Hot Damn! You are ahead of me and read my mind exactly. Thanks for the links! I saw a few for sale online too. The 1903 model Springfield! Used from WWI through Korea. But mainly replaced by the M1 during WWII. That's what I read. I want one now. Gotta have it. I think Gary Cooper had it in the old Sgt. York movie.
A picture is worth a thousand words and I saw the gun for sale online and dumb **** that I am figured out that the firing pin/spring mechanism screws into the bolt. As easy as pie. I have two complete bolt/firing pin assemblies now.
In fact all the Barrels are all for the Springfield. Why I thought some were Remington I don't know. RA might mean Rock Arsenal. RI: Rock Island. I don't know, were all the Springfield's made there?
Also read that the little insignia on the Barrel is called the "Flaming Bomb Cartouche" from Rock Island. Mystery solved! All I can say is that Mr. Sullivan was a genius. He bought these barrels for 95 cents each in 1964. He flew thousands of hours in WWII, and never came back without holes in his plane. And he knew his guns.
I only wish he was still alive to tell about it. I'll read up more on this and thanks to everybody.
I believe the flaming bomb in this context is a U.S. ordinance stamp, and does not indicate a particular manufacturer.
RI does indicate Rock Island. RA generally indicates Remington Arms on a barrel. RA could mean Raritan Arsenal for refurbs on a stock. Need a pic of the RA
SA is Springfield Armory.
These rifles are commonly called Springfields. Springfield was a manufacturer. They are U.S Rifle Model 1903.
1903A3 at a guess from the looks of the bolt parts. Probably 1903A1 for the SA 12-18 barrell.
A 1903A3 in good shape is an excellent range rifle. Ammunition is abundant both in surplus stocks, and in new factory made ammo. This caliber isn't going to vanish from the U.S. sporting market for a good many years.
Thanks for the info. I'll have to read up on all this. Among all the clutter we found a box that said:Remington bolts. That was why my first assumption was Remington for the initials RA on the barrels.
This was what was left behind from a larger collection. I suspect it had a Springfield or two, and will have to try and find out.
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