The CMP Drill Rifle Initiative
May 6, 2025
Civilian Marksmanship Program▸The First Shot▸The CMP Drill Rifle InitiativeThe Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is excited to announce that we have successfully embarked on an initiative to reclaim original M1 and Model 1903-A3 drill rifle receivers that were previously decommissioned and rendered inoperable and make them available to US citizens as firearms that are fully functioning, safe-to-use, collect and admire.
Why the CMP Did This
This effort is driven by firearm enthusiast demand, and by our mission, as mandated by Public Law, to return America’s historic guns to its civilian population. Our goal is to promote marksmanship and through these firearms foster a connection with our proud national history. The CMP accepts the responsibility of preserving and promoting America’s military heritage. By reclaiming and refurbishing rifle receivers, we aim to keep authentic U.S. receivers in circulation rather than consigning them to scrap. This initiative not only supports collectors but also sustains rifle availability for competitors and recreational shooters.
How the CMP Performed It
The CMP, in conjunction with leading industry experts, completed a comprehensive engineering program to determine whether weld-repaired drill-rifle receivers for the M1 Garand and Model 1903-A3 can return to live-fire use while meeting—and potentially exceeding—the same safety and durability standards as original receivers. Heritage Arms performed the weld removal, machining, and assembly of the test rifles, while Prospector Training LLC executed the proof-firing and destructive metallography and supplied quality-engineering support. Additionally, each rifle produced will undergo testing (further described below) before they will be deemed available for sale.
I have ordered a field grade M1 Garand and I am looking foreward to the day the Fedex truck backs into my driveway and delivers a large box containing a CMP hard case containing a reclaimed receiver rifle. It will become a welcome addition to my CMP rifle collection and will be fired with full confidence in the CMP selling me another fine shooter.
Thank you!
We had 03A3s in mid 1960s high school Army ROTC that were fully live but were always locked up with no bolts, except for field problems . Otherwise everything drill and ceremonial was with M-1’s.
In college ROTC there were M1903’s deactivated with a small bleb of silver solder at the joint underside between the barrel and receiver. The chambers were welded up and the bolt face aperture for the firing pin was welded up. Subsequently I have seen also the last mods which involved heavily welding up the cutoff so the bolt could not be removed. I suspect most of the guns CMP will be restoring will have had that cutoff welding done plus the chamber and bolt face. This work will be far removed from the locking lug recesses, but will require a lot of careful machining to fix. Parker Hale obtained a quantity of deactivated 03A3s that were rehabbed and sold at retail plus a number those rifles were used in the movie series THE PACIFIC and later sold as collectible souvenirs. It was a shame that the period correct M1903s were not used but I guess it was too much trouble to round enough of them up.