I went out on a limb...

I glommed a rifle last week at an on-line auction. I went out on a limb because the price was really low...It was described as a "US Rockland 1903 A3 Rifle" (???)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...nd1903a1-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...and19031-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...nd1903b1-1.jpg

What I'm hoping is that the auction house meant "Rock Island" 1903 and that the C stock has not been cut and the bore is good

Obviously the receiver has been D&T'd for the Redfield sight, the hand guard has been trimmed and the bolt handle has been ground.

It appears that there are some kind of mounting blocks affixed to the receiver and the barrel. The rear sight, but not the base, has been removed. The rear sight base looks like it is does not have the lightening cuts. I do not know whether the receiver is high or low number.

Like I said, I went out on a limb.

I too am a sucker for those kinds of deals, and this one looks nice, that helps!

Love the recoil pad...it should really tame it down ! Seriously, I'd settle for anything. That one's got lots of promise.

I have a serious Jones for 1903 based match/target rifles. That's what I figure this one probably is. I have Remington and Springfield based match rifles that are great shooters and hope this one will be too.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC00224-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC00227-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...y03s0291-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...y03s0301-1.jpg


Better pics/description when it arrives.

So...those were done up for ??Townsend Whelan ?? shoots? The special matches?

I've not been able to find the history on these rifles. I assume that they were made up years ago to compete in the same matches that Lyman sighted 1903 Springfield NM rifles shot in.

MY plan is to shoot them in various club high power and "open sight" class vintage military rifle matches that my sons and I shoot in.

I guess they're the right ones to get that started then...

"I have Remington and Springfield based match rifles that are great shooters .."

I will expect to see those rifles on the range in the future...Maybe in 3 weeks?

I need someone to shoot my NRA Sporter against.http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/...NRASporter.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ASporter-1.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 PM ----------

Also, What Auction site did you find the "Rockland 1903" at?

Nice snag, you have a lot of room to "fix" it in.
Thaine

I really like it Calfed. I love shooting 03A3's more than any rifle and finding one that's just been taken out of military trim slightly, but enough to get it for cheap is great. I bet it'll be very accurate, and the previous upgrades should be nice benefits for shooting. It's excellent you're getting to shoot these wonderful rifles with your sons.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rugersworld

"I have Remington and Springfield based match rifles that are great shooters .."

I will expect to see those rifles on the range in the future...Maybe in 3 weeks?

I need someone to shoot my NRA Sporter against.http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/...NRASporter.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ASporter-1.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 PM ----------

Also, What Auction site did you find the "Rockland 1903" at?

---

Wow, Matt, that is a nice looking rifle. How does it shoot?

---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 PM ----------

Thanks, Harlan. Hoping for the best on this one.

Shooting really was the best thing that ever happened to my relationship with my sons. I enjoy shooting, period. But it so much more fun with the boys.

Steve

Thanks Steve. Been wanting one for a long time.
I have not shot it yet. Still need to put some loads together. The barrel is near new. I just got a .05" peep for the receiver sight. Maybe in march or april I will shoot open with it.

Nice rifle it should be a hoot to shoot! I too have always loved the look of an old 03 or 03A3 with Lyman or Redfield sights on them. I put a set of Lymans on an 03A3 that I have and it is a gas to shoot. Even with the GI barrel she holds an inch and 100 yds if I do my job and use decent ammo. Good luck with it.....Rick H.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Calfed

Thanks, Harlan. Hoping for the best on this one. Shooting really was the best thing that ever happened to my relationship with my sons. I enjoy shooting, period. But it so much more fun with the boys.
Steve

---

It did my heart good to hear that you were shooting with your boys Steve. It's been some of the best times I've had by shooting with my son - Teaching him safety, how guns work, and how to shoot. Just seeing his passion for something we both loved was priceless.

