Guns International #: 102841534
Click Photo to Enlarge |
Guns International #: 102841534
Category - Custom Rifles
- Springfield Rifles - 1903
Pre-War Custom 1903 Springfield Rifle (Harvey Rodgers?) Excellent Condition
Description: More pictures of Rodgers' guns that are very seldom seen have been included. There is some additional information in the description since I listed the gun. See below. I am trying to be as accurate and as thorough with the description as I can for the benefit of any interested parties. I just found the article I was looking for and it contains pictures of two more Harvey Rodgers' rifles.. One is a target rifle built for Arthur Hart, and the second one is a gun he built while working as a stockmaker at the end of his life in Alberquerque, NM. You have to scroll down quite a ways to see the guns. The Hart gun is first, then almost at the end you will see several pictures of the second gun. NOTE: Both guns have the 3-Point Pattern checkering at the front of the pistol gri, just as my gun here does.. And again, I rest my case here that Rodgers (when working as an independent Stockmaker) did some things just a little bit more differently that when he was working at Hoffman or Hart Arms: rimfirecentral/threads/1939-pershing-match-results-discovery.576574/ For sale is a wonderful Custom Pre-War Sporter. I am 99% convincrd that it was built by Harvey Rodgers. All of the facts confirm this, and I will provide much information below. I was only allowed to submit so many photos, so I will give you additional information so that you can discern the validity of the gun's provenance. Note: Picture #9 will give you a good full length shot of the gun, and you can also enlarge it. One of the individuals watching the gun emailed me and asked about the bedding. I told him that I'm fairly certain that it was not done by Rodgers (or, I should say, "The Stockmaker"). Rather, I think it was done at a later date by another owner of the gun. Another watcher asked if I had the front hood for the gun. I do not. But, I did check on ebay this morning, and there is a fellow selling a bunch of NOS hoods for Redfield Banded Ramp front sights. He is charging $17 for them, which, I think, is very reasonable. The Lyman 48 is an earlier one with the fold-down front peep feature, but is missing the rear aperature. These aperatures (which come in different sizes) cost $15 each. Again, not a bad price at all. The would-be purchaser would want to determine what kind of hunting or shooting he might do, and get an aperature best-suited for that particular shooting. This is a very high numbered 1903 with a Springfield barrel as well. The serial number is 1535790. This would indicate a manufacture date of 1939 or after by the Springfield Armory. On the front of the barrel on the right sight there is just a part of the marking of the Springfield Armory date because the rest is hidden by the front ramp sight, but not enough to tell exactly what it was. I took the gun outside where the lighting is much better, and used a magnifying glass to look at it. The partial last digit appears to be a "4". You can see a small horozontal mark at the right, and it appears to have another partial horozontal line extending up from that slightly left of the horozontal mark. I read this morning that the 1903 Springfield was produced from 1905-1949. Inasmuch as the number is as high as it is, I would assume that the gun was put together in the 1940's. I still strongly feel that it is the work of Harvey Rodgers. I have not encountered any other stockmaker who ran the botttom line of the cheekpiece into the checkering as he did. If I am correct about the last digit on the barrel, it could possibly be a 1934 or 1944 barrel. There is a chance that Springfield Armory had barrels in inventory that hadn't been used up yet (as other manufacturers like Winchester did with their extra parts), which might account for a 1934 barrel, or, it could well have been that because of the extremely high number of the gun, that a barrel made in 1944 was fitted to the receiver. I think either possibility is plausible. With the given numbers and information, the entire gun certainly could have been produced by Rodgers in his lifetime. Even if it were put together as late as 1944, it also was entirely conceivable that Harvey Rodgers got the gun (or, the barreled action itself) and built a sporting rifle out of it. He didn't pass away until 1950. The gun has the typical Lyman 48 rear sight with matching numbers on both the base and the slide: "S" and "X69." It is the correct "125" slide for a gun of this period. The bore has a little bit of frostng, but the rifling looks pretty good. I will try some Tetra Gun Cleaner on it and see if it cleans this up any. The bolt knob is kind of pear-shaped, as you will notice. I have owned Harvey Rodgers guns. Here is one that I ended up selling, because the LOP was too short. It was barely over 13." However, I did have the typed letter from the man who had the gun built by Harvey