03A3 NRA Sporter Build.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I am building a Springfield Rifle, However I am building a little different version known as a NRA Sporter. Not a pure NRA Sporter as I have an 03A3 Barreled action instead of a regular Springfield 1903 but close enough to see where it came from.

Similar to Char-Gar's gun shown above, but not as close as his is.

Prices on Real NRA Sporters are ridiculous! So are some of the parts. I was recently offered a Barrel Band for $250! I just got one for $65. as well as the Butt Plate which I got for $75. These were both very good deals but ordinarily I would have laughed at them as well. $10 for a barrel band and maybe $20 for a butt plate is more my speed. However these are very specialized parts and as such they just cost more.

I have been collecting parts for this build for some time now and I had originally planned a Griffin & Howe Style gun but too many issues were in the way. The stock I got, which is made from pretty nice wood, is just too far away from a proper fit to where it becomes a project in itself to get right. I don't have time for that involved a project which would amount sweating blood over it for a significant period of time.

I decided to go the NRA Sporter route as the gun will be a shooter and I wanted to be able to use it in National Match Type shoots.

I have a 03A3 Barreled action which was sold to me by my High School Metal Shop Teacher who purchased it from the DCM in 1968 for $15. It appears to be unfired. I installed Timmney Trigger, and drilled and tapped the receiver for a Lyman #48 Receiver Sight. I have a Lyman 17 XNB Globe Front Sight for the gun as well.

I found a Milled Springfield Trigger Guard and Bottom Metal for the project and a real NRA Sporter Buttplate as well. Yesterday I acquired the final piece of the puzzle which was the Barrel Band,,, These are like Hen's Teeth and I was pretty lucky to get this one for a reasonable price.

All that is left is the stock and Boyd's is supposed to make that for me.

I have to tell you guys that since this is a Replica and has an 03A3 barreled action it is never going to be a pure NRA Sporter no matter what I do, and other than the general look of the gun and the two most important parts (buttplate and barrel band) I am tempted to have the stock made of some color of Laminated wood, and the pictures swirling around in my mind all look pretty damn good.

I have several guns with Laminated Wood Stocks right now and the idea of creating a "Resto Rod" style of gun kind of appeals to me. I see how good the others look and shoot. Also since this gun is purely a shooter, a Laminated stock would be beneficial in that respect.

My metal all needs to be refinished anyway as the barrel must be ground down to remove the "30 miles of bad road machined finish" it currently has. Flat Black Cerakote is the way to go there.

So the picture is forming,,, Black Metal,,, with a Gray, or Nutmeg, or Forrest Camo,,,or maybe even a Red/Gray/Black Laminate stock. Could be a good looking gun?

If you saw the picture of the new Canadian Ranger Rifle with the Orange Laminate Stock on another thread which I thought was a little overboard, you would kind of get the picture. However there was another picture of several Eskimos with the Minister of Defense holding a Red Gray Black Laminate stocked rifle which looked pretty damn good. It matches the Ranger's signature colors better than the Orange one does.

here's some ideas.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

Do the metal finish last, after it all together and you test shoot it for point of impact with the Lyman 48 rear and your chosen front sight.

I have a Redfield Sourdough Patridge front and a Lyman 48 rear. This combo works fine for full snort jacketed loads, but I removed the rear sight dovetail on the receiver to get me some working room with various velocities of cast bullet loads and weights.

I took off most of the dovetail with a bench grinder, then filed it dead flat, finishing up with 220 and 320 grit emery cloth backed up by the file.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Charles: here is the Front sight I have for this project. It is a Lyman 17 XNB.

I also have a the stock Springfield Front sight which I can change blades on if needed.

I would have thought your fastest loads would have required the rear sight to be set at the lowest position and all the cast boolits would have the rear sight raised from there?

Anyway I will test it before doing the Cera Kote.

Randy

[Frank46]

Try an get a "C" stock for your project. This is the stock with the pistol grip. Good old fashioned walnut. Frank

[W.R.Buchanan]

Frank: the NRA Sporter is similar but not exactly the same as the M2 .22 cal stock. Different butt plate and no finger grooves on the forend.

There is a lot of differences between it and a C stock. Originally thought I could mod one to be a NRA Sporter but there are too many differences.

This is what they look like and this is a NRA Sporter that was on GunBroker.

This one wasn't that nice and was very over priced at $4500! I've seen better ones for $3500 and even that is ridiculous.

If that's true then my M2 which is a stellar example should be worth $5,000. Half that is more realistic,,,, and that's on a good day.

Some people are just fishing for a tuna and hoping one jumps into the boat. You've really got to know what you're looking at when buying guns like this. Very easy to get hosed.

This is why I am building a replica that won't be mistaken for the real thing.

As far as shooting it is concerned nobody would know the difference, but the collectors value is another story and I have to say that going down that road just doesn't appeal to me.

Too much "significance" placed on things that are difficult to know for sure, and then it's worth so much money nobody wants to shoot it. I don't see the fun in having a safe full of guns I can't use.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

For your viewing pleasure, more pics of a gin-u-wine Springfield 1903 NRA Sporter. These were produced in limited numbers between 1924 and 1938. The barrels were Star Gauged and heavier than the military version. The govt, quick making these due to Winchester, Remington and others complaining about being in competition with the govt. for the civilian sporting rifle market.

