Remington 1903 project

elmbow · May 25, 2016, 07:14 PM

About 6 months ago I bought a Remington 1903 sporter. Originally it was built by Golden State Armory, in the 60's I assume. I paid a fellow $200 for the rifle, it was pretty bare bones. I grew up on sporters, Krags, Enfields, 1903s etc. and they hold a special place for me, and I do not collect military arms and since this one was already "butchered" pretty badly I decided to make it the kind of rifle I enjoy. My local gunsmithing machine shop, MGM in Hurricane Utah cut a dovetail in the front sight ramp and polished and blued the receiver/barrel after I had hand filed the rear sight boss and the Golden State blather off of the barrel. MGM's end mill just danced around on the rear receiver ring, and they were unwilling to try other methods so I was left with the task of D&T'ing the receiver for a sight. Folks here gave me some good ideas on how to proceed. I ended up spot annealing two 1/4" areas with my oxy-acetylene torch, and then used a Brownells solid carbide drill bit to punch the hole. It went really smooth and I used a standard hand tap to cut the threads. Also no problem, just took my time and used lots of fluid.
I installed a Skinner front sight blade and a period correct Redfield receiver sight on it. I rasped off about a lb of wood from the original club, shaped it a bit and installed a red Pachmayr Decelerator. Pillar and glass bedded the action/barrel and after finish sanding I applied two soaker coats of linseed oil and then five hand rubbed coats of Tru-Oil. I think it turned out pretty good and best of all, the damn thing shoots lights out. Whodathunk? A $10 Golden State Armory barrel.

littlephil · May 26, 2016, 02:29 AM

I'll be the first to tell you, it looks pretty darn good to me! I wish my projects would turn out that nice!

I'm also a sucker for a nice sporter, and that's a real nice one. Congrats!

F. Guffey · May 26, 2016, 09:18 AM

Elmbow, I purchased the same rifle for $150.00; that price included two boxes of R-P 30/06 ammo that was purchased with the rifle from Sears. All I needed was the receiver; I have a 03A4 take off barrel that has been chambered to 308 Norma Magnum. I took the rifle with ammo to the firing range in an effort to determine accuracy; if accuracy was not there the rifle would have become a donor.

There was nothing I could do to improve on accuracy except add a scope; I could have done that by installing 03A4 mounts, but instead I applied the leaver policy, I lefter the way I founder.

Then there is the Santa Fe blather, the man that was selling the rifle at the gun show was made to feel like a second class citizen because the dealers would not talk to him. For me? Not a problem, I ask the dealer of the last refusal if I could make my own deal for the rifle.

Then there is that part about life not being fair, Santa Fe did one fine job on my 03 Remington. I was thinking of giving it to my son and two grandsons but given a choice they would pick the rifle with a scope.

F. Guffey

guncrank · May 26, 2016, 12:53 PM

Nice job on the rework

May 26, 2016, 12:53 PM	#4
guncrank Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2006 Location: Fern Creek ,KY and Metro Louisville at large Posts: 430	Nice job on the rework __________________ Republic Arms and Armaments 07 1-502-231-1118 Machine Shop and Finishing Services to the trade and public

May 26, 2016, 02:29 AM	#2
littlephil Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2014 Location: Coshocton, Ohio Posts: 231	I'll be the first to tell you, it looks pretty darn good to me! I wish my projects would turn out that nice! I'm also a sucker for a nice sporter, and that's a real nice one. Congrats!

May 26, 2016, 09:18 AM	#3
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Elmbow, I purchased the same rifle for $150.00; that price included two boxes of R-P 30/06 ammo that was purchased with the rifle from Sears. All I needed was the receiver; I have a 03A4 take off barrel that has been chambered to 308 Norma Magnum. I took the rifle with ammo to the firing range in an effort to determine accuracy; if accuracy was not there the rifle would have become a donor. There was nothing I could do to improve on accuracy except add a scope; I could have done that by installing 03A4 mounts, but instead I applied the leaver policy, I lefter the way I founder. Then there is the Santa Fe blather, the man that was selling the rifle at the gun show was made to feel like a second class citizen because the dealers would not talk to him. For me? Not a problem, I ask the dealer of the last refusal if I could make my own deal for the rifle. Then there is that part about life not being fair, Santa Fe did one fine job on my 03 Remington. I was thinking of giving it to my son and two grandsons but given a choice they would pick the rifle with a scope. F. Guffey