Rodgers, for his football coach at Slippery Rock, Pa. back in 1931. This was in a period where Rodgers was an "Independent Stockmaker", not working for another firm at the time. The gentleman had the gun built for his coach by Harvey Rodgers, and presented it to him. When the coach passed away, the family decided to "gift" the gun back to the former player, and he then eventually sold the gun. I bought it from a collector in Georgia. I had Barry Browning sell it for me. This gun, incidentally, was a very plain gun, which (probably) a young man at the time in the early 1930's could most afford. I can't copy and paste it, but if you go to Guns America listing by Barry Browning, and type in Harvey Rodgers 1903 Springfield, you will be able to see the gun. Harvey Rodgers worked for the following people. This is a "Chronology" of his work: 1923-1928 Hoffman Arms 1929-1931, as an independent stockmaker in Slippery Rock, Pa. 1931-1938, as a stockmaker for Hart Arms, in Cleveland, Ohio. 1934-1937, he studied art and drawing in Cleveland, Ohio. 1938-1947, he was back in Slippery Rock, Pa. as an independent stockmaker. 1947-1950, he was in Albuquerque, NM. as a stockmaker for H. Cook Sporting Goods. After his studies with art and drawing from 1934-1937, I believe that this gave him a better understanding of the lines, form, and function of art. Therefore, his checkering on this gun is a bit more elegant than guns of his earlier stocking. Note: If you go to past Amoskeog's, you will find in an earlier one, that they sold a Harvey Rodgers Hart Arms gun. They noted that under the butt plate, that the wood had been cut out, just like this gun, for (perhaps) a trap door style butt, but, it was not utilized. It would be exactly like this gun, in which a plainer style (period correct) and authentic, Neidner butt was put on the gun. The serial number of the gun (# 1535790) indicates that the gun was made (probably) in late 1939 or early 1940, and I would think that Harvey Rodgers (working as an independent stocker) built the gun in 1940 or 1941. The National Park Service has listed that the highest 1903 number was 1532878. However, in the gun forums very knowledgeable 1903 collectors have documented that numbers higher than that do exist. You might want to look into some of these forums. It makes for very interesting reading and is a wonderful history lesson on the 1903 as well. From what I have read and seen on the various gun forums was that a vast majority of the high numbered Springfields such as this one were shipped to the Marine Corps. They actually preferred to use the bolt rifle over the Garand (which was introduced in 1936) as Sniper Rifles. Additionally, so many arms were needed with the onset of WWll that soldiers needed to be given any gun that was available. Also, among these very high-numbered guns, the serial numbers are somewhat sporadic as well. When Rodgers was not working for Hoffman or Hart Arms, he did not have access to the rust bluing facilities that he did when he worked for those firms. As a result, all of the guns he made as an "Independent Stockmaker" were of the "Bright Blue" finish. My previous gun that was built in 1931 by Rodgers had the identical type bluing as this gun does. The wood to metal fit of the gun is exceptional. The checkering is superb. Note what Petrov and Mandarino have noted: the lines of the stock, checkering, and aesthetic dimensions of Rodger's work are perfect. If you just do a search for "Harvey Rodger's Rifle" some guns will come up that were previously sold. Unfortunately, I cannot copy and paste them into this description. But, do some checking and you can see other examples of his work. Also, some of the Gun Forums will have some pictures available as well. Harvey Rodgers was absolutely one of the best stockmakers that ever lived. As a Research Professor at a Major University (Retired) I have taught and studied the Arts, Humanities, and Communications for years. I know and understand these intracacies of the Arts very well. Inasmuch as he was working my himself as an independent stockmaker and gun builder, his guns come up very infrequently and are seldom seen. The front sight is a Redfield banded ramp. The hoods for this sight are currently available by a seller who has a good supply of these NOS hoods. The safety is a Butler. I will say the LOP is 13 1/2" -- or a little less a little less at dead center, but the Neidner plate is curved, and the top and bottom edges are almost 13 3/4." The rifle weighs 8 pounds and 1 ounce. The stock is a very nice peice of American Walnut, with beautiful color and nice grain. A horn tip is at the end of the forearm. Due to the uncertainly of a bona fide exact barrel date, I have adjusted the price accordingly. If you have any questions, call or email for more information. Thank you. Price: $1,899.00 Rifle Caliber: .30-06 Springfield Manufacturer: Springfield Model: 1903 Serial Number: 1535790 Barrel Length: 24 Contact Seller |
Guns International #: 102841534
Guns International #: 102841534