Springfield 1903 MKI .30-06 Sprg caliber rifle (R20590)

Springfield 1903 MKI .30-06 Sprg caliber rifle. Springfield 1903 with Pedersen device. Extremely rare. The device turned the regular 1903 bolt action rifle into a semiautomatic rifle by removing the bolt and slipping the device into its place. The rifle barrel is dated 1919 and is correctly modified. The metal has 90%+ of its original finish. The stock has a coat of varnish. Along with the gun and the Pedersen device is the original bolt, the bolt pouch and two Pedersen magazine pouches and of course the magazine. These are extremely rare items. They were designed to have a less powerful semi-auto round that could be fired quickly and deliver massive fire power by way of their 40-round magazine. Their planned use was for the surge of 1919 that never took place since the war ended. Only a few of these survived as most of these were scrapped in 1931. Very neat rare system way ahead of its time.