Gibbs 1903a4-got One

[TEDIJR]

Just got a GIBBS 1903A4 from AIM.Was on the waiting list since the SHOT SHOW,finally got the call and went up and picked it up.It looks like a museum
piece.The only thing missing is a leather lens cover.The scope knobs feel like
the real thing,unlike some other reproduction scopes I have or have seen.It comes in a hardshell case,copy of the orginial manual,1907 leather sling,and
a dust cover WW11 carring case.Its clearly marked by GIBBS so know one
should take it for a orginial,but of course that goes for collectors,everybody
else things its the real thing that I showed it too.Now if it would stop raining
here ,I will get it to the rifle range..I have some NM LAKE CITY brass,and M118 bullets,all loaded and ready to go.
The scope is a copy of a Weaver M73,earlly WW11 model.Its pretty bad to
think this is what the US issued to our snipers in WW11,and Hollywood showing a german sniper in a bell tower,betting shot right thru his rifle scope,
as in Saving Private Ryan.I missed getting the real thing about 20 years ago,and picked up a 1932 NM,1903 rifle instead.This completes my WW11
sniper collection,but of course I really never will be done.I don"t care if it is
a copy of the real thing,since the price of that is way too high.
Also picked up a C93 Century copy of the HK93,in .223 caliper.this rifle looks
like a real Hk93,I got lucky twice on that trip to AIM.Maybe with the ecomony
so bad they really upped the QC of their products.I read online that Century
did not make these,they just put there name on it.Eric at AIM,said the gun
trade is starting to finally slow down,and ammo and guns should star flowing
down the pipline pretty soon.Anybody know any place that can make the leather lens covers for a Weaver M73 scope?

Information

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[jmoore]

Brian Dick apparently knows of a good leather worker. He posts pretty often on the CSP SMLE forums. Give him a holler! BDL is his company.

[TEDIJR]

Thanks I will check it out.There is also a guy on E-BAY that makes WW11 sniper leather lens covers,I got several for my K98 snipers,but I lost his name
and contact info when my harddrive went out.But I have never seen anyone
making 1903A4 stuff.

[Curt]

I have been looking for lense covers as well

[Lifttech]

How about that range report?????? Get a chance to fire it?

[JAYFMT]

I have been looking for lense covers as well

Try Ebay seller "iblamemydog", he has some.

[JAYFMT]

Try Ebay seller "iblamemydog", he has some.

His name is Jon Moore and this is his email address: mooreleather@yahoo.co.uk

[JGaynor]

Tedijr, a couple of minior points.

The Gibbs replica scope is a copy of the Weaver 330C or M73B1. The M73 was actually the militarized version of the Lyman Alaskan. It was planned for use on the M1903A4 but due to prodction difficulties none were delivered in time for A4 production. Some became available in time for issue with the M1-C in 1945.

A couple of other purchasers have reported the windage and elevation knobs on the replicas are reversed. Apparently Gibbs has confirmed they were all delivered this way.

A few purchasers have also reported that some screws (i.e. scope base) needed tightening as well.

Good luck and lets us know how it performs.

Regards,

Jim

[Garry]

Got my last week. Took it to the farm and it shot about 1.5 moa. Wood to metal fit was good. The scope adjustment knobs are backwards. My does not
appear to be a former drill rifle. I took it out of the stock and did not see any
signs of a weld. It will make a fine non-standard hog gun here in South TEXAS.

Garry

[snipers]

I had been waiting a long time for this Gibbs 1903-A4 copy and have to say the wait was not worth it and the rifle is certainly not worth the money either.

The quality of the wooden stock is awful and seems to be made of something more akin to balsa wood as it is very light and easily marked compared to my original A3.

The bullets constantly jam in the magazine no matter how you load them and so most of the time it has been fired single shot to avoid jamming.

The scope is a waste of time and seems to have lenses made from clingfilm.

Because of the poor quality stock and being lightweight the gun suffers from more recoil than my original 1903-A3 and is horrible to shoot.

I am going to be seeling it at the earliest opportunity and will be glad to see it go.