I started him with an Iver Johnson copy of an M1 carbine in .22 LR and thought he'd shoot it for a long while, but he went right to my real .30 cal carbines, and then didn't want to shoot anytihing but my 1903A3 so I bought him one of his own. Honest to God, by the time he was 12, with his good eyes and all, he could shoot as well or better than I can. I used to get in trouble with my wife because of the bruises on his shoulder, but he'd want to shoot all day. (Really good times)

This is a picture I took of him shooting one of our carbines at our lease when he was 10. This is our 'private range' where we do the most shooting. There's a large berm behind the targets from a dried up old stock tank ahead at 100 yards that makes a good backstop. This is Texas in mid-summer so it's 110 degrees.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Carbine-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Tony032-1.jpg

Closer to berm with the 1911A1
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC02144-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/1111-1.jpg

He's 16 in this picture - He's 18 now and has outgrown me by about four inches. (It's still VERY strange looking up at him) ;)
He graduates high school in a few months and wants to go into the service. I was trying to get him the go to college first but maybe it'll work out to let him do what he wants to for now.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...iumSmall-1.jpg

GREAT pictures and story, Harlan

I started my boys out shooting a little later than you did with your son. My eldest is now 25 and my younger is 22. Both can out shoot me now (I like to think that it is just an aged eye thing ;) ).

My eldest now lives a few hours away in Reno, so we don't get to shoot as much as we like, but my younger one goes to college close by in Davis, so we still get together fairly often to shoot.

We usually shoot in the vintage military matches at the nearby Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. This is a fantastic range facility with everything from 50 yard small bore to 1000 yard ranges. Here's an overhead view of the range complex.

MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions - Map

They have a monthly vinatge military silhouette match involving 50 year old or older military rifles shooting chickens @ 220 yards, pigs @ 330, turkeys @ 420 and rams at 550 yards.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...pics0131-1.jpg

In addition, there are paper target matches on the 1000 yard range that we shoot at distances of 300, 500, 600 and 800 yards.

Last month, using his favorite Swiss K31, my youngest son was overall match winner at the silhouette match :cheers:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Calfed

Last month, using his favorite Swiss K31, my youngest son was overall match winner at the silhouette match :cheers:

---

OUTSTANDING, Steve! I don't suppose that made you very proud! :thup:

MAN, that looks like one heck of a shooting complex! We don't have much in the way of ranges on my side of the D/FW area (Dallas) Most don't even want milsurps there. I hear there's some really good ranges on the west side of Ft Worth, but by the time I drove that far west I could be 2/3 of the way to our property east of Dallas. Our 'range' isn't very fancy, but there's something very nice about being out there with your boy doing things on your own time. We also have a small pond on the other side of the place that's stuffed full of perch - After shooting we sit in the shade and catch and release fish in the afternoon, and fix baloney and cheese sandwiches from my little ice chest. Great times.

Shooting on your own property sounds like a lot of fun, Harlan. Maybe one of these days I'll let the politicians run me out of California and land somewhere where property is still available.

The "Rockland 1903 A3" arrived today and as I hoped, it is a "Rock Island". Looks like I made out ok on this...it is high number and has a beautiful Sedgley barrel, gauging between "0" and "1" on the CMP muzzle gauge. Has the Unertl scope blocks mounted and the Redfield sight works well.

The bad news...the stock, which is a beautiful Springfield C stock looks like it has been cut short at the butt.

I'll post a range report shortly



https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00132-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00232-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00441-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../02/0101-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../02/0082-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00631-1.jpg

You did real well!!! congrats. Too bad about the stock, I would reshape it, put a butt plate on it and as George said on Seinfeld, "shrinkage".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by supercub

You did real well!!! congrats. Too bad about the stock, I would reshape it, put a butt plate on it and as George said on Seinfeld, "shrinkage".

---

LOL...would I have to dip it in cold water first?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Calfed

LOL...would I have to dip it in cold water first?

---

I think I will let some of our senior experts advise you on that...lol

Hey, watch it there Supercub! (I resemble that remark)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Calfed

The bad news...the stock, which is a beautiful Springfield C stock looks like it has been cut short at the butt.

---

You can find sporterized '03' stocks all over the internet, CHEAP. Buy one and cut off the tail end and "attach" to this this stock. So you lose the butt trap holes. No biggee. I personally would try it or have it done. Have you priced nice looking C stocks lately?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pcaru1

Have you priced nice looking C stocks lately?

---

Yes I have...In good shape, more than I paid for this rifle :yikes:

Sun came out and I was able to get a few pics of the bore...
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/01111-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/01241-1.jpg

Need sunglasses it is so bright in there!! :cool:

D. :cheers:

I think this one has a lot of potential. If it is a good shooter, I would like to try make a faux 1941A1 Marine sniper out of it. The unertl blocks are already on it.

I'd go for it Calfed! :thup:

Very nice Steve. It would be a good candidate for the sniper conversion. Are you going to put some rounds through it this Sat?

Thanks, guys.

