Editing M1903 Springfield (section)

===Adoption===
Following then-current trends in service rifles, the barrel was shortened to 24 inches after it was discovered that a longer barrel offered no appreciable [[Terminal ballistics|ballistic]] advantage, and the shorter barrel was lighter and easier to handle. This "short rifle" also eliminated the need of a shorter carbine for mounted troops or [[cavalry]].<ref name=y03s/> A spike-type [[bayonet]] with storage in the forend of the stock was added to the design. This new design was accepted, type classified and officially adopted as the ''United States Rifle, Caliber .30, Model 1903'' and entered production in 1903. The M1903 became commonly known among its users as the "aught-three" in reference to the year, 1903, of first production.

Despite Springfield Armory's use of a two-piece firing pin and other slight design alterations, the M1903 was, in fact, a [[Mauser]] design, and after that company brought suit, the U.S. government was judged to pay $250,000 in royalties to Mauser Werke.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sheehan|first1=John|title=Battlefield tack driver: the model 1903 Springfield in WWI|journal=Guns Magazine|date=1 October 2006|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Battlefield+tack+driver%3a+the+model+1903+Springfield+in+WWI.-a0150451303|access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref>

By January 1905, over 80,000 of these rifles had been produced at the federally-owned Springfield Armory. However, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] objected to the design of the sliding rod-type bayonet used as being too flimsy for combat. In a letter to the [[secretary of war]], he said:

<blockquote>I must say that I think that ramrod bayonet is about as poor an invention as I ever saw. As you observed, it broke short off as soon as hit with even moderate violence. It would have no moral effect and mighty little physical effect.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kontis|first1=George|title=Are We Forever Stuck with the Bayonet?|journal=Small Arms Defense Journal|date=24 August 2011|url=http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=531|access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref></blockquote>

All the rifles to that point consequently had to be re-tooled for a blade-type bayonet, called the "[[M1905 bayonet|M1905]]". The sights were also an area of concern, so the new improved Model 1904 sight was also added.<ref name=y03s>{{cite journal |last1=Canfield |first1=Bruce N. |year=2003 |title=100 Years Of The '03 Springfield |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |volume=151 |issue=March |pages=42–45&78 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Canfield |first1=Bruce N. |year=2006 |title=From Poor Invention To America's Best |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |volume=154 |issue=September |pages=59–61, 91–92&94 }}</ref>

The retooling was almost complete when it was decided another change would be made. It was to incorporate improvements discovered during experimentation in the interim, most notably the use of pointed ammunition, first adopted by the French in the 1890s and later other countries. The round itself was based on the .30-03, but rather than a 220-grain (14&nbsp;g) round-tip bullet fired at {{convert|2300|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}, it had a 150-grain (9.7&nbsp;g) pointed bullet fired at {{convert|2800|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}; the case neck was a fraction of an inch shorter as well. The new American cartridge was designated ''Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of 1906''. The M1906 cartridge is better known as the [[.30-06 Springfield]] round, used in many rifles and machine guns, and is still a popular civilian cartridge. The rifle's sights were again re-tooled to compensate for the speed and trajectory of the new cartridge.

By the time of the 1916 [[Pancho Villa Expedition]], the M1903 was the standard issue service rifle of US forces. Some rifles were fitted with both the [[Warner & Swasey]] Model 1913 and 1908 "musket sights" during the campaign, "musket sights" being the vernacular at the time for telescopic sights. The Warner & Swasey Model 1913 musket sight continued in use after the Pancho Villa Expedition and during World War I, but was eventually deemed inadequate and had been removed from the US Army's inventory by the 1920s.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Canfield |first=Bruce |date=October 2016 |title= 1916: Guns On The Border |magazine=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association of America}}</ref>

The military tested several M1903 rifles with [[Hiram Maxim|Maxim]] [[Silencer (firearm)|suppressors]] starting in 1909, and requisitioned 500 in 1910 to be used for recruit training.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crozier |first1=William |title=Report of Chief of Ordinance |journal=War Department, Annual Reports |date=1910 |page=611 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2980505&view=1up&seq=611 |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref> Anecdotal evidence indicates that some of the M1903 rifles during the Pancho Villa Expedition were fitted with Maxim suppressors, possibly making them the first suppressed rifles used in the field by the US military; however, during World War I American M1903s were not fitted with suppressors due to opposition from officers and the suppressor precluding the use of a bayonet.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moss |first1=Matthew |last2=Tuff |first2=Vic |title=Springfield M1903 with a Maxim Silencer |url=https://armourersbench.com/2018/11/11/springfield-m1903-with-a-maxim-silencer/ |website=The Armourer's Bench |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>