The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Curios and Relics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old May 7, 2012, 08:04 PM   #1
tahunua001
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 21, 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 7,839
remington 1903A3, great find...I hope

hello all. I spent my day sifting through huge amounts of gun parts at a friends house and left with a mostly intact Remington 1903A3 for $150. the bolt, barrel and receiver are all Remington with the trigger guard being the only questionable part. it has the S style stock without grasping grooves so I'm fairly certain the stock was never part of the rifle but upper and lower halves match at least so it comes together nicely. the serial dates to 1942 and the barrel is marked 8-44. it is still missing the floorplate and follower as well as front stock ring and rear sights. does anyone know where I could find these parts(all preferably remington stamped) right now the guns is pretty bad with a great deal of rust on the trigger guard and grime all around so I plan on taking pics after she's all cleaned up.

also just out of curiosity I was wondering what it might be worth when I'm done?
__________________
ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin
tahunua001 is offline  
Old May 7, 2012, 09:59 PM   #2
10-96
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 19, 2005
Location: Tx Panhandle Territory
Posts: 4,159
Last week, I put in an order to Numrich Gunparts for several 03A3 parts- Aside from the receiver- they have pretty much everything in stock.
__________________
Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day)

I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.
10-96 is offline  
Old May 7, 2012, 11:36 PM   #3
tahunua001
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 21, 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 7,839
ok a little update. after comparing the remington 1903A3 to my springfield 1903 I now notice a lot that's missing from this rifle. I ordered just about everything but the bayonet lug and rear sight from numrich. also I have determined that the bolt is an A4 style bent bolt to accommodate a scope my main concern with this is that it does not fully rotate like it's supposed to, will this cause problems or will it be fine? shaving off a little bit of the stock would alleviate the problem but I would rather not mess with it if it isn't a big deal.
__________________
ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin
tahunua001 is offline  
Old May 8, 2012, 08:59 AM   #4
madcratebuilder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Northern Orygun
Posts: 4,923


S stock without grasping grooves is correct for the 03A3 Rem. Post the serial number and pic's of the stock cartouches.

Get the correct bolt and do not cut on the wood! The correct bolt well be marked with a R, I may have a one or two I well sell cheap, plus all the internal parts.

The floor plate is stamped. The Rem FP is smooth all the way to the front screw, the Smith Corona FP was a semi-circle stamp mark just before the FP screw.

ETA: I want to correct a mis-statement on the Rem floor plate, it has a straight stamp mark at the front screw and the SC is a semi-circle.

This is a Smith Corona floor plate.

Last edited by madcratebuilder; May 9, 2012 at 07:57 AM.
madcratebuilder is offline  
Old May 8, 2012, 10:45 AM   #5
tahunua001
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 21, 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 7,839
my camera does not want to focus on the super fine details but I will describe it as best I can.
the bolt is a Remington turn down bolt and since the reciever is drilled with the rear sight removed I am almost wondering if this rifle was actually an A4. the magazine well/trigger guard does not have the semi circle so I guess that means that this is a remington part as well.

upon removal of the butt plate there is a P a T and a K in random spots(I don't know what those mean). just forward of the floor plate there are 3 cartouches. the one on the left is a triangle but it's right on the wood grain so I can't tell if there's anything inside it. just to the right of that one is a circle with a 7 inside and right below that is a diamond with a 1 inside.

here's some pics of the bolt, receiver and missing bayonet lug.





__________________
ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

Last edited by tahunua001; May 8, 2012 at 10:54 AM.
tahunua001 is offline  
Old May 8, 2012, 01:31 PM   #6
James K
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
An 03A3 can't be missing the floorplate, since the 03A3 trigger guard and floorplate is all one piece. If the trigger guard is there and the floorplate isn't, the trigger guard is not original to the rifle. Whether that makes any difference in this case, I don't know.

Jim
James K is offline  
Old May 8, 2012, 11:43 PM   #7
warningshot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 7, 2009
Posts: 995
Oh... what the heck!

What is the matter with shaving a few inches of wood from an orginal '03 Stock? Then it will be more perfect, right?
warningshot is offline  
Old May 9, 2012, 08:03 AM   #8
madcratebuilder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Northern Orygun
Posts: 4,923
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Jim.
An 03A3 can't be missing the floorplate, since the 03A3 trigger guard and floorplate is all one piece. If the trigger guard is there and the floorplate isn't, the trigger guard is not original to the rifle. Whether that makes any difference in this case, I don't know.

Jim
+10

It would be cool if it was one of the converted guards that takes BAR mags.


tahunua001, you can find 03A3 rear sights on evil bay pretty cheap, I think a complete sight runs 30-40+ bucks or so. From your photos it appears you only need to change out the bolt body, the cocking piece and bolt sleeve may be Rem.
madcratebuilder is offline  
Old May 9, 2012, 04:16 PM   #9
Chris_B
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2007
Posts: 3,101
Easy way to tell if it is an original 03A4

Post a clear photo of the rollstamps by the forward hole in the receiver. The s/n on an A4 would be offset so it can be viewed with the scope base on; we'll be able to tell from the photo. S/n doesn;t start with a 'Z' by any chance, does it?

If it is, how'd you like to quintuple your money? Also, the 03A4s were parkerized with the front sight off. Is the area ofthe front sight parked?

Re: the bolt not rotating, you mean when work the bolt and try to lock the bolt forward and rotate the handle down, it contacts the stock, yes?

03A4 stocks were relieved to prevent that
Chris_B is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07491 seconds with 10 queries