03-A3 questions?

[Freightman]

I got this Remington 03-A3 in a trade, excellent condition dated 12-43 and I am a single shot shooter and know nothing of the 03's.
1. where do you set the switch on the left side for feeding from the magazine?
2. this is a two grove barrel slugs .308 looks new in fact no evidence of being fired anywhere, how are these with lead?
4. According to my book on bolt actions this SN was near the end of production and has been rebuilt at RIA per marking on the stock, which doesn't match all the other numbers on the receiver, would this indicate that it had been used in the war?

[Jon K]

Freightman,

Switch up to "ON" for feed, "OFF" to single feed.

I recently just got one also, seems to shoot real good w/ cast boolits. 311291 shoots great, I ordered a K31 from NOE for this gun cause bore is .300x.308 need a borerider .299 or less.

Jon

[sundog]

Freightman, since you are single shot shooter, you have NO NEED for this rifle. Send it to me, and I will tend to it. :grin:

The off or down position will not allow pick up of a round from the magazine, i.e., the bolts reward position is stopped earlier. Middle position is, of course, bolt removal, and the on or up position is the magazine pick up position.

One other thing, if you single feed rounds, depress the rim below the extractor claw and allow the rim to slip up behind the claw. Continually snapping the claw over the case rim can/will eventual lead to extractor failure.

[Storydude]

Hmmm..12-43

I have a 12-42 1903 from Remington. Not an 03a3, but a 1903. It's been sporterized but it's the best shooting firearm I own.

[Multigunner]

When single feeding a Bolt action with Mauser type extractor you press in on the spring tail of the extractor with the fingers of the lefthand to let the claw snap over the rim. I got tired of that quick so I beveled the face of the claw on my Mauser , but you don't want to do that to this fine Springfield.

I reinstalled the magazine cut off of my No.1 MkIII and while its claw snaps over the rim well enough its still much easier on the rims and extractor spring if you just feed from the mag. I can see why the magazine cut off fell out of favor now.

[Multigunner]

Hmmm..12-43

I have a 12-42 1903 from Remington. Not an 03a3, but a 1903. It's been sporterized but it's the best shooting firearm I own.
Remington built many 03's for the British, be worth checking on the manufacture date, those are worth a bit more than most.
The british contract Remingtons mostly ended up in New Zealand as training rifles, some were returned to the US from Britian bearing Red markings to denote their use as trainers.

[Storydude]

Remington built many 03's for the British, be worth checking on the manufacture date, those are worth a bit more than most.
The british contract Remingtons mostly ended up in New Zealand as training rifles, some were returned to the US from Britian bearing Red markings to denote their use as trainers.

no such luck. this one is All American....and drilled for a Lyman sight...and wears a Redfield scope mount....In a Herters Stock....Timney Sportsman Side-safety trigger...:veryconfu

I didn't buy her for her looks, that's for sure :)

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1503
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1501
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1500

[Freightman]

I wrote Remington on the 03-A3 and here is the response.
"Response (David)
" Your 1903-A3was manufactured in January 1944 built for our WWII contract with the U.S. Government. Your barrel marking of RA 12/43 is a good indication that the original barrel is still on your rifle." Thanks
If this is the original barrel it has not been shot as it measures new, and looks new. and the bolt face is still parkerized with no indication of use what so ever, I took the bolt down and no dirt just new looking parts. I now need to get it dirty but it snows ever night RATS! the first part breech end of the bore is .3085 the muzzle end is .3075 has a tight throat .311 so it should be a good shooter.

[leadman]

I shot a clinic for a match last weekend with my Remington 2 groove, 311041, .311", 18grs. SR4759, WLR.
First match I shot of this type. 200 yard Military target. Scored 240 out of 300. Temp was about 50', wind blowing, raining. Had sighted previously 3 notches from top with 6 o'clock hold, had to raise the sight to the top and aim up in the bull.

My buddy could see the bullets going to the target as they had slowed down so much due to the cold.

On a nicer day this load will keep all shots in the ten ring and about half in the X off the bench, so 4 to 5" group.

I would say that is decent acurracy.

[Dutchman]

I'm not sure RIA actually rebuilt 03A3. They could've inspected and stored. RIA never built the 03A3 just the 1903. I'd have to check my Brophy book on this.

You can't assume a 1903A3 you acquire in 2010 is just as it left gov't ownership. These rifles have been in civilian hands for 50 some years now. The supply of 03A3 parts lasted well into the 70s with "new" everything available cheap. There's no guarantee your stock is original to this barreled action. The beauty and curse of USGI firearms is the parts are not numbered to match as many Mausers are.

That all said, there are still unissued/original 03A3 standing in closets and bedroom corners all over the place. They were cheap rifles and not exactly high on the list due mostly to them being more costly to sporterize/customize than the 1903. This was due to the rough machined finish, for the most part, and secondly due to the use of stamped parts instead of the forged/machined parts of the 1903. You could say the 03A3 is the red-headed step-child in the 1903 Springfield family. It wasn't even built at a US Gov't arsenal.

Unissued/as-new 03A3 in 1968 were $35. By 1971 they were $59. I bought two new ones at Western Surplus in North Hollywood in 1971. I found a nice C-stock at a gunshow for $25 and put the 03A3 in the C-stock. That makes for a very nice combination and very comfortable shooting. The S-stock sucks canal water as the length of pull and comb drop are an archaic design. The C-stock is very close to the Garand buttstock and feels much better. The scant stock is also much better than the S-stock. Easy to drop your rifle into a 2nd stock set and keep the original safe and unharmed.

Books:
*Hatcher's Notebook
*1903 Springfield Rifles by Brophy
*Infantry Weapons of World War 2 by Bruce Canfield

.309" to .311" cast work very well. I'm fond of 311299 and 311284 using Unique.
Buy at least one box of Sierra Match Kings in 180 gr or 200 gr. That'll tell you what your rifle is capable of at distance.

Ex-Lend-Lease from Greece via CMP. 1903 Springfield made in July, 1918. Double heattreat receiver & C-stock. Has greenish hue parkerizing that's old USGI and not the black oxide found on a lot of the X-Greek rifles.
http://images29.fotki.com/v1011/photos/2/28344/157842/c1-vi.jpg

Dutch

[Freightman]

Thank all of you I still think I am fortunate to get this one and I am sure the stock is not the one that it left the factory with as it has at least three different markings on it. I have a set of dies coming and a neighbor has a card board drum full of brass that he said we could work out a deal on. Just need to get it and start cleaning and annealing it as it has been there for years.

[smokemjoe]

no such luck. this one is All American....and drilled for a Lyman sight...and wears a Redfield scope mount....In a Herters Stock....Timney Sportsman Side-safety trigger...:veryconfu

I didn't buy her for her looks, that's for sure :)

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1503
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1501
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=1500

Looks like the bolt handle was bend by the TP shop in Mich. years ago, 60s

[Storydude]

No way to really figure that out :)

she is bedded to within 2" of the rec. trigger is about 2.5Lbs, shoots better than I do, regardless of what I feed it.

[Multigunner]

Theres plenty of wood there to reshape the stock to a more pleasing profile, if you like, And a fresh hand rubbed oil finished would bring out the nice grain that that glossy finish does nothing for.

You could pretty that rifle up quite a bit with very little outlay, just some careful hand work.

First thing I'd lose is the contrasting nose and grip cap. I never saw much use in those. An inletted steel skeleton grip cap can look awesome though.

[Jack Stanley]

Bullets ?? I think the 311334 will scare you at how well it works ....... of course I had sold my mold before the rifle came along and only had a few hundred bullets left over .

:violin:Jack