1903A3 on Gunbroker

[marvelshooter]

Shooters: There is an '03A3 currently listed on Gunbroker, http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=336957866 , item number 336957866 if my link does not post correctly. It is at $649.00 with no bids and no reserve. Could Someone please have a peek at it and tell me what you think? From what I can see the metal looks good but I think the stock may have been refinished. I don't see any stampings or other marks on it. Thank you - Dan

[Wayne Smith]

If that stock was refinished it was a long time ago! Wonder why no interest?

[wch]

Why no interest?
My guess is that if it ain't an auto, they ain't gonna' buy it.

[Pb Burner]

It still has 3+ days to go. Plenty of time for bids. If it's anything like fleabay, no bids yet is no indication of interest. But then, I don't watch too many Gunbroker auctions to the end.

[Char-Gar]

Looks like a pretty decent 03A3 to me. I can't tell about the stock, it may have had some finished added, but it doesn't look like it has been sanded to death. It would be easy to strip the finish on it and bring the old BLO finish back to life. The markings might still be there.

Recently I bought a Remington 1917 that had several coats of varnish applied. I stripped the varnish off and the original military oil finish was underneath and the markings were still in good order. They were barely visible under the varnish.

These days and times, gun buyers are spending their money on "black guns" and vintage firearms prices are steady or depressed. Good time to "go vintage".

[fouronesix]

I agree, that looks like a good 03A3 to me as well and at a reasonable starting price. Sometimes things won't heat up until the last 15 minutes of time on GB- who knows about this one. Also agree, much of the cookie jar, mad money, got the OK from momma money has already been spent... "investing" in $650 black stamped metal/plastic mattel ARs for $1200.

[Green Lizzard]

char i just did the same thing to a 1917 eddystone, it came out great

[Hardcast416taylor]

Wait till the last 30-45 seconds of the auction. When I used to bid on auctions that was about the time I would get outbid.Robert

[John Allen]

The stock looks like it was refinished it looks too shiny too me. If it is as described it is a good deal.

[Char-Gar]

I use Formby's Furniture Refinisher. I apply it with 0000 steel wood pad and the old finish melts off. It will take off varnish, lacquer, Tru-Oil, Linspeed and like finishes. It won't do anything to the new poly finishes and won't take off BLO. It is great to removed added finishes without stripping the wood. If the wood needs to be stripped, there are other products that do that.

[dmclark523]

Wait till the last 30-45 seconds of the auction. When I used to bid on auctions that was about the time I would get outbid.Robert

That's true on Ebay, but on Gunbroker they have a 15 minute rule. All bids within 15 minutes reset the 15 min clock. This cuts down on the 'sniping'.... That's why I prefer 'Buy it Now' auctions on Gunbroker.

[Char-Gar]

The absolute worse thing you can do on one of these online auctions is bid too soon. All that does is get the other folks all ginned up, start a bidding war and suck you into it. That is exactly what the seller wants. I figure out the most I will pay for an item and bid that amount 30 second before the auction ends. If I get the item for that amount or less, all well and good. If, somebody wants it more, then they are welcome to have it.

[Char-Gar]

Well that truly sucks! I don't buy stuff on Gunbroker, I sell stuff there.

[pmer]

Why no interest?
My guess is that if it ain't an auto, they ain't gonna' buy it.

He could try changing the title too select fire 30-06... single shot or repeater with the ON/OFF lever! :popcorn:

[TNsailorman]

Rear sight looks to be sitting on crooked, someone felt it necessary to try to deepen the R on the barrel stamping with what looks to have been a dremel tool or metal marking tool, the stock is not the original and has no acceptance marks. There are some pretty good gaps in the stock around the trigger guard, indicating that it was not fitted to the stock at the armoury. It has been cycled or shot quite a bit from the wear marks on the bolt. Other than that, it seems to be in pretty good shape, just not a collector. With a little bit of work it probably would make a good shooter.

[marvelshooter]

Update. While I was waiting for an answer from the seller about the stock he sold it in his storefront since there were no bids on it. Bummer.

[Char-Gar]

You snooze, you loose! Looked like a goodun for a fair price.

[DrtRacr09]

It sure looks like it was a de-mil gun put back together, picture number 10 you can see the detent groove for the cutoff has been welded up and ground off.

[fouronesix]

Doesn't matter now since it sold. But seems like many are seeing buggers that don't exist. The tang and bottom metal on 03A3s are almost always a loose fit. Reasons- makes it easy to refurb when brought back in (no custom fitting needed), multiple contractors for stocks, design changes in bottom metal, helps prevent stock split out, etc. Hard to say about cartouches and acceptance marks. Some legit stocks were minimally marked when brought back in for final refurb. Some only have a very lightly struck inspector stamp on the side of the butt and possibly a "P" mark on the bottom of the grip if scant C. The left side of the "R" in the "RA" barrel stamp is usually deeper for this serial range because the way the stamp fixture was indexed to begin with. Looks like it got impact buggered during use and may have been cleaned up- but no big deal in any case.

The rear sight looks crooked because of close up lens distortion in the photo. The detent track on the cut off lever looks normal- just that it's been operated a lot. The only thing I see is an odd relief toward the back of the left side of the mag port just forward of the stripper cutout. There was already a slight relief milled there during manufacture but this looks like it was done later. Could be a simple modification to allow for easier feeding one round at a time by hand- as a thumb relief for competitive shooting/loading...?

Bottom line- no matter now. Someone else will get to find out if it is a good shooter or not. The bullet in muzzle photo shows it may gauge less than 4-5- so it really doesn't show much :). The other critical gauge will be the throat gauge. So who knows??