Can any one give me the history of this gun. ? And any other information.
Google Springfield M1903 and get 1,280,000 hits
LOL yeah!
I’m not sure about this thread either, but most questions looking for basic info can be answered on Wiki. In any case, off the top of my head, the Springfield came into being as a result of dissatisfaction with a foreign rifle purchased by the US Army after the Civil War. From what I gather, it was popular with the troops and every bit as effective as any other battlefield, bolt-action rifle and was used on a limited stop-gap basis in WWII as an infantry weapon, and as a very good sniper arm…
It’s accuracy was tops. Ask SGT York.
Thanks. A friend posted that, but that helps.
Contrary to how he was portrayed in the film, Sergeant York went into battle armed with a M1917 Enfield, not a M1903 Springfield
Ha! I didn’t realize that…
In fact, I was interested in the other rifles the US ground forces used in WWI and was aware some used the .30-06 Enfield. I guess some were still armed with the previous Krag rifle which I didn’t realize until researching the Philippines-American War…
The vast majority used the M1917 Enfield, a fact which is conveniently whitewashed by probably the majority of US films about the war by giving the actors Springfields. Can’t Have Our Doughboys being seen with British-designed rifles now, can we?
I would also be very, very surprised if any front-line troops serving in the European theatre still had the Krag, although Charlie Chaplin had one in his film about the trenches 
Didn’t Sergeant York claim that he was using a Springfield 1903 despite the fact that he was issued an M1917 Enfield? I wonder if he picked up a Springfield or was just misquoted?
I guess the prop Dep’ts were pretty careless in what they handed out in movies, I remember the 3 stooges playing pilgrims, hunting with Trapdoor Springfield rifles.I owned a Krag once years ago, and it was a good enough rifle, but the side loading mechanism looked like a good source of trouble in the muck&mire.
Probably true, but the Enfield M1917 also closely resembles the Springfield at a cursory glance and most probably just assumed that they were Springfields…
See the pic below featuring (from top to bottom) a Krag, a Springfield, an M1917, then another Springfield…
I would also be very, very surprised if any front-line troops serving in the European theatre still had the Krag, although Charlie Chaplin had one in his film about the trenches
They were used only by rear echelon soldiers, and probably in limited numbers…
Once they were removed from service, Krag rifles were available through the Office of Civilian Marksmanship for $2.50 .The good old days,(if you had $2.50)
the springfield 1903 30’06 bolt action rifle was fielded by the U.s. from 1903 to the 1960’s. after ww1 it was used primarily as a sniper rifle.
So what did all the non snipers carry after World War I until the adoption of the Garand?
Pink Feather Boa’s probably…
The Enfield was phased out as Springfield production caught up in 1919. By the time production was halted the US Army had a surplus. Limited production continued until the 1940s. The mobilization plans the US Army had on the shelf projected a requirement to arm between 800,00 and 2,000,000 men if the US ever went to war again. In the early 1920s the US Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard had a combined strength of a bit over 500,000 men. So, approximatly that many Springfields were maintained in use until the military cutbacks of the Cooledge administration. How many were preserved in storage I dont recall.
Also about 10% of the infantry were armed with the Browning automatic rifle (BAR).
Carl,
Thank you for demonstrating a perfect WAH bite…
At the risk of demonstrating one myself, what is a WAH bite?
I read the link & still dont get it.
I don’t believe any Krags crossed the ocean.
Many were still in use with national guard types.
They are the smoothest military issued bolt actions ever made.
Swedes a close second.
The loading gate mechanism was a bad idea for a combat weapon and they did not endure.