Remington 1903

[tbierley]

I have a Remington Model 1903 and in all the serial list that I have found the serial of my rifle it should be a 03A3. The serial is 33635XX. The receiver is cut for a 03a3 rear sight. I also has lighting cuts in the barrel. And it has a SA 11-42 barrel on it.


107762107763

[madsenshooter]

I think I read somewhere recently about Remington using up what 03 parts they had on their way to full scale A3 production. Since your number falls in 1942 production, I'd guess it has some 03 parts.

[TNsailorman]

What you evidently have is a "modified" model made at the end of the production of the 1903 and beginning with the 1903A3. Some 1903's have been know to exist with serial numbers up to 3, 365,002 as identified by Brophy in his book. Some receivers in this transition were cut for both the 1903 sight and the 1903A3 sight. That is evidently what you have. My "expertise" on the 1903's comes out of a book as I never was a collector; just a shooter with a interest in history.

[Dutchman]

I have a Remington Model 1903 and in all the serial list that I have found the serial of my rifle it should be a 03A3. The serial is 33635XX. The receiver is cut for a 03a3 rear sight. I also has lighting cuts in the barrel. And it has a SA 11-42 barrel on it.


Have you owned this rifle since it was released from US Gov't storage in the 1950s?

Didn't think so.

What you are calling lightning cuts are not on the barrel but on the rear sight base.

I'm going to posit that your rifle is a 03A3 due to the receiver configuration. Its true the serial number borders the transition but the physical condition identifies it as an 03A3.

Spare parts for 1903 and 03A3 rifles were in abundance from the early 1960s onward for many years. It is my opinion that somebody, some previous owner, a civilian, purchased a 4 groove 1903 barrel and associated parts (rear sight, handguard, stock) and built himself what he saw as a better rifle.. The previous barrel may have been a 2 groove that he disliked and since 4 groove 03 barrels were cheap it was no big deal to buy and have it installed.

That's one very real possibility as to how it came to be how it now appears. A forensic examination of your rifle in the hands of someone with ~Springfield~ eyes could tell more about it. Perhaps you could remove the stock and take pictures (bright & clear) of any odd marks on the barrel or any evidence of non-military handling. It wouldn't be the first time we've seen a sloppy barrel change evidenced by grind marks or barrel vise slippage, etc.

Its just foolish (sorry but that's the right word here) to assume any.... ANY USGI firearm in 2014 is in the same configuration as it was when it left USGI possession half a century ago.

In about 1971 or so I bought a couple 03A3 from Western Surplus Store in North Hollywood, Calif for $59.95 each. They were typical as-new or fresh from rehab. At one of the big gunshows at the Great Western (before it was in Pomona it was on Atlantic Blvd in East Los Angeles) I bought a very nice Type C stock. Somewhere in internet land there's somebody who now owns that rifle trying to figure how an 03A3 got a Type C stock when it was never an approved combination except for 03A4 snipers. A $20 Type C stock on a $60 rifle... big deal! It was a vast improvement as the length-of-pull of 03A3 stocks is too short for my long arms.

In the 1950s and 1960s the 03A3 was not a desirable rifle for much of anything. Even to build it as a deer gun required a horrendous amount of labor to draw file the rough machining marks away to it could be blued. Only the M1917 was desired less than 03A3 rifles. It isn't even a *real* Springfield. (only those rifles built at Springfield Armory are *real* Springfields).

Accept the fact that many 1903 and 03A3 rifles today in 2014 came to be how they are now through civilian tinkering. Before there were AR15 rifles to build and tinker with there were 1903 Springfields and 03A3 Remingtons & Smith-Corona (with their very cool 6 groove barrels).

Dutch

http://images35.fotki.com/v1197/photos/2/28344/157842/r002-vi.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v274/photos/2/28344/157842/r001-vi.jpg

[tbierley]

This rifle came from CMP when they were selling the Greek rifles. Because it has a B stamped on bottom of the trigger housing and the cover was pinned. I know this rifle is not a mix match of 03 and 03A3 parts. I also know the barrel is a replacement. Thanks for the help

[gnoahhh]

I wouldn't put it past the Greeks to have mixed and matched parts in the course of keeping those '03's in service.

[Larry Gibson]

If it had an RA-42 barrel on it I might buy off it was an early Remington 'A3 receiver with '03 parts. However, with a Remington receiver and a SA-42 barrel it is obviously a "parts" gun either done by the Greeks or by CMP.

Larry Gibson

[FrankG]

The receiver bridge isn't dovetailed for an A3 sight. 03 receiver there , probably CMP parts build.

[SlamFire1]

Your picture is just awful and I can't tell if the receiver is stamped Remington M1903 or not.

I have examined Remington M1903 rifles and it is apparent to me that Remington was making profile changes to the receivers and bolts and more changes occurred over time. What looks to be a M1903A3 base is not, Remington milled that, for what reason I don't know, but it became the base for the M1903A3 rear sight.

You can examine Remington bolts for example, early M1903 bolts are closer to SA and RIA contours, then as time goes on, machining gets rougher, the safety lug becomes a square, etc, etc. Similiar things were going on with the M1903 receivers and other parts Remington was making. I have not collected enough trigger guards to understand the evolution from milled trigger guard to stamped, nor upper bands, but I am certain there are variations in all of them.

All original Remington 03's are rare, all original M1903's are rare. The majority of them went through rebuilds.

The receivers should be safer than the pre 1919 single heat low number SA's, by the time you get to the 1940's more modern production techniques have evolved and the materials used in these receivers were either nickle steel, or 8620. Hatcher has a list of what was used.

[bob208]

I have read that these were made when the transition to the 03a3 was made to use up 03 parts.. Remington started out making 03 rifles on the old rock island machinery. I have one with the receiver cut and one with out the cut. I have seen far too many for them to be a put together.

[bob208]

all my 03s were bought before the lets make them original craze started about 15 years ago. I have more then one ww1 dated receiver with a 40-43 barrel date. to me original means the way it would have been issued to a rifleman.


the earliest barrel date I have is a 5-5 even that rifle is a rebuild it was one they set the barrel back and chambered to .30-06 from.30-03. I have a mk1 with the Pederson cut receiver date 1918 with a barrel date of 1-42.

[bob208]

I was agreeing with you. this all matching all original b.s. got started with one collector trying to one up the other.