New to me 1903A4

Hi all. I've been reading the forums for quite a while now, trying to learn about the 03A4's. I found one at a show recently and think I did well with my purchase, but would like the opinion of the experts. From what I can tell, it looks to be mostly correct. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll post a few below. Thanks for your help.
Jim


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I'll qualify my comments that I know very little about them but that is a nice looking rifle,
Bob

You did very well Jim thats the nicest A4 i have seen in quite awhile.

Regards,
Jim

agree, just a few small issues.. that can be delt with.

Very nice A4.
What issues Chuck ? The only thing I see is the small bow triggerguard . I think it's a little late for that .
Chris

Please elaborate on the issues, that's why I posted here. I don't doubt that pieces may have been changed over the years, but it has had all of these parts together for a long time. It's got a uniform amount of goop in all the right places. Has this one been through a rebuild? I don't see any of the stamps noted in other threads that point to a rebuild, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't done at some point.

I picked it up at the Allentown show last weekend. There were 3 A4's there. The other 2 have been there for the last year or two, one looks like an assembly of spare parts and the other had some issues as well, but prices on all 3 were about the same.

It looks to be well used, but cared for. Unfortunately there is a nasty scratch in the stock near the butt. Given the condition of the rest of the rifle, I can live with it.

If anyone is still collecting data, I forgot to mention it's a 2-groove barrel.

Thanks for your comments.
Jim

Jim, I was at Allentown last Saturday as well. i heard from another enthusiast that there were three A4's but i was only able to find two of them (not counting the overpriced clone in the annex).

You definitely got the best one.
For my money the trigger guard is too close to call.
The only obvious thing you will want to change is the scope base left side windage screw. It has a hex (allen) head and it should be slotted. Be careful changing this screw. The left side screws were staked in place - you don't want to leave a broken off screw stub in the base.

Regards,
Jim

scope base windage knob left side is not correct, trigger guard looks to have been replaced, do to the amount of wear compared to the rest of the rifle.
better pics of the scope would be needed to assess it.

The scope is an early 2nd variation M73B1 looks ok to me.
In my data i have a mix of large and small TG's around that S/N range. I think wear in this area can also be attributed to the fact that the magazine is balance point. A GI, if he didn't sling the rifle, would most likely have carried in one hand gripped under the bottom of the magazine. My a4 which admitted ly is a little more beat has very similar wear patterns on the magazine.

Regards,
Jim

With the exceptions noted, it looks correct & original to me. It has the right blued & parked parts, including the scarce USGI scope rings. I see nothing to indicate it has seen the inside of an arsenal. You are very fortunate, the vast majority of A4's in collector hands have been through arsenal rebuild.

I just hope that the threads on the left side of the scope base weren't ruined when Bubba replaced the screw with one from the hardware store; if so, seek professional help from someone like Chuck.

Neal