In another thread here someone mentions the 30-03.

Do any of you have any 30-03 rounds or brass cases? Do any 30-03 rifles still exist?

yeah they do but they are few as most rifles were rechambered to the the .30-06' it was a cartridge that was obsolete in 3 years and was a stepping stone for the .30-06'.
longer neck mostly and generaly loaded with a 220 grain bullet.

I have a substantial shell collection and have never seen one in my life.....they must be rare as hen's teeth.

Vapo

I have 1 to part with what do you have as trade?
If you are serious

PM sent

quote:

Originally posted by LE270:
In another thread here someone mentions the 30-03.

Do any of you have any 30-03 rounds or brass cases? Do any 30-03 rifles still exist?

Thanks for posting this. I can now say that it appears as though there's a few rounds out there as I just traded a .25-20 single shot cartridge for one.

I am of the opinion that all of the rifles was gov't owned and all was rechambered.

Someone will correct me I'm sure if I'm wrong.

I have seen a total of 2 30-03 rifles outside of the US Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving grounds and the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY. By some wierd coincidence they were both on the same day at a small gun show in El Paso, TX and for sale by seperate dealers. One was in a Winchester 1895 and the other a 1903 issue rifle. The 1903 was selling for $2500 and the 1895 for $900 and they were both in pretty beat up shape.

Vapodog,
I think I have one also if you are interested, drop me a PM.
BJB

just for interests sake - on the outdoor channel this weekend they had a thing on teddy roosevelt & his springfield in the museum. It is a 3003 not an 06

It's true that all of the 03 Springfields chambered for the 03 cartridge were supposed to be returned to the Armory to be set back and rechambered for the new 06 cartridge. However, as in all things military, a few escaped the process and are now very collectable. But there were also several firearms manufacturers who made rifles for the 03 cartridge as well and they are easier to find and not quite as collectable or expensive. 03 ammo is really not very rare. GI stuff in good condition will generally sell for around $5 at cartridge shows while commercial made sells for somewhat less. The military used up a lot of the 03 ammo by converting it to blanks, dummies, guard cartridges, etc. I think one of the reasons a lot of people think the ammo is rare is because they mistake it for 06.

Ray

I know of at least one.

TR's Springfield

Quite a few 1895 Winchesters for the 03 are around, most were never rechambere for the 06 because you can shoot the 06 in an 03 chamber but not vice versa.

When I was going to the Colorado School of Trades, circa 1964, we had a sight-in day at Camp George West in Golden. One old boy showed up with an 1895 Winchester and three boxes of original .30-03's. He was using them to sight in with and I absolutely cringed. I told him he was pulling the trigger on collector items and why didn't he just use .30-06's. He just grinned at me and handed me one of the cartridges and said, "Keep it for your collection". He didn't stop shooting them and they were all commercial cartridges in 20 rd. boxes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v415/mattnorman/30-03.jpg[/IMG]]

From left to right these cases are headstampted FA 2 03, FA 10 05, FA 6 05, FA 6 05, and FA 6 06

My grandfather was in the Army from 1903 to 1906. He brought these home and I still have them. (I apologize for the fuzzy photo and I'm not trying to hi-jack the thread). The two "blanks" appear to be steel cases. The four to the right are all the same sized cases, the photo just makes the far right appear bigger.

I don't have a 30/40 Krag on hand to compare, but does it differ much in dimensions from the 30-03?

I bought an old prewar model 70 and the seller included a very old 2 piece box of 30 gov't 06 ammo. But the shells inside are not 30.06. The shells are rimmed, like the one on the far left in the above picture, they are stamped WRA CO, 30 ARMY. The shells have a very long neck. Are these 30.03 or 30-40 Krag?

Prewar70,

I do believe the rounds you have are 30-40 Krag.

I think the rimmed one on the left is a Krag and the rest are the elusive 30-03.

Hard to say.


Okie John