Just got this in 1903 Springfield 1920 National Match!!!

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Hey Guys,
Just got this gem via FedEx.

It's a 1903 Springfield 1920 National Match.

Everything about it is gorgeous. I love it, thought I'd share.

Never thought one would be affordable. I see crazy prices on them. But like the old saying never trade luck for skill!

Has a few small problems but nothing major. I think the sight hood is a later replacement. It has an R mark on it so I think it's a later Remington hood.
Still had the cleaning kit in the buttstock.

Naturally, I took the sling off the rifle, heard horror stories about leather on metal over a long period of time.
I can't really claim much credit one "spotting" one. Without some help from some good friends I wouldn't be able to tell if it was real or fake. Thankfully I'm very fortunate to have some good friends help me out.

I'd like to throw out for humor purposes. It was pretty obvious I was excited and had no patience, once I got the FedEx tracking notification just before 8AM and it didn't arrive until almost 8PM I was sitting by my front window all day, like a dog waiting for the mailman. Everytime I thought I heard a diesel engine I ran to look out the window.

 

[tinydata]

Wow, nice find. Where do you keep finding treasures like this?

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

I dunno combination of...

"never trade luck for skill"

Good friends with more knowledge than me

And a lot of old collectors are dying off and their collections are surfacing

 

[Maverick0313]

Sweet.

 

[MRA]

Beautiful. Congrats.

 

[Drmsparks]

very nice

 

[28Shooter]

Very nice - Congratulations!

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Thanks guys I'm very happy with it. I need to replace a few small parts but I have to be really careful with that.

 

[Machodoc]

Excellent buy -- but you often make your own luck.

An old friend once said, "You may not shoot a deer every time that you go out into the woods, but your chances are far better than if you stay at home on the couch."

The same thing goes with collectible guns: you may have to watch a lot of auctions and drop in on a lot of shops without any luck, but you increase your chances of finding something good. I have only made a small number of buys from pawn shops*, but I stop in and look at some of the ones that I haven't totally written off. The few buys that I did make were things that the shop owners mis-identified.

*Pawn shops tend to be expensive, and the owners usually know what they have. In most cases, their C&R guns are pretty far overpriced. There are occasions, however, where I've found something they knew was a "Model X" firearm, and had it priced high for the average Model X, but they didn't realize that they had a rare variant. It's good when you can walk out with a deal, and leave the shop owner thinking they'd hooked a sucker.

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Wanna hear something funny? This came from Legacy Collectibles. Usually they're stuff is Wayyyy over priced. I got this for the price of an expensive 03a3.

 

[j8064]

Very nice! Congrats!

All I can do is drool because an '03 has been a nagging hole in my collection!

 

[somd_mustangs]

Wanna hear something funny? This came from Legacy Collectibles. Usually they're stuff is Wayyyy over priced. I got this for the price of an expensive 03a3.

that's surprising, but then again they aren't rifle experts and will be the first to admit it.
Not all of their stuff is stupid expensive and every once in a while something slips past them too.
The good stuff tends to sell off their website within an hour or two of being posted (ala Empire).
I've gotten some truly excellent deals... plus they're super-nice folks to deal with.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Wanna hear something funny? This came from Legacy Collectibles. Usually they're stuff is Wayyyy over priced. I got this for the price of an expensive 03a3.

That's nice. Ive actually gotten one or two deals of Legacy, they are only overpriced 98% of the time.

The price I got my Walther PPK for was fair.

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

They're dealers and they have overhead. So I'm not trying to chastise them. The sales associate I spoke to was wonderful and I plan to call them tomorrow and than them for wonderful customer service and well/fast shipping.

But you're right only a 03 expert (not me I had to phone a friend) would be able to authenticate something as obscure as this. I had to phone a friend and turned out I got lucky. Nothing more than right place, right time plus knowing right people.

Being dealers cant be experts in everything. And they do an wonderful job marketing and don't usually sell junk so I can't criticize that and they seem honest. Unlike :::grey blanket:: cough cough

 

[AC MkIII]

I love it. Congratulations

 

[llkoolkeg]

Damn, that's a pretty rifle!

 

[PGTMG]

Excellent find! Congrats

 

[mawkie]

Sweet! Star gauged barrel?

 

[fred333]

Sweet! Star gauged barrel?

I was about to ask the same thing.

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

star gauge barrels, D1836 stocks, serialized bolts and all other common NM characreristics did not come until 1921 or 1922.