POTD: The Remington Model 30 – Where the Model 700 Was Born

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have the rifle that started Remington’s whole bolt-action hunting empire, and it began life as war surplus. This is the Remington Model 30 Express, and its roots run straight back to World War I. When America couldn’t build enough 1903 Springfields, it adopted the British Enfield design instead, rechambered to .30-06, as the M1917. Three of every four doughboys carried that big, strong “American Enfield,” not the Springfield.

After the war, sporterizing surplus 1917 Enfields became a craze, so Remington decided to do it themselves. They took the leftover M1917 tooling and parts, shaved off the protective sight “ears” and the bayonet lug, dropped the barreled 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 the great-grandfather of the Model 721, 722, and eventually today’s Model 700.

This one is a Model 30 Express in .30-06 with a short carbine-length barrel, and it carries a detail worth knowing. It’s stamped to the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop B. A state police agency issuing a sporterized WWI Enfield as a patrol rifle is the kind of footnote that makes a plain hunting gun a lot more interesting.

Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!

“Scarce Pennsylvania State Police ‘S.P.F.’ 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.

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