I got a couple of barreled Springfield 1903 barreled receivers from the CMP a while back. When I ordered them, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting. They were cheap. Something in me thought that everything would work out okay.
When I got them I realized just how little I was getting. When the CMP says, "barreled receiver," they mean just that: a receiver with a barrel attached. The good news was that attaching a barrel to a receiver seems to be a difficult and precise process. I'm very bad at precision when it comes to mechanical things. The bad news is that I thought they'd be sending me a lot more parts than that.
So they sat in my gun case for a long time. I moved. Twice. They came with me. I still have them. They've sort of removed themselves from the collection of worldly items that I possess, abstractly. Now I look at them like they're someone else's relic from another era. Thus, they've converted themselves from large metal chunks to nifty artifacts that inspire boyish curiosity.
I have to build a Springfield 1903.
This will take me some time. I'm in no rush. I have a stunningly small budget, both of time and money. This isn't the fastest, easiest, cheapest or most clever way to build a 1903. The only benefit I have of doing it this way is, when I'm done, I will know everything about how a 1903 works. I will know how every part fits together, what moves there when you push here, how that should sound when you do this, and how to get it to work. Gunsmithing is becoming somewhat of a lost art. I'm bringing it back.
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