sight could be readily dismounted from the rifle (and a special carrying tube was designed for it), Marine Scout-Snipers rarely removed their scopes from the rifles. Unertl identified and serial numbered its scopes as specific to the Marine Corps beginning at 1000 and ending with 1775. Whether that many M1903A1 rifles were converted to the sniping configuration is not known.

The other sniper rifle was built by the U.S. Army and used by them (and the Marines) as the M1903A4. This rifle was the standard M1903A3. The '03A3 was redesigned by Remington in 1940 for mass production and produced by them and Smith-Corona to supplement rifle production as there weren't enough M1s to be had by the expanding American Armed Forces. The typical '03A3 fitted for sniping was pretty utilitarian: stocks were either a full pistol grip (like the M1942 sniper rifle) or the later semi-pistol grip stock adopted later to save materials and speed production of stocks. The front and rear sights of the '03A3 were removed. A Redfield base and rings replaced the iron sights and the scopes were either the Weaver 330 or its military counterpart, the M73B1. The bolt handle of the '03A3 was reshaped and slightly bent back to clear the mounted scope. Neither the '03A4 or M1942 sniper's rifles could be loaded with the standard 5-round stripper clips because of the optical sights. Rounds were loaded into the magazine one by one.

In 1944, the U.S. Army developed two new sniper rifles built on the M1 Garand rifle called the M1E7 (standardized as the M1C) and the M1E8 (standardized as the M1D). Of the two, only the M1C saw limited action. All of these rifles -- M1942, M1903A4, M1C and M1D -- were used in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.

Above: Successor to the Springfield-series sniper rifles was the M1C and M1D based upon the M1 Garand infantry rifle. The major difference between the M1C and M1D was the mounting of the M81, M82, or M84 scopes. On the M1C, a rail had to be added to the left side of the receiver and the scope mount and rings slid into place and locked by two levers. On the M1D, a scope mounting block was pinned to the barrel and the combined mount and ring attached by a by a screw with a large knob to the barrel block. The M1C retained the standard rear handguard of the M1, but the M1D required a shortend handguard because of the barrel block. Both M1C and M1D were mounted offset to the left on these rifles to allow the use of the M1's 8-shot integral clip loading system.

While reading though the information on the WW2 and Korean War sniper's rifles built on the Springfield, there is a major error. The Marines built their M1941 (or M1942) Sniper's rifles on the M1903A1 National Match rifles. National Match rifles had barrels that were star-guaged for accuracy, were specially bedded to eliminate harmonic vibrations that might throw shots, and had specially "tuned" triggers for service rifle target shooters. The USMC Sniper's Springfields were hand-built by Marine Corps armorers. Each rifle was fitted with a Unertl 8-power (actually 7.8-power) target scope marked USMC SNIPER. These scopes were numbered to their rifles.

The Unertl scope was a target-type scope with windage and elevation adjustments made externally by micrometer-type knobs. The scope was nitrogen-filled to prevent fogging due to moisture and temperature changes. Externally adjustable scopes were considered superior because no adjustment mechanism penetrated into the scope tube. The scope was designed to move; that is, when the rifle moved back in recoil, the scope appeared to move forward. The civilian target scopes of this type had a special compensating spring that would return the scope to the shooting position after each shot was made. The Marines deleted the compensating spring out of concern for jamming caused by sand and coral dust. This fear later proved unfounded, but USMC Sniper's rifles used Unertl scopes without the compensating spring installed (a major recognition point). Another major recognition point for the Marine Corps rifles was the location of the mounting blocks for the rings to hold the scope. The rear mounting block mounted on the receiver ring of the rifle and the front block was silver soldered to the barrel just ahead of the rear sight base. To install the barrel block, the upper handguard of the M1903A1 was relieved to accept the forward scope ring and a hole was cut in the wood for the block itself.

Snipers were issued a carrying case to protect the Unertl scope. However, most Marine Scout-Snipers never removed their scopes from their rifles once they'd zeroed them. The actual numbers of these specially-built rifles is not known, but Unertl is said to have built 4,000 USMC SNIPER scopes and their specialized target rings under contract to the Marines. It is unknown whether all of these were installed on rifles. Scout-Snipers were attached to Marine Corps units at the battalion-level.

As the dedicated M1903A4 Sniper's rifles became available, the USMC also adopted them for its Scout-Snipers. Records indicate that '03A4 rifles were procured with both full- and semi-pistol grip ("scant") stocks. The documents of the time told armorers to conserve the full pistol grip stocks for the Springfield sniping rifles in-use at the time. The '03A4 was actually derived from the M1903A3 "product improved" Springfield developed by Remington Arms. Remington did a complete redesign of the M1903 for mass production. The '03A4 used Redfield Jr. Mounts and rings and a Weaver 330 or G.I. M73B1 scope. The '03A4 sniper had its rear sight and front sight removed; the M1941/42 Sniper's rifles retained theirs. The M1941/42 rifles could only use their rear sights if their scopes were removed. Both sniping rifles could not use the Springfield 5-round stripper clip and each round was loaded individually into the rifle's integral box magazine. Both the Unertl and Weaver 330/M73B1 scopes blocked access to the stripper clip guide on the back of the receiver bridge. The bolt handles of both Sniper's rifles were modified to provide clearance for their respective optical sights.

Contrary to what many people may think, American snipers were not issued special ammunition for their rifles in WW2. Snipers used caliber .30 M2 armor-piercing (AP) or black-tipped ammunition. This ammunition had a 168-grain bullet with a copper jacket and a hardened steel core. Snipers tried to shoot various lots of AP to see which lot was the more accurate whenever possible. They would then try to use only that lot of ammunition for their shooting when committed to action. The most commonly used ammuntion found on the war fronts was M2 AP with the standard M2 Ball rounds used for Stateside training.

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