From a general historical
perspective the year 1903 is perhaps best known for
the Wright Brothers' epic flight at Kitty Hawk,
N.C. In the history of U.S. military arms, however,
1903 will always be remembered as the year that one
of the most venerable service rifles was adopted.
Anywone with even a modicum of interest in the
subject is aware of the famous "United States
Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better
known to several generations of American shooters
and servicemen as the "Springfield
'03" or, simply, the '03". No
U.S. military service rifle has had a term of
service to equal that of the '03. Even though
supplemented by large numbers of M1917 "U.S.
Enfield" rifles in the World War I, the M1903
remained a significant part of the arsenal of the
American Expeditionary Force (AEF) until the
Armistice in 1918. "Between the wars,"
the M1917 was relegated to the war reserve
stockpile while the '03 remained the standard
rifle in U.S. military service.
In 1936, the semi-automatic MI
Garand was standardized. Because the MI was in very
short supply until the early 1940s, the '03
remained the predominate American service rifle for
almost 40 years and saw front-line combat service
through the end of World War II. Even though the
standard bolt-action service rifles were largely
replaced after World War II, sniping variants of
the '03 saw combat use in Korean War —
and some even saw issue as late as the Vietnam War.
Clearly, the'03 was no "ordinary"
military rifle.
The genesis of the MI 903 can be
traced to the Spanish-American War of 1898. Regular
U.S. Army units were primarily armed with the
then-new .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen rifle that was the
United States' first bolt-action,
smokeless-powder service rifle. Our Spanish
adversaries were equipped with late-model Mauser
rifles, which had very strong actions and were
capable of being clip-loaded. The U.S. Krag, on the
other hand, had a bolt with a single locking lug
that limited the power of the cartridge, and the
Krag was not easily adaptable to clip-loading. The
war revealed the Krag's deficiencies and the
advantages of the Mauser, which resulted in a
reconsideration of the U.S. service rifle.
The U.S. Army Ordnance Department
evaluated the Mauser rifle and fabricated several
prototypes based heavily on the design. Extensive
testing revealed that the modified Mauser design
was a great improvement over the Krag, and, on June
19, 1903, the "United States Magazine Rifle,
Caliber .30, Model of 1903" was approved for
adoption as the standard U.S. military service
rifle. It had a 24" barrel that allowed it to
be used by both the infantry and the cavalry, thus
eliminating the need for separate rifles and
carbines.

The M1903 was initially chambered for the
"Model 1903" cartridge, typically known
as the ".30-03.".This rimless ,30-cal.
round was more powerful than its predecessor but
caused severe bore erosion. It was also fitted with
a rather flimsy sliding "rod
bayonet."
The M1903 was put into production
at Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. Rock
Island experienced some delays, but the rifles were
soon flowing from Springfield's assembly line.
Nonetheless, problems were encountered with the rod
bayonet and the hot-burning .30-03 cartridge.
President Theodore Roosevelt was a particular
opponent of the rod bayonet concept and called the
device "... about as poor an invention as I
ever saw." In early 1905, '03 production
stopped in order to redesign the rifle to eliminate
the troublesome rod bayonet and adapt it to a knife
bayonet. The "Bayonet, Model 1905" was
adopted in April 1905. The cessation of production
was also utilized to develop improved sights, which
were adopted and given the "Model of
1905" designation.
Although some 74,000 of the
original rod bayonet '03s had been
manufactured, only a relatively few had been
issued. Most of the original "rod
bayonet" rifles were recalled to be
retrofitted for the new M1905 knife bayonet and
sights, and production with the "1905
improvements" resumed.
Problems with the .30-03 resulted
in production again being halted in order to adopt
a new cartridge. The .30-03 had a round-nose bullet
eventually proven to be inferior to the
sharp-pointed German-developed "spitzer"
bullet. In October 1906, a vastly improved
cartridge with a "spitzer" bullet and
reformulated powder to reduce the .30-03's
severe bore erosion was adopted as the
"Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of
1906," now widely known as the
".30-'06." Existing barrels were
rechambered for the new cartridge and all
subsequent M1903s were in .30-'06.
With the modifications of 1905 and
the adoption of the .30-'06, the M1903 was in
the general configuration that would be in
production at varying levels for almost 40 years.
From the time of its adoption until World War I,
the M1903 was manufactured with a craftsmanship
rivaling the best custom-made sporting rifles of
the era. The wood-to-metal fit and overall quality
were superb, and the rifles featured finely blued
metal parts and f lawlessly Grafted wooden
stocks.
By about 1911, all branches of the
U.S. armed forces were primarily armed with
M1903s.The accuracy, fire-power and reliability of
the '03 soon made it very popular with the
majority of its users. The '03 also proved its
mettle as a competitive target rifle as well,
including use in Olympic matches. The first
standard-issue U.S. Army sniper rifle, an M1903
fitted with a prismatic Warner & Swasey Model
of 1908 "Musket Sight" was adopted during
this period. Prior to World War I, the M1908
W&S sight was replaced by the slightly improved
M 1913 variant, which was the primary U.S. sniping
arm of the war. The U.S. Marine Corps did not adopt
the Warner & Swasey scope and, rather, utilized
M1903s fitted with Winchester A-5 scopes.
By WorldWar I, the M1903 was firmly
entrenched as the standard American military
service rifle. Rock Island had previously stopped
production after 1913, and the '03 remained in
limited production at Springfield. Just prior to
America's entrance into the war, manufacture of
the '03 was greatly increased at Springfield
and resumed at Rock Island. It was soon apparent
that their combined production would be
insufficient to arm the rapidly expanding armed
forces. A slightly modified version of the British
Pattern 1914 rifle was adopted as a supplemental
service rifle and given the designation "U.S.
Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917." The M1917
was made in much larger numbers than the '03
during World War I, and, by the time of the
Armistice, the majority of the AEF was armed with
the "American Enfield." Even so, the
'03 saw widespread use during the World War
land provided excellent service to our
"Doughboys."