Debating a Smith Corona 1903A3 Purchase

Hello, All! I'm looking for some guidance on a potential purchase. Namely, I'm looking for some opinions on the price.

Smith Corona M1903A3 w/ 6 Groove Barrel. Dated January 1943. Also comes with an M1905 Bayonet shortened to M1 Bayonet specifications.

I understand the six-groove barrels were only installed for a couple of months and were originally manufactured by High Standard. All the markings on the gun and the finish leads me to believe these are all original components. The stock appears to *maybe* have been cleaned/lightly sanded due to the worn stamps on the side, but I'm not entirely sure.

Shop is asking $1,500. Thoughts?

Nice "looker", that's for sure!

The rifle appears to be reasonably correct and original. The $1500 asking price is not unreasonable if it has a serviceable bore.

Good Luck!

J.B.

Lovely looking rifle, when did they swap stock pinning to the cross bolts?

Goodness, that looks like it's in fine condition. That's definitely something I'd add to my Christmas list

Check out the cutoff-- it appears to have some weld on it. I would look closely at the the receiver around the cutoff to make sure this wasn't a recovered drill rifle. Could be just the cutoff was from a drill rifle. If it was a drill rifle the 1500 would be way high of course.

After looking at the 5th photo again, you can see the area right below the rear sight and above the cutoff has been machined out to eliminate the weld. I would say this definitely was a drill rifle.

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Originally Posted by Salt Flat

After looking at the 5th photo again, you can see the area right below the rear sight and above the cutoff has been machined out to eliminate the weld. I would say this definitely was a drill rifle.

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Your response encouraged me to grab the rifle and take it down to the work bench to give it a complete clean (I ended up purchasing the rifle for $1,400). I've taken some more detailed photos of the area. Would your guess still be that it is a recovered drill rifle? Should there be anything else I should be inspecting? Any concerns, considerations, etc... if it is a recovered drill rifle? Thanks in advance!

Yes--It's definitely a recovered Drill rifle. In your last photo the area above the cutoff has been milled out to remove the weld. It is still an ok rifle, just not worth the price. I have one and like it but it doesn't really have the collectibility or value of an original as manufatured rifle. Sorry for the bad news but I think you could get a refund or negotiate a new price (1/2?) . Salt

This is what it should look like. Take this picture with you to the gun shop for comparison.

Attachment 126632

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Salt Flat

This is what it should look like. Take this picture with you to the gun shop for comparison.

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Thank you for the reference and for the information. It's disheartening to hear, but I have a good relationship with the shop so I'm hoping I can make it right.

For my own edification (and so I can argue my point with the shop), can you provide some insight into the differences between the photo you supplied and the included two below? From my (untrained) eye it looks almost as if you example you provided has had *more* material removed. I can see the obvious machining marks on mine, but why the overall difference in design? I apologize for any ignorance; I'm trying to learn as much as I can!