Remington 1903 SN 3004295

[sakorick]

The end of the saga.....a labor of love more correctly. I have been working on restoring this rifle for some 5 years now and I finally found a correct bolt with the small gas port. I have upgraded the stock twice and found a very good condition NZ lend lease with broad arrow and rack number (or New Zealand SN). Having never had one in hand until recently, it's easy to miss the subtle nuances on these but once you see the rust blued bolt and beautiful milling and polishing there is no doubt. This is by far the toughest project I ever completed and I'll probably not do it again. I own 3021141 that is mostly correct but still needs bolt parts. Here she is....enjoy and regards, Rick.

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[Emri]

Nice rifle, thanks for showing us ! I have one in the 8000 range that is a "restoration" also. And you are correct, the bolt parts are the hardest to find. The bolt bodies are difficult, I had one before I had the rifle and gave it to John Beard because he needed it. Had to get another one (from John) for mine. But the bolt sleeve with the 3 detents for the safety are near impossible to find. I found one for my rifle just by sheer dumb luck. A seller at a gunshow had a rack of Greek returns from CMP and low and behold a Springfield had a complete bolt shroud with safety, firing pin, etc. that I needed. I offered the seller a complete SA assembly and $50 for his and even swapped them out while standing in the aisle. He was happy and I was VERY happy. I haven't seen another one since even though I look closely at every R marked one I come across.

The stock on your rifle is very nice also. What did you do with the other two ? Mine is correct but has been re-finished and the markings are light, not as nice as yours and not NZ marked.

Thanks again for posting,

Emri

[sakorick]

Hello Emri. I actually have only one other as I purchased the rifle originally with a scant stock. The other RLB is on 21131 and I'm thinking about selling the rifle. It has a correct firing pin but the bolt body has the larger gas hole, wrong sleeve and a Parked extractor. I'm sure 21131 was a VFW/AL rifle that shot zillions of blanks.....you can imagine what the bore looks like. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot it though as it headspaces just fine. I guess I'm tired of chasing parts. I think the RLB stock is harder to find than the bolt parts.......wood wears out and steel doesn't! Regards, Rick.