I bought a .30-06 03A3 Sporter in the Spring of 2006 for $300. The guy I bought it from put it together in the late '60's.
The one I bought came with a 22" barrel, a Bishop Stock and Redfield Micrometer Peep Sights. When I was checking the rifle out before I bought it, I noticed that it probably wasn't the original barrel that was cut down. I asked the Gentleman about the barrel and he told me that at the time he was building it, the Philadelphia Naval Yard was liquidating their Military Match Barrels, and that is what he put on.
At the time I was debating with myself as to whether I should try and get the price down a little. After trying to think of what other .30-06 I could get, in that kind of shape, I decided that $300 was a fair enough price.
Where else am I going to find a rifle in decent shape, with a military match barrel, a Bishop Stock and Micrometer peeps for $300 ?
btw, it shoots great !
ONE WORD OF CAUTION ! Not all 03A3's were made at the Springfield Armory. Some early Production 03A3 Receivers were not Heat Treated properly and have been known to explode when fired. I suggest you search the Web for information for the Serial Numbers and Armory's that had the problem receivers due to improper heat treating.
There are alot of good 03A3's out there, but I know you don't want one of the questionable ones.
I did a quick search of the net and found this Paper written by Joseph L. Lyon, M.D., M.P.H. - Which states :
The U.S. Model 1903 rifle, commonly called the Springfield, was used by the U.S. Military between 1903 and 1945. When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 there was a marked increase in the use of this rifle for training. Between July and December 1917 eleven rifle receivers shattered, causing one severe and 10 minor injuries to the soldiers using the rifle. Despite the intense demand for rifles caused by our entry into the war, production at both Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal was halted in early 1918, and an investigation launched to determine the cause of the problem.
It was determined that the workers responsible for heat treating the receivers had used an "eyeball" method that relied on the color of the heated metal to determine if the steel had been heated to the correct temperature. Unfortunately, according to General Hatcher, the officer in charge of the investigation, "... it was quickly found that the ‘right heat’ as judged by the skillful eye of the old timers was up to 300 degrees hotter on a bright sunny day than it was on a dark cloudy one" (See Hatcher, Julian Hatcher’s Notebook , Third Edition, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1966, page 215). Heating to the higher temperatures led to crystallization of trace elements within the steel, making it too hard, and rather than deforming under high pressure, the receiver shattered, often permitting the bolt to exit the receiver, causing injury to the shooter. Between 1917 and 1929 three soldiers lost an eye to receiver failure, and six more had unspecified injuries consider serious. An additional 34 soldiers received minor injuries from receiver failures. There were no deaths reported from the failure of a Springfield receiver.
The heat treating method was immediately changed to a double heat treatment, and pyrometers were used to determine the temperature of the heated receivers. The change in heat treating was instituted between serial number 750,00 and 800,000 at Springfield and by serial number 285,506 at Rock Island Arsenal. Rifles manufactured after these serial numbers are referred to as "high numbered" receivers and are commonly stated to be safe to shoot. You can read the full article here:
http://m1903.com/03rcvrfail/