These rifle are much in demand by collectors and the prices indicate that. This causes some of us rifle crazies to build our own clone.

I made mine as close to the original as I could with a couple of intentional changes;

1. I left the knob on the cocking piece.
2. I used a Springfield "T" barrel band
3. I used a new Smith-Corona military barrel which is lighter than the original
4. The bolt handled on my rifle had already been altered for scope and I left it that way.

[Char-Gar]

Here is my rifle with the changes mentioned above.

[Char-Gar]

For those interested, here is a Springfield 1903 "T" (Target model). The stock is similar or the same as the NRA Sporter, but the barrel is heavier and longer. The barrel band is more sturdy, being a cut and re-welded 1917 band. The eagle stamp can be seen on these bands, a left over from it's 1917 days. This one wears a vintage Winchester target scope as well as the long slide Lyman 48 rear sight.

[Char-Gar]

I will be watching to see what the Boyd's stock pattern looks like. My own "clone" has an '03 Remington barreled action with 2nd variation 125min Lyman 48 in what appears to be an NRA Sporter stock without the crossbolts. While it had a rubber buttplate when I bought it, I found a correct buttplate and found the rubber pad had been installed with screws correct for the original buttplate.

Show us the pics man...show us the pics!

[W.R.Buchanan]

The two major parts peculiar to these guns are the Butt Plate and the Barrel Band. However the Barrel Band is also shared with the M2 rifle. They are the two parts along with the stock that pretty much define the guns looks.

There are many other minor differences as well and thruout production many National Match Parts were mixed and matched but one that seems to come up most is the "Star Gauged Barrel."

People think that Star Gauging makes a barrel somehow better, but the truth is,, According to Brophy's Book on Springfields,,, It is simply the method used to gauge land and groove dia. on barrels, as developed by Springfield Armory. It was developed in 1905 as a Quality Control tool for use on 03 barrels. It is a simple wedge operated expanding mandrel with graduations on the push rod of the wedge. It in no way makes any barrel better or worse, It simply tells you what the bore and groove dia. are at any given place thru the barrel usually recorded at each inch over the length of the barrel.

In order to get measurements down to tenths you had to interpolate the scale on the push rod. IE; if the rod appeared to be half way between graduations then you would call it .xxx +.0005. Graduations on the rod were from .300 -.315 which would cover all .30 caliber barrels. The measurements were taken at each inch of the bore and a card with those readings was included with that barrel or group of barrels.

The idea of having a "Star Gauged" Barrel means absolutely nothing without that card, since nobody will know what the measurements of that barrel actually are . And obviously there was a tolerance +/-.xxx. Supposedly * Marked barrels were the best barrels and were used on target rifles of the time. However this method was used to QC all barrels made at SA.

Standard Machine Shop practice for monitoring a process will involve measuring every few parts so that trends in tool wear can be recorded and tools changed before the parts are outside of the tolerance of the critical measurement. Seldom does anyone measure every single part in a run,,, Although it can happen. In a production run individual parts don't just go spastic unless there is some kind of tool failure. Tools do wear and if the process is running properly their progress from beginning to end will be linier.

By 1915 virtually all barrels produced by SA were Gauging .3000-.3002 on the bore and .3082-.3084 on the grooves. This is as close to perfect as anyone can get,,, even now. This is why the Springfield Rifle was considered by many Battlefield Guru's to be "Target Rifles." This is also why personally I discount the "Star Gauged Barrel" as something that sounds real super duper, but in reality is not that special, mainly because ALL of the barrels were that good. YMMV

From 1932 on National Match and NRA Sporters sold thru the DCM had a test target and the gauge card with the gun. Having these two pieces of documentation would certainly increase the value of the gun dramatically. There were 5538 of these guns made between 1923 and 1938 and at the time they were in fact the best readily available bolt action sporting rifles made, since neither Winchester nor Remington made a bolt action sporter. In 1925 they were priced at $49.50! at the end the were $42.50 Oh to have a time machine!

Now some exceptional individuals go for $4950.00!

The Star Gauged Barrels used on these guns also had a small 6 pointed star stamped into the crown of the barrel at 6 o'clock. That's how you tell if the barrel came with the gun or not.

Since I have got exactly "None" of this, and my barreled action is a Remington 03A3 with a 2 groove barrel I will relegate this build to simply building a shooter that looks like an NRA Sporter. The outward appearance of the gun is primarily defined by the stock, the buttplate, barrel band and the Lyman receiver sight. I've got all that.

The fact that it is a 03A3 with a 2 groove barrel is something that most onlookers will never be aware of. They will also not be aware of the Timmney Trigger which took exactly 15 seconds to install, and breaks perfectly at 3 lbs. with no creep whatsoever.

More to come.

