Century arms VT Springfield 1903 ( 80's) rifle import - which country?

[broomhandle]

Hi Ladies & Gentleman,

A pal just bought a nice Springfield 1903 rifle made in 1917. It's marked as a import on the barrel in small letters Century arms Vt. It has a later 03 stock with no finger groves so it had been through a American rebuild.
A poster on another board thinks they were imported in the 80's ... Anyone have a idea from what country they were bought from ?
The rifle is in nice shape with a 1917 barrel that gauges a 1! It did not see any action or abused at all.
No outstanding added markings have been seen on it.

Thanks for any help,
broom

[Jack Stanley]

If the floor plate has been pinned so it won't open , I'd guess it's spent time in Greece .

Jack

[lefty o]

it could have come from many different places. unless you find some proof marks on it that tell a story.

[broomhandle]

Hi Posters,

Thanks for the reply's!

I did not know about pinning the floor plate, it makes sense since the Greeks had 03 A3's too! It was a small, but ugly civil war with the Greek Communist faction.
Still hoping to get a definite answer from someone with a better memory then me! LOL

Enjoy life,
broom

[Der Gebirgsjager]

So the floor plate isn't pinned. (?) . Any other unusual markings on it? Have you had it out of the stock? You might find some markings under the wood, like the bottom of the barrel in front of the receiver. Without a mark of some sort it will be difficult to identify, as the US sent weapons here and there all over the world. I once was pretty up on surplus imports, have no recollection of pristine Springfield '03s being imported in any great quantity in the '80s, so it may have been a small lot. DCM imported and sold Springfields in various grades from junk to excellent from Greece, and I bought one -- a nice Rock Island M1903 with a finger groove stock, but the floor plate is not pinned.

[junkbug]

I remember a bunch of 1903 Springfields coming in from the Philippines in the 1980's. Some were advertised as Corrigedor recaptures, but in reality, any that were in the Philippines in 1945 were probably rebuilt at least once again after the war. These were sold by import companies, not the DCM. Fed Ordanance sold some, but they may have bought theirs from Century. This was about the time Blu Sky was selling M-1 Garands, some prom the Philippines, and some perhaps from Korea.

[broomhandle]

Thanks for the replys I'll pass them on!

Best wishs to all of you,
broomhandle

[KenT7021]

I bought some in the 80's that apparently came out of China.They were in pretty sad shape but the actions were good.

[thegatman]

Watch the serial numbers on Springfield 1903 under 800,000. Some receivers not heat treated properly.

[MFGordon]

I own a Springfield 03A3 that I purchased from Century Arms in 1986. What I received was a Remington receiver, brand new 6 groove Smith Corona barrel, sitting in unissued replacement stock ( no inspectors marks)-- a rebuilt parts gun. The bolt is stamped with the last two digits of the serial number and all the metal is blued. The bluing makes me think my rifle came out of Greece. Weren't all the CMP Springfields brought in from Greece reblued? I saw one other Century imported Springfield that year ,an 03, which was also blued. My gun is a great shooter. The best thing about it was the price $110.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the `80`s my Brother bought an `03 and an 03-A3 that were assembled from parts and sold by Sarco. The rifles look like they just came from an arsenal.Robert