'03A3 rear sight moving under recoil.

[marvelshooter]

The elevation adjustment on my rifle won't stay where I put it. My zero at 100 yards is 6 clicks up from the bottom and after 10 shots of a medium cast boolit load it is down at the bottom and I have a group 2" wide and about 8" high. I did a little research and found it is a fairly common problem. I am throwing it out here hoping someone has come up with a simple solution that won't harm the rifle. Thanks - Dan

[pietro]

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IMO, your sight is worn too much to hold it's elevation secured by the grub screw, no matter how much it's tightened - I would suggest that the sight be replaced in it's entirety.


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[garandsrus]

You may only need the sight aperture spring. Here is a link to the part: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/717750.htm

Make sure the screw on the sight slider is tight!

[MtGun44]

New spring, probably. it is a flat thing with little bumps that engage the grooves
for different ranges. Perhaps remove and rebend?

[W.R.Buchanan]

Perhaps remove and rebend?

This is what I would do. it should take 5 minutes.

Randy

[too many things]

and it may not be there at all

[rhbrink]

Be careful I had the same problem and when I tried to bend the little flat spring it broke! I now have a newer one and it holds great.

RB

[Adam Helmer]

MtGun44 nailed it. These 03-A3 sights are about 70 years old. Judiciously bend the small flat spring a LITTLE to increase sight holding tension. It can be overdone, so be GENTLE!

Adam

[marvelshooter]

MtGun44 did nail it. On close exam the top spring was only riding on the corner of the ramp with the detents. Not the full surface. I could barely feel the clicks. And just like rhbrink I broke it trying to adjust it. Time to order another from the link above. Thanks to all for the help. Dan

[MtGun44]

Sorry about your spring, but they are old and break easily (hmm, I resemble that
remark :-) ) but sometimes they can be bent a bit and reset the tension.
The design is pretty good, amazingly compact, but the spring can get
slack after a while.
I hope they are still available. Doesn't seem like we are running out of
many of the parts for 1903s and 03A3s although barrels are getting kinda
thin on the ground these days.

[marvelshooter]

The spring is available from Gun Parts Corp. and is on its way. $2.35 to buy and $4.95 to ship. I hope the replacement fits better than the original.

[garandsrus]

The spring is available from Gun Parts Corp. and is on its way. $2.35 to buy and $4.95 to ship. I hope the replacement fits better than the original.

Thats why I bought two. Just in case....

[jimb16]

I missed a Bronze at the Nationals by 2 points due to the same problem. Lost the points in rapid fire. I replaced the sight right after the match!