03a3 mag/follower issue

[mike in co]

the mag pops out the first round...will not hold one, can put 2, 3 in and all is well till i get down to one and then it pops out....

i would like to fix this even tho the rifle will typically be shot single shot.

what do i look for ???
thanks
mike in co

[Scrounger]

No expertise here but I'd look to see if the magazine cut-off was interfering...

[mike in co]

No expertise here but I'd look to see if the magazine cut-off was interfering...


i dont think that is it. in the cutoff postion, it single feeds from the top without picking up the two in the mag.....but one still pops out...

mike in co

[Frank46]

Mike, check the gap between the top of the magazine and the bottom of the receiver. Should almost be touching. I had the same problem with my 03A3 until I discovered that the 1903 mag and floorplate had the floorplate touching the sporter stock it came with. Relieved the stock slightly and checked the gap. Problem solved.
Also check that bubba hasn't done a grinding job on theinside of the mag well. Have seen a few that had been dremeled for whatever reason and cartridge fit was very sloppy. Regards,Frank

[mike in co]

thanks for the suggestion.
the action is in the sporter stock, but will be selling the stock, so will wait and recheck in the refurbished mil stock.

mike in co

[mike in co]

just a note...when i took the sporter apart....i compared the trigger guard assembly to the one on my other 03.
the sporter floor plate is bent! maybe a 10 degree bend.......think they forced it too tight when bedding.
not sure if i'll get a repalcement, or try to straighten this one out.

mike in co

[Frank46]

Mike, is this a 1903A3 with a 1903 magazine and floorplate? If you don't have a milled follower try one. I've seen recently 1903 magazines and floorplates for about $75. Think I paid $25 for mine years ago. Worse comes to worse you could always go back to the stamped A3 mag box. not pretty but most of the ones I've seen work ok.
Frank

[mike in co]

stamped floorplate assy and follower.....

no stamps on the floorplate....aftermarket ??

[Frank46]

Mike, the origional magazine assembly for the 03A3 was stamped and welded into one unit. The 03 assembly as made by the various makers was machined , milled as was the floorplate. There should be markings somewhere as to who made it if is origional U.S. made. Having said that, there have or has been aluminum and steel mag boxes and floorplates on the market for years. Maybe you have an origional milspec mag box but aftermarket floorplate?. Granted the 03A3 stamped and welded
boxes look lousy compared to the machined ones on the 03's but they work. Then again maybe someone got creative and used a mag box from a mauser and bubba'd it to work. Stranger things have happened. Frank

[Bob S]

A "serious" student of the '03 may be able to tell the difference between a Springfield trigger guard/magazine assembly and one made by Rock Island by the way some of the machining cuts were made, but neither government establishment applied any distinguishing marks to the parts. Remington was required by contract to mark their parts, and a stamped "R" can be found on nearly everything on a Rem '03 or 03A3.

The gap between the top of the magazine box and the receiver has been a source of trouble, but the usual problem is a jammed last round. The edge of the milled follower gets wedged in the gap and cannot dip down in the front as required to "release" the last round from the magazine. Substitution of a stamped follower usually is a low-impact fix. In fact, during production of the '03 at Remington, a high number of rifles were getting rejected for failing to feed the last round round. When production transitioned to the stamped follower, the first batch of the stamped followers were held for "repair" of the rejected rifles. The gap needs to be there for best accuracy, but it shouldn't be any more than 1/32".

The last round popping out of the magazine is usually a weak or malformed spring, and in "garage sporters", I have found Mauser springs and followers in '03's that cause the same problem.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Patrick L]

I had a similar problem. Overall cartridge length was the culprit with mine. You may want to check the length of your loaded rounds. Mine were a bit short, which posed no real problems except when firing a full magazine. Under recoil, the bottom round in the magazine (the last round to fire) would slowly migrate forward, and upon ejecting the fourth empty the fifth round would "pop" out of the magazine. This would really ruin my day in a rapid fire string in a Highpower match.

I tested this by placing a single round in the magazine and smartly pulling the bolt to the rear, as you would when shooting rapid fire. As long as the round was all the way back against the rear wall of the magazine it would stay put. If I slid it forward about 1/8th to 3/16ths of an inch, it would pop out. My bullets were seated to a proper overall length for the bullet, with the gascheck base even with the bottom of the case neck. Thus loaded they were about 1/4 " shorter than a standard ball round (sorry I'm giving approximate measurements, I'm working from memory.)

As soon as I loaded them to the same length as an M2 ball round the problem disappeared.

[725]

+1 on Bob S's observation. Weak follower spring caused same with mine.

[Patrick L]

I suppose my spring could be a bit weak. Maybe that's why the short rounds were able to creep in the first place. A stronger follower spring might've held things in place tighter.

Oh well, the longer rounds work fine, and it seems they may even shoot a bit better.