RichardP, not exactly. You'd have to go back to November 1936 and see that there were actually 649 changes made to the manufacture of the Springfield. The changes were to bring the manufactured parts to be so close in tolerance that any part would fit any rifle. There were a lot of the parts tested and some used that were stamped. It wasn't until April 1942 though, that the requirement for stamped parts like the floor plate and follower, was actually approved even though there was already some in use.
As the war effort grew, they were making 3000 Springfields a day. This was not near enough to keep up with demand. The standardization of parts meant they could take any 03 and rebuild it using non wearing parts like the floor plate, the follower, etc. As the rifles came in for rebuild, the non-wearable parts went into bins where they were inspected and put back on the line for reassembly on newly rebuilt rifles. That's a major reason why there are so few original 03s as most had at least one rebuild and some as many as 8 rebuilds. It's not uncommon to see milled parts on later 03's or stamped on early 03s and the rifle be in acceptance by the inspector. Same goes with the wood. As the stocks came in, they were separated from the metal parts, roughly refinished, stamped with the rebuilders initials and sent on to where newly rebuilt rifle was screwed into it. There was no consideration given to it being a pistol grip or scant stock, just put a complete, rebuilt rifle together and get it back in the field.
