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View Full Version : Semi- or custom stock for 1903 Springfield Sporter?



khc3
11-11-13, 13:59
I have a Springfield sporter with damaged buttstock that is not worth repairing. All the custom stockmakers I find on the net are the Best Stockmakers in the World, or at least charge that way or have that much work.

Any production stocks out there that don't look like ass, or stockmakers who can make a nice looking stock before I die?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/kenc3/2013-11-11142916_zps06c12d35.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/kenc3/media/2013-11-11142916_zps06c12d35.jpg.html)

okie john
11-14-13, 12:04
Your rifle makes me curious about who built it. Whoever it was A) really knew what they were doing and B) had damn good taste. The bolt handle and safety are gracefully executed, which is unusual in rifles from that era, plus the stock has a Niedner grip cap (or a very good copy of one). The stock is equally graceful--the checkering, the fluted comb, and the shape of the wrist show a very strong Al Biesen influence. I can't see enough of the forend tip to comment on it, but it could also offer a clue as to who built it.

And that's where I'm going with this...depending on who built it, that rifle could be worth some serious coin. Do you know who built it? Can you show us pictures of the rest of the damage? Actually, can you show pictures of the forend tip, grip cap, and the bolt handle/safety from a couple of different angles?

If you just want it as a shooter, what you're going to do with it should dictate how much money you spend. Your choices are wood or synthetic. I'd go with good wood before I'd go with cheap synthetic. If you want a safe queen, then buy a gorgeous walnut blank and go with one of the expensive stock makers. Your rifle will become more valuable with time and you might be able to put a kid through college with it.

You could also consider a laminated stock. These can be heavy, but they're as stable as good synthetic and durable as hell. They can also be ugly, but I kinda like that in a working rifle.

Synthetic is pretty much top of the line for working rifles, and is required if you're looking to lighten your '03 much at all. I've had great luck with Borden Precision, but I'm not sure if you can still get them. McMillan makes great stocks, and should have one to fit an '03 Springfield. If you go with synthetic, have it bedded and free-floated by a riflemaker worthy of the name. (Springfields have enough quirks that they should be bedded by someone who knows the score.) A good stock and the bedding work ran about $600 that last time I had it done. An '03 in a cheap drop-in stock (no matter what the stock is made of) will almost never shoot as well as one that's been set up properly. Cheap synthetic stocks also tend to be heavy, and an '03 is already heavy enough in my book.

It looks like you've got an interesting rifle on your hands. Keep us posted as to how it goes.


Okie John