On another note: Char Gar's rifle is a damn nice looking gun! I am striving to produce something of similar status.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

My NRA Sporter clone was built on a Smith-Corona 03A3 action and a new 4 groove barrel of the same make I had around my shop. Before calling it done, I tested the rifle with both good jacketed ammo and cast bullet ammo. I am getting accuracy for both of 1.25 MOA. I am talking several ten shot groups with both types ammo. I doubt if a gen-u-wine star gauge barrel would do any better, at least not with me shooting it anyway.

[Frank46]

Haven't seen a sporter barrel band since the last show I went to in Houston,Texas. Not knowing what they went for at the time I was kind of shocked when the dealer told me it would cost $50 to come home with me. Beautiful rifles. I have a 1903A3 that I rescued a bunch of years back that bubba had worked his magic on. Had the smith replace the bbl with a NOS 03A3 bbl I had drill and tap for a steel lyman 57 and install a redfield banded front sight. Recently I saw a article where the smith who did the work finally retired. He used to work at Abercrombie & Fitch/Griffen&Howe gun department in NYC and had opened his own shop. He also did a model 70 style bolt handle for my win 54 action in 30wcf. Time flies and hope his retirement is a good one. Frank

[Char-Gar]

Frank46...I would have gladly paid $50.00 for that barrel band even though I don't need one. I know a few folks who are hunting for one. I have been known to buy things when I find them, just to pass them on.

Krag bands are now running $50.00 or more.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes $50 would have been a gift. I got mine for $65 which was also a gift. ON Ebay they are running $130, and the SOG guy who comes to the Ventura Gunshow wanted $250 for his. I told him I could buy one off Ebay for $130 and he told me it was probably a knock off as they are supposedly being made in China now. I doubt China would waste it's time on something this trivial. IF they sold 100 of them I'd be surprised. Not that many people even know about this gun let alone all the nuances. You pretty much have to study Brophy's book to get most of it, and then you have to talk to guys like Herschel Garner or Lynn Thompson to really get dialed in.

Most people wouldn't be willing to do this.

My buttlplate came from Herschel, and has the proper SA 5050-1 stamps on the back side, and my barrel band has the "U" stamped on it. which is not a complete stamp,,, like it was done by hand and anyone who has used metal stamps knows that not every hit produces a perfect character. Mine isn't.

XS those are very cool guns. I especially like your Pacific Receiver Sight which is probably more rare than the rifle itself.

All this stuff is good and keep the pics coming. Maybe we can gin up enough interest in these guns so Boyd's will make a actual run of the Stocks and include them on the website.

Contacted Boyd's this morning, waiting for a call back.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

Excess,,,you are a man after my own heart. I love your rifles.

Pacific made a number of good sights before the War. I have had several. Here is one on my Krag. It is similar to your, but it is on a staff that replaces the magazine cutoff. I have several Krag rifles (4) but this one is my favorite. I got it from an old retired Dentist in 1959 for $15.00. This is the sight that came on the rifle.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The local Hardware Store had a Springfield recently that had a heavy "T" Barrel on it. it also had a Lyman 57 and a M70 stock. They wanted $400 and wouldn't budge. The gun also had an A3 Bolt and the barrel had been welded on so I passed.

A lot of the pure SA guns I have seen lately have A3 bolts in them and I don't know why. I have another one I bought thinking It would be my NRA Sporter, only to find that the dink had ground the last 3 inches of the muzzle down to install a Lyman Band Type Front Sight. It has a Lyman 57 on it as well and is actually a nice looking gun. It will be on sale soon.

Randy

[Frank46]

Beautiful rifles all of you. Thanks for sharing the pics. Frank

[Eddie2002]

I'm not sure if this would qualify as a 03A3 NRA sporter. Got it from my father's collection back in '91 after he passed on. It's a very low serial numbered Sedgley 30-06 with the orignial Lyman peep sight. I also have a Weaver 2 3/4 scope that came with the rifle.
It's a nice shooter and in real good condition.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I'm not sure if this would qualify as a 03A3 NRA sporter. Got it from my father's collection back in '91 after he passed on. It's a very low serial numbered Sedgley 30-06 with the orignial Lyman peep sight. I also have a Weaver 2 3/4 scope that came with the rifle.
It's a nice shooter and in real good condition.

Not a NRA Sporter per se' but very cool none the less. And a valuable gun for sure.

Guns from Sedgley, Hoffman, Griffin & Howe, and others of the time, all represent the Roots of the American Bolt Action Sporting Rifle.

Most all of these were repurposed Military Guns and the overall concept here in America originated with Townsend Whelen.

The British and Germans had been making Bolt Action Sporting Rifles for a while before Whelen came along but Whelen originated the idea of using Springfields as the basis for a Sporting Rifle.

All pics of these types of guns are welcomed and encouraged here.

Randy

[lrdg]

Not exactly the same but a I built an all Milsurp O3 a few yeas ago.

Remington 03A3 receiver with two groove barrel
Bolt was bent for scope
O3 Trigger Guard and Buttplate
M14 Flash hider (permanently attached)
Krag Barrel Band

It tends to be real loud and hard on night vision after dark.
Not too sure what its good for other than a pickup truck gun. I did enjoy gathering the parts and putting to use action and barrel someone had bubued in an earlier life.



Sorry, I thought I had a better picture.