Need ID Help-Rifle

[stocker1042]

I bought this in a lot of stuff today from a guy in his 80's. He claimed it was a .308 Winchester. I didn't even bother to look at it since the price was bargain basement. I cleaned out all his brass too, which was a ton of .308 brass. Not a single 30.06 piece in his stash. Now..looking at the piece it is stamped 30.06. It is also stamped OD1903A3 Cal 30.06, NAT ORD SO-EL Monte Cal.

Any help? Is it possible it was rechambered to .308?

[RustyReel]

Looks like an 03A3 Springfield or variant thereof to me. I'm sure someone will come along with info about the National Ordinance products. Will a 30/06 round chamber??

[Frank46]

Also, looks to have an adaptor plate for the redfield type target sights. And a fairly heavy barrel that isn't an issue one. Looks like someone wanted a semi type target rifle. Frank

[rnhathaway]

I'll give ya $20 for it! haha

[Dutchman]

National Ordnance is an investment cast replica of the 1903A3. It is not USGI. The bolt looks USGI.

Good thread on these:
http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?12757-National-Ordance-1903a3-Reciver-Are-they-safe-to-shoot/page2

There is some connection with Federal Ordnance of South El Monte, California.

I've been to Federal Ordnance in South El Monte when they were still in business. Pretty cool place that smelled heavy of linseed oil with rows and rows of American Eagle .308 Mausers and lots of rebuilt pretty C96 Mausers. I walked in there once with $700 to buy one of the C96 with buttstock.. but chickened out. That was a lot of $$$ for one gun.

Some really good hand-made burritos in the neighborhood.. if you know what I mean ;).

Dutch

[Lead Fred]

Is it possible it was rechambered to .308?

Sure can, either cut back the shoulder, and final reem it to .308

OR

Rebarrel it

[bob208]

check and see if it is a .308. with a different barrel it could be anything. it is not carved in stone that it has to be a .30-06 because it is an 03 -03a3 action.

no you can not rechamber a .30-06 to .308. without majore machine work.

[shredder]

Sounds like a chamber cast is in order. Have you ever heard of cerrosafe? It is a low melting point metal made to cast things like rifle chambers. It's pretty easy actually and will leave no doubt as to the actual dimensions of the chamber.

[stocker1042]

I have not heard of cerrosafe..and I think doing something like that is above my comfort level. The barrel appears to not match the rest of the gun. It is quite heavy and the weathering on it does not match the rest of the gun. Will a 308 and 3006 chamber the same way? I have blank cartridges of each to try.

[stocker1042]

Solved! A buddy had some 30.06 brass and we attempted to chamber that. No good. The bolt was about 1/4" from being able to close. We took a .308 brass casing and...boom...chambered up perfectly, bolt closed.

Therefore...it looks like this is a .308 conversion given all the clues-the old man's word, the lack of 30-06 brass in his house, the mountain of .308 brass and ammo I got with the deal, the different color barrel, and the trial we just did.

[jonk]

Not to rain on your parade, but there are several hotly debated threads about the safety of National Ordinance receivers. I recommend you read up and make up your own mind before you fire it; some have blown up.

[stocker1042]

I have read some of those threads. Seems to be there are some issues with some of the Nat Ord receivers. I'm hoping and thinking this one is pretty safe.

[Mk42gunner]

Now..looking at the piece it is stamped 30.06. It is also stamped OD1903A3 Cal 30.06, NAT ORD SO-EL Monte Cal.

This concerns me. If it is marked .30-06, it should be a .30-06 period.

Your pictures don't open for me, so I can't tell for sure; but caution and a chamber cast would definitely be advised. Twentyfive years ago there were a lot of the chamber adapters excess650 remembers floating around. They were originally used to allow the Navy to shoot 7.62mm NATO rounds through M-1 Garands. In theory they can be removed with a broken case extrator, but some were loctited or even soldered in.

Good luck,

Robert

[Lead Fred]

06 brass was super cheap in the 50s and 60s, and a lot of folks cut them down to make all kinds of cases.
Maybe that explains the 06 cases.