"US WINCHESTER-SPRINGFIELD ARMORY TYPE 2 "SNIPER" RIFLE. SN 1269474. Cal. 30-06. Extraordinarily rare rifle, fully documented as having been built at Winchester on a Springfield Model 1903 action. It has a 26" tapered heavy rnd bbl with Springfield style sleeve front sight with partridge blade and mounted on top with scope blocks containing a Winchester A5 scope. The Winchester "WP" proof is offset to left side to accommodate scope block. Receiver has the usual "1903" markings and is mounted with a Lyman 48S receiver sight with target knobs. Mounted in a 1-pc American walnut stock with semi-schnable tip forearm & checkered pistol grip with smooth horn grip cap and a shadow line cheekpiece with Winchester solid red rubber pad. It has a military style sling loop & base in buttstock with a screw in the position of the front sling loop. Forestock is secured with the screw into a band around the bbl which can be replaced with a sling loop. The Springfield bolt body and handle are polished bright. Bottom of bolt handle has the number "47" which is probably an assembler's mistake as the last two digits of the serial number are "74". The history of these rare rifles is shown on pp. 249-252 of The Springfield 1903 Rifles, Brophy. Mr. Brophy states that only two of these rifles were known by him to exist. It is well recorded & documented that one of these rifles was used in 1922 by Capt. Guy Emerson to win the Wimbledon Cup and a 1,000 yard record was shot by an American team, with apparently two of these rifles being used. Bottom of bbl, under the wood, has the "VP" in an oval proof and is stamped "MNS" which stands for Midvale Nickel Steel, and the date "22" (1922) which is the date the bbl was manufactured. There are two other numbers present which do not correspond with any other known numbers. They are "178478" with a small "6" stamped over the second "7" in that number. The other number is "43920". The receiver is mounted with a Jaeger adjustable trigger. This rifle is accompanied by a large volume of paperwork & correspondence dated "1925" and "1926" wherein the Winchester Repeating Arms Company has written a letter to someone quoting prices to build just such a rifle. A government form that also accompanies is a shipping ticket from Springfield Armory to Winchester dated Feb. 4, 1926 for a complete receiver & bolt assembly. A Winchester invoice dated 15 March 1926 is for a new "sniper's" bbl with scope blocks, front sight & band, Lyman receiver sight with short slide, a hand made checkered pistol grip stock with Winchester recoil pad. It has the hand written instruction for the bolt to be left bright. Total cost from Winchester less discount was $130.56. Complete receiver assembly from Springfield Armory was $17.75. Unfortunately in years past, the names were removed from those documents. Additionally accompanying this rifle are copies of the only time Winchester ever advertised this rifle, which apparently appeared in the publication Arms and the Man in September 1922. There are copies of other Winchester ads showing Capt. Emerson with his rifle and another ad with the entire team at Camp Perry with Capt. Emerson holding his rifle. There is an orig photograph of this same shooting team with Capt. Emerson holding his Winchester rifle and a gentleman named W.H. Richard holding a Springfield match rifle with Winchester A5 scope. Also accompanying is a copy of a newspaper article from an unknown publications with a picture of Capt. Emerson sitting on what appears to be a Hercules Powder Box holding his Winchester rifle with a full writeup about Capt. Emerson's shooting in the match and winning the Wimbledon Trophy. While this rifle could not have participated in any of the above mentioned matches as it had not yet been built, it certainly is one of a very small number ever built, possibly only three. There is no question of its authenticity. CONDITION: Extremely fine. Metal retains virtually all of its fine Winchester finish with the bbl nicely polished and blued by Winchester. Receiver retains a satin finish, also applied at Winchester. The stock is sound with a very few tiny handling & storage marks and retains virtually all of its orig Winchester finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant siny bore. Scope is very fine, retaining 96-97% strong orig blue with some freckles of rust on bottom rear. Optics are fine. 4-31994 JR257 (10,000-15,000)"
Reloading kit for pinfire cartridges (5mm,7mm, 9mm & 12mm)
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