Help with 1903a3 purchase

First post and new to MILSURP rifles.Found a 1903a3 and I was attracted to it but not sure if it is all original or not.The research i have done is it dates back to July of 43 but the barrel stamp is july of 44.Cartouches seem correct but seems to have parkerized butt plate,,barrel bands and floor plate.Took these pics real quick to try to determine if it is mostly original or a mishmash of parts,,,,,if anyone can help please do so.

Sincerely,
Kdog

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...3_150731-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02347png-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02404png-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02409png-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...3_150543-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...3_150435-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...3_150524-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...3_150853-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...02325png-1.jpg

I'm not a pro so I'll just say NICE looking stock, anyway! The rest is very presentable too, but I'm learning about the bolts and such. Does it have any marks on the bolt handle flat, above or below? A picture of that area, from the top, seems to help.

Welcome to the forum, the whole rifle looks nice. We don't see those around here at all...

rifle is a parts gun, stamps are fake as you can get, someone has sanded the relief cut for the cuttoff badly..unless its real cheap, id find another example

That would be perfect for me then...a shooter.

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Originally Posted by chuckindenver

rifle is a parts gun, stamps are fake as you can get, someone has sanded the relief cut for the cuttoff badly..unless its real cheap, id find another example

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Not arguing with you, just want to learn. Why are the stamps fake? How can you tell?

For the benefit of everyone on here and to promote learning the barrel is dated 7-44, which should be considered a replacement as Remington barrel dates of original 1903A3 rifles stopped at 3-44.This rifle is a good example of what can happen if a buyer doesn't do his or her research before forking over their money. Good on Kdog for posting and learning before buying.

Is the stock earlier than the rest of the gun and someone has modified the woodwork to get it to fit together with the metalwork?

Actually, the last "production" Remington M1903A3 barrels (fitted on finished production rifles) was 12-43 and maybe 1-44 - anything after is a replacement. I'd definitely be suspicious, at least of the RA - the "R" is a LOT "deeper" than the A.

The story i got from the dealer is that he bought a handful of military surplus rifles from a family that the father had passed away and he had these rifles for a long time,,,,like they always remembered he had these military rifles.The dealer thinks the guy got them back in the 60-70s before the CMP was the CMP.Thats the story i got anyway,,,,,just thought id see if this was a good deal or not before i spent the money.....i certainly wouldn't want to buy a rifle with fake cartouches.

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Originally Posted by Kdog

a handful of military surplus rifles from a family that the father had passed away and he had these rifles for a long time

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That's the kind of story that usually accompanies. Not substance and no way to prove it.

A "story gun" for certain. Chuck has it right. Parts gun with faked stamps. Stock heavily sanded so seller was forced to add new stamps. Got to wonder just where it thing has been. A fire? A sporter? Parts gun, pass on it.

I would still like to know how Chuckindenver and others know the cartouches and inspection stamps are fake. I think it would benefit all on here to know what to look for. Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by One Holer

it would benefit all on here to know what to look for.

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And also the guys that do the faking...so many won't reveal the tells. It's learned over time.

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Originally Posted by One Holer

I would still like to know how Chuckindenver and others know the cartouches and inspection stamps are fake. I think it would benefit all on here to know what to look for. Thanks in advance.

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I'm not trying to tell counterfeiters how to do their job better but I don't think anything I can say would be a surprise to a faker so I'll just mention the things that jumped out at me on first sight.

When you look at the picture of the stocks, the Ordnance wheel immediately jumps out as not being correct, maybe because it's too perfectly stamped when the FJA and RA or all so many different depths? Also appears to be an overstamp of a lighter Ordnance wheel. The R being super deep and no letter A also looks immediately suspicious. Looks like the "R" might be an overstamp as well on a very light RA below?

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Originally Posted by allanw

When you look at the picture of the stocks, the Ordnance wheel immediately jumps out as not being correct, maybe because it's too perfectly stamped when the FJA and RA or all so many different depths? Also appears to be an overstamp of a lighter Ordnance wheel. The R being super deep and no letter A also looks immediately suspicious. Looks like the "R" might be an overstamp as well on a very light RA below?

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Welcome to the forum, but there are much more definite tells than that. They don't leave room for guessing. They're definitive.