welcome to today photo of the Day! Here we have the rifle that started Remington’s entire bolt-action hunting empire, and it started life as war surplus. This is the Remington Model 30 Express, and its roots go straight back to World War I. When the US could not produce enough 1903 Springfields, it instead adopted the British Enfield design, which was chambered in .30-06 as the M1917. Three out of every four doughboys had that big, strong “American Enfield”, not the Springfield.
After the war, sporterizing surplus 1917 Enfields became a craze, so Remington decided to do it himself. He took the remaining M1917 tooling and parts, removed the protective sight “ears” and bayonet lug, dropped the barrel action into a walnut sporter stock, and sold it as the Model 30 starting in 1921. It was Remington’s first high-powered bolt-action sporting rifle, and was the great-grandfather of the Model 721, 722, and ultimately today’s Model 700.
This is the Model 30 Express in .30-06 with a short carbine-length barrel, and it has details worth knowing about. It is stamped with the seal of the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop B. A state police agency releases a sporterized WWI Enfield as a patrol rifle, the kind of footnote that makes a plain hunting gun more interesting.
Most of our POTDs use images of our friends Rock Island Auction CompanyMajor firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse them current auction – Who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Rare Pennsylvania State Police ‘SPF’ Marked Remington Model 30 Express Bolt Action Carbine.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5032/560/scarce-spf-marked-remington-model-30-express-carbine. Accessed 3 July 2026.
