According to the included documentation (a mixture of photocopies and original correspondence), this rifle was a Secretary of the Navy trophy won by Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Nichols of the U.S. Navy Reserve at the 1990 Atlantic Fleet Rifle and Pistol Championships; some records indicate him as having been the 2nd place reservist in the Individual Pistol category, though other paperwork (including correspondence with Naval Weapons Support Center Crane) note him as the Grand Aggregate Winner. Due to complications related to the planning and execution of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, LCDR Nichols did not receive the rifle until 1991. Originally manufactured in May of 1943, this rifle was upgraded at NWSC Crane in 1970, where it was overhauled completely, fitted with a "3 66 MD61" Springfield 7.62mm NATO chambered barrel, and fully inspected. A white plastic spacer block is installed in the front of the magazine well, with a set of "BME" and "NI-C" windage and elevation drums and a glass-bedded receiver. The stock has an uncircled "P" stamped on the wrist, and a checkered steel buttplate with a cleaning rod, screwdriver/carbon scraper and oiler in the trap. Provenance: Bruce Canfield collection.