mornin,
i just aquired a 1906 rock island 03.its been beautifully sporterized with a custom stock and a nice williams peep sight.the barrel is an original 2 groove and is worn,it will still shoot but ive got a 721 in 30-06.im wanting to rebarrel it to a 6.5x55 of 7x57,any info or thoughts

well man if it were me i would slap a new barrel on the 1903 it sounds like a real keeper but the 721 is a cool gun to either way you still have a couple nice guns

As long a RI Springfield is SN 285,507 or higher it might make a good start to a 35 Whelen or a 7x57. That is not exactly a lightweight action so I am guessing you will end up with a fairly heavy rifle when you are finished. Heavy rifles help calm the recoil of cartridges such as the Whelen.

If someone else has spent the cash to sporterize the action and it has a good sporter stock the major outlay will be a new barrel that matches the same general quality as the rest of the rifle.

I have gone down this road before with Mauser actions. I ended up with heavy and expensive rifles. It is easy to spend way over budget on this type of build!

yup i gave it back,im not brave enuff to shoot it

Smart move if it was a low number receiver.

I love the oddball old school calibers more than the next guy but I would feel like I betrayed my country chambering it in 6.5x55 or the 7x57. alittle too euro for the red white and blue springfield. seems like you want a light recoiling med to long range caliber. I would do the 25-06. it would take advantage of the fullsized receiver on the 1903. if you like the euro stuff try the 257 roberts Ackley improved 40 degree shoulder. (257 Roberts is based on the 7x57 case).