History: The Model M-1903 was the direct result of the Krags lack of power. It was designed and produced in its original form by the US arsenals at Springfield, Mass. and Rock Island, Ill. It is a close copy to the Mausers that the Krag was used against in the Spanish-American war. Many of the attributes of the Mauser was copied in the new design, The main thing being the bolt lock and action. It retained 5 rounds of the new US 30-03 ammo. It was found after production started that the new ammo was far from being the perfect round and a new ammo design was sought after. In 1906 the new service round was adapted (hence the name .30-06). It was a better designed round with vast improvements in power.

All of the previously produced model 1903's chambered for the 03 cartridge were converted to the newer round. and it is very unlikely that you will ever encounter any unaltered examples other than in a museum. The US Springfield rifle served the longest life of any other modern service rifle. Examples of the Springfield rifle were used till the end of the Korean conflict in its sniper version. The model 1903A3 was a production improvement over the older model to cut down on the materials and time required producing the rifle. Below is a list of the variants of the model 1903 Springfield rifle:

The basic M1903 had a straight stock with a leaf-type rear sight and no finger groves in the forestock. The bolt was originally bent straight down, however, after 1918 it was given a slight bend to the rear. "NS" was stamped on the handle. Springfield and Rock Island made all these original rifles. Springfield receivers with serial numbers below 800,000 were made of Springfield Class 'C' steel. Later receivers were deemed suitable for stepped-up loads and could be used with any factory loaded .30-06 ammunition. Receivers of Rock Island manufacture, serial number 285,506 and lower, were also made with Class "C" steel. Overall length was 43.20 inches, unloaded weight was 8 lbs-11 oz. The barrel was 24 inches and had a 4-groove, left-hand twist barrel. The magazine held 5 rounds.

To simplify manufacture for wartime production, the M-1903A3 utilized several stamped parts: bands, swivels, butt plates, and magazine trigger guard assemblies. A one-piece handguard, simplified front sight and a ramp aperture rear sight mounted on the Receiver Bridge were also employed. Most of these rifles were fitted with straight stocks, however, some are found with a semi-pistol grip stock. Barrels for this model may be two-, four-, or an occasional six-groove barrel.

The U.S. Model 1903 was the standard service rifle of the U.S. military from 1903 till the late 1930's with well over one million produced. The action owes much to the German Mauser Gewehr 98, but also has some unique features including a magazine cutoff to hold 5 shoots in reserve till the enemy charged. With the U.S. heading for war, the Army commissioned Remington to restart manufacture of the Model 1903, with the first rifles turned out in October 1941. Between October 1941 and January 1943 Remington produced about 330,000 Model 1903 rifles. Remington made numerous changes to speed manufacture and by early 1942 the rifle was called the U.S. rifle 1903 Modified. These included changing the barrel bands, sling swivels, buttplate, and triggerguard from machined to stamped. When the rear sight was moved from the area in front of the receiver to the rear receiver bridge the rifle’s designation was changed from Model 1903 Modified to Model 1903A3. The production of the 1903A3 was phased in between December 1942 and January 1943, and about 700,000 were made when production ceased in early 1944. The M-1903A3 adopted May 21, 1942, were made by several manufacturers: Remington Arms, L.C. Smith, and Smith-Corona Typewriter Co. These firms produced a total of 945,846. A total of 1,295,000 Model 1903 and 1903A1 rifles were produced by Springfield, Rock Island and Remington.

Remington 1903A3 production started in 1942 at number 3348086. All Remington 1903A4 production was in 1943. Remington made all 29,964 Model 1903A4 rifles. 1903A4 receivers were all marked MODEL 03-A3, but the markings are offset to be readable when the Redfield Junior scope mount base is installed. Some but not all Remington 1903A4 serial numbers have a "Z" prefix. Model 1903A4 rifles fall in three serial number blocks: 3407088 to 3427087, 4992001 to 4999045, and Z4000000 to Z4002920. Scrapped receivers that were recovered had an "A" hand-stamped before the serial number.