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Snagged this one at the antique arms show today.
Remington M1903 'modified'. Receiver number shows manufacture date of 1941, Remington barrel date of 7-42. Every part I've found markings on are Remington. One BP marking on the bolt sleeve.
Correct Remington stock with no finger grooves, and no crossbolt.
1944 dated sling (can't see the manufacturer stamp clearly)
Seems like a pretty original example.
Note the four punch marks on the receiver.
Nice rifle
According to this site http://www.vishooter.net/m1903.html your serial matches the barrel date.
This the most accurate site for all things 1903, and was put together using actual observed rifles and Rem production numbers.
Many other sites are not. Take a look around it with your rifle in hand.
You have a good looking mid production rifle, congratulations!
Edit; the BP sleeve is Bay products, a WWII subcontractor
What do the punch marks signify?
Thanks...…………….
I don't know what the punch marks are..I've read they're a type of proof, was hoping someone knew for certain. Saw the same marks on three other 03 s this weekend.
I guess the punch marks are civilian made. Maybe a Rockwell hardness test of some sort. Not Arsenal done These receivers were produced with the best alloys available in the '40s
with no chance of brittle steel at all..
I’ve always read that the punch marks are essentially proof marks. Added by the armory after firing a proof load. Four marks would indicate a lot of refurbs!
A couple of "disagreements":
1) As Pickax said, the rifle was NOT made in 1941 - there are a couple of date tables online that list ALL Remington M1903s as "1941" - only about 5,000 (out of nearly 350,000 made) were made in 1941. Your rifle dates to about August 1942 with a correct June, 1942 barrel.
2) ALL Remington M1903s were designated by the U.S. Army as "Modified" - as the term is often used, it is at least partially incorrect.
Use this website to look up manufacture dates of M1903s:
http://www.vishooter.net/ra_serialization.txt
First very nice rifle.
I have an 03A3 with a BP bolt sleeve, are you thinking about swapping it out for an "R" marked one so everything is matching. Also wondering if your middle band has a "R" and "U" marking on the right side.
Thanks...CaptMandrake