I got to the range last week and fired a few through my "out on a limb" rifle. I didn't want to waste much ammo, because I had to use the threaded hole that the aperture screws into as the rear "aperture". I tried to use a couple of my other apertures and they either wouldn't screw in far enough or were too large to operate the bolt with.

Fired a few @ 50 yards to make sure the windage on the sights was good...
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00415-1.jpg

Moved the target back to 100 and got this...
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02/00531-1.jpg

Without an aperture this was more of a Ghost ring sight than a target sight. I'm pretty sure that the flyers that went high were my fault. I usually do fine with the windage using aperture sights, but have some trouble reproducing the elevation aim from shot to shot.

Matt (Rugersworld) and I shot it after the monthly Military Silhouette match at the Sac Valley Shooting Center on Saturday and both agree this one has potential

I finally got an aperture for the Redfield sight that would fit and allow the bolt to operate.

My son and I went to the Lincoln, CA range for the afternoon and I had him give the "Rockland 1903" a try ...

First he shot it at 50 yards, just to see if it was centered and on paper. His first 5 @ 50

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ntitled1-3.jpg

Since it was hitting pretty good at 50, he tried the rifle at 100 yards.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ntitled2-2.jpg

I tried it at 100 yards, but wasn't able to keep up with my son.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P6210132-1.jpg

We were shooting the last of some mid-60's LC match ammo that a friend gave me.

That's some good shootin'.


Great thread!!! My son is 11-1/2 now and he's starting to take to shooting. Not quite as much as your son, but that's partly my fault. I haven't gone much lately. But I'm trying to get going again with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ABPOS

That's some good shootin'.


Great thread!!! My son is 11-1/2 now and he's starting to take to shooting. Not quite as much as your son, but that's partly my fault. I haven't gone much lately. But I'm trying to get going again with it.

---

Thanks, AB, on behalf of my son. We shoot in various vintage military rifle matches and my son has began to regularly wax my fanny. A few months back he was overall match winner in the silhouette match...an honor that I've certainly never enjoyed.

Well, I'm sure you're a good teacher. Yeah, it's hard to not always be top dog. But I guess the point is to teach them and point them in the right direction, and then let them flourish. I know when my Dad and I were shooting a few years back, I was always kicking his butt. With pistols and rifles. And now I feel bad about it. But I think as we get older our eyes get worse, and we're just not quite as "crisp" as a person under say, 30. I know I've been humbled greatly these last 5 years as I've been fighting lymes disease. And it has zapped my strength. I feel like I'm getting better now, hence wanting to go shooting more, but my son seems to be catching on real quick like, and my skills have totally waned. hehhehehehe

Circle of life I guess. But you can be proud you got him started and showed him how its' done. :thup:

I would like to have one! Nice rifle and good shooting.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gunner

I would like to have one! Nice rifle and good shooting.

---

Thanks, Ulrich. I would like to get a vintage Unertl or Lyman scope and turn this into a vintage sniper rifle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Calfed

Thanks, Ulrich. I would like to get a vintage Unertl or Lyman scope and turn this into a vintage sniper rifle

---

That would be a great show and a reason more to have one. Good luck for it!:thup:

The vintage Unertl and Lyman sights with the external adjustments have gotten crazy expensive...maybe 3 times what I spent for the rifle.

They do make a reproduction "Unertl-type" scope, but I haven't been able to confirm whether the scope and more importantly, the adjustable mounts are good.

Iron Sight Inc.

It's not cheap, either (twice what I paid for the rifle), but it would definitely qualify for the vintage sniper match

Sweet stuf Calfed thanks for sharing.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...4121f51b-1.jpg

Wow, MJ...nothing wrong with that target.

It looks like your missing the spring clip that holds the middle band on, on the left side of the rifle.

These as NOS, are readily available, as you already probably know. In fact I just bought four.

Bill

I've been making slow progress on the 1941 1903 USMC sniper rifle repro for the CMP vintage sniper match.

I recently found an 8x Lyman Junior Target spot scope for the project and am in the process of mounting and testing it on the 1903 Rock Island.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._zps5e1b-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._zps6601-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._zps173d-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._zps3e6e-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo..._zpsbf4c-1.jpg

I'm trying to keep this on the cheap. I still need to fix the stock. It was trimmed about 1/8" on the butt and had a padded butt plate installed. I need to fit and install an original butt plate.

It is still missing the rear sight. Does anyone think this will be a problem for the CMP vintage match?