Unfired '03A3...now what?

[mikewestman]

Hello everyone. This is my first post and it's out of necessity. I have recently acquired a Remington '03A3 from a private collection. I just returned from visiting an expert in military firearms who inspected my rifle and made the following statements. 1. It appears to be all original. 2. It is unfired 3. This weapon may have never been issued, and 4. Due to the orientation of the serial number it was likely intended to be a sniper variant, but never had the final mods done to mount a scope, etc. So...now what do I do? It was given to me by another Marine, and I will eventually pass it down to my son who is also a Marine. It has cosmoline in every nook and cranny, and the wood (all original) is caked with it too. I do not intend to EVER fire this weapon...or even work the action any more than necessary. My big question is do I clean it and re-preserve it...or just leave it as is? It's kind of messy to show it to someone in it's current state due to the old cosmoline. Any expert input and advice would be welcomed. Thanks, and Semper Fi...Mike

Information

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[NRA]

I personally would get the old Cosmo off of it. But I am sure you will get other thoughts. Pictures are a must

[Johnny Peppers]

First, post pictures.

[mikewestman]

I just took a bunch of pics. Now to figure out how to post them...

[mikewestman]

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[mikewestman]

Sorry for the shaky pictures. As you can see, none of the parts exhibit the "green tint" that I see on so many A3s. I noticed one cartouche on the left side of the stock cheek with "RIA" which I assume is Rock Island Arsenal. Why is that mounted on a Remington manufactured weapon? Does that mean it's not original, or was it a leftover from the RIA days?

Thanks for your help!

[tomwatts]

Here is a quick reply.
Your 03A3 was rebuilt by the Rock Island Armory RIA, if that is the original stock to the rifle. (Rebuild stamps on the bottom of the stock, and RIA stamp on the side)
Which means it has been shot in its life time, and issued!
It has been prepped for long term storage in cosmoline and it might be the same prep done by RIA or somebody else wanting to make it look like its been in storage since RIA.
Or somebody that thinks cosmoline is a good idea, its not! It will eventually ruin the stock finish if it has not already.
If you are going to display it, then I would clean it up, that is not a restoration in any way "in my opinion".

Update: Looking a little closer, there is no indication from the s/n placement that this was ever potentially going to be an 03A4 sniper. It appears to be stamped as a standard 03A3.

Tom
P.S. Nice gun all the same!

[Johnny Peppers]

RIA/EB is for Elmer Bjerke who was foreman of small arms inspections at Rock Island Arsenal from 1947 to 1958. The rifle was overhauled at some time during those years. That is probably when it received it's slathering of cosmoline.

[Calif-Steve]

Looks like the standard DCM 03-A3 from 1962/65?? Not new, not unfired, likely rebuilt after WWII and put away. A nice find, clean it up and use it.

[twh]

Actually looks like a CMP Greek return based on the finnish and the ep'd numbers on the bolt handle. Clean it and shoot it as you are not going to affect the value.