My local gun shop has a Remington mfg '03A3 Springfield custom with the name Brophy on the bbl. It has a Williams receiver sight, bolt shroud safety, very nice wood and just "feels right" The left side of the reciever has an area machined, more like scalloped. My custom Springfield does not exibit this modification. This is a pretty piece and I will negoitiate with the shop owner in the morning. Does the name "Brophy" have any significance? Thanks for any info, Cobalt

If it actually belonged to Brophy, it might turn out to be a valuable collector's item in a few years.

Col. Brophy died some years ago. He served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, pioneering the current sniping doctrine. After retiring, he began a long career at Marlin. Using old records that Marlin threw away, Col. Brophy assembled and published some excellent books and articles, and then went further to publish books of like excellence on the Springfield and Krag army rifles.

When I visited him in early '77, he spent hours showing me his extensive collection of Model 1903 Springfields and a number of the earlier Krags. There were a few classic sporters based on the Springfield. I do not recall being shown one like you describe, but given his many skills and traditional tastes, I have little doubt the rifle you have seen either was made for him, or assembled by him.

Either way, unless it has been abused since the remainder of his estate was liquidated in a massive sale, the rifle very likely is a tackdriver with the right loads, and very likely has a number of other esoteric points of quality, not all of which will be visible. If you choose to research and hurry, it may be you can trace the ownership of the rifle and get a letter of authenticity from the person who purchased it from the estate, and possibly from the estate's administrator. At that point, you've added a bit to the rifle's value, given the exceptional career and fame he enjoyed and the publications which still are available.

Paladin,

I'm surprised at you. You didn't mention that (then CPT Brophy) pioneered the .50 BMG sniper rifle based on a rebarreled soviet PTRD anti-tank rifle! He was quite a man, soldier, and proponent of firearms.

I never met him, but wish I had.

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Surely we must all hang together, for separately we will all surely hang.

No, it didn't seem necessary relative to the authenticity of the Springfield in question. The sniping adventure which I (and many others) thought groundbreaking was his simply putting a 'scope on a .50 BMG and getting mile-distant hits by popping off single rounds. I think that was in Korea....

Brophy was a severe man, but could warm up somewhat if he wanted to, and he often did.His attention to detail was an inspiration.....

Cobalt __

Lt. Col. William S. Brophy II was my Honcho and mentor on the rifle team for the two years I served at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 1955-1957. He was (as noted) a firm discipilarian, but ultimately fair. Although there is always that [necessary] invisible wall between enlisted personnel and commissioned officers, I considered him to be my friend. My good fortune.

His son, Lt. Col. William S. Brophy III, is a neighbor, fellow shooter, and friend of Dans40X, who can be reached at www.dan_d_linda_m@hotmail.com. Perhaps he can help you in your quest.

Good shooting.

Robert

From what I've researched, while CPT Brophy did work with the M-2, scoped for sniping, it was not a new idea. The Army conducted tests on the concept of scoped M-2's in the 1930's. It was shelved because the ammunition was not accurate enough for man sized targets past 1,500 yards. Besides that, a weapon weighing over 100 pounds makes a difficult sniper weapon. Hard to pack, ya think? The scopes first used in korea were actually the periscope long range sights made during the 1930's.

It was because of these limitations that Brophy decieded to try the re-barreled PTRD, which worked extremly well. It had the same problem though as did the M-2. Ammunition not up to the required standards for point targets past 1,500 yards. If you can find it, there is an excellent article in the 41st edition, 1987 Gun Digest which covers this information.

I envy your, and Robert's, having been able to work with and meet this exceptional and capable individual.

Regards, Eric

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Surely we must all hang together, for separately we will all surely hang.