This is a nice example of an early 1921 dated M1903 National Match produced by Springfield Armory. 1921 was the first year for sales of the M1903NM rifles to the general public by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship. The receiver has the standard Springfield Armory markings on top and the barrel is marked "SA/ordnance bomb/6-21" which would indicate that it was probably manufactured for the 1922 National Matches. The rifle has the standard early NM features such as the arsenal polished and unnumbered bolt, the polished receiver side rails and follower, and the barrel that has the star-gauge number (3441) located on top under the handguard and not on the muzzle crown. A Lyman 48C receiver sight was added at a later date and the complete rear sight assembly has been removed. The bolt is the correct double heated NM version that still retains the original arsenal polish; it is marked "W3L" on the top with a single punch mark on the bottom. The handguard is a post-WWI pattern and the "S" pattern stock has a boxed "W.E.S." cartouche on the left side with a circled "P" proofmark in the pistol grip area. A small subinspector's "R" mark is stamped in the cut-off recess. The stock has the finely checkered service style buttplate used on NM rifles prior to about 1924.

The rifle is in excellent condition overall with 97% of the original parkerized finish on the metal parts. The barrel bands, sides of the front sight base, general edges and high spots show some thinning and light browning in areas. Most of the wear is on the trigger guard and floor plate assembly which also shows two small areas that appear to have been touched up. The bolt retains its original polish, but has dulled and tarnished a little. The stock and handguard both have a nice even dark color with a clear and distinct cartouche and "P" proof. Very minor handling marks on the underside of the forestock. The finger grooves have sharp edges with a small nick in the right side at the edge, approx. 2 inches in front of the rear sight assembly. The lower left side of the buttstock approximately 1inch above the rear sling swivel, and the left side of buttstock comb shows some scratches or scoring as it appears that the original owner may have worn glasses that scratched into wood. The windage knob on the Lyman sight is bent but still functional. A nice example of an early National Match rifle.