My 1903 needs some help

[rimfire]

I was at an estate auction and bought a 1903 SA #1135797 for $500. On first inspection it was missing the elevation locking screw. The entire rifle was covered with grease and the barrel was marked SA 10-19. When I got it home and cleaned it I found that the bore had rifling but was very corroded.
I took it to the range with some light loads and they were difficult to extract because of corrosion where the cartridge neck swells. The bad news is I have fell in love with the rifle, it just feels right at home when it comes up to my shoulder. The gun overall looks good. The action is slick as glass and tight with almost no wear.

So what do I do now???

I researched what I have. It is correct except:
It has a 1910 straight handle bolt.
The firing pin knob is knurled instead of serrated.
The straight grip stock has been sanded on the left side and is missing the cartouche.
I replaced the missing elevation locking screw with a flat sided one (not dimpled).

Do I need to search for the correct era parts or is that a waste of time and money or do I make a shooter out of it and rebarrel it with a Criterion and make a shooter out of it. Would this kill the value?
1903 barrels are hard to find on Gunbroker. I have called a few gunsmiths about removing my rear sight and putting it on a new barrel and it scares them off.

Can anyone recommend a good 1903 gunsmith. Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help you can give me.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Calif-Steve]

This is a Mk1 rifle? Have you Googled Mark 1, Pedersen rifle? Do that before you do anything else.

[rimfire]

It's not a Mark 1

[Calif-Steve]

Not a Mk1. This is a 7-1930 rifle. A 1919 barrel does not fit although in the Depression the Army did reuse old barrels. You may find a 1930 barrel, but putting on a modern barrel would certainly hurt its collector value. To say nothing of the expense. I would suggest you soak the barrel with Kroil for 3-4 days. Clean it very well and try 150 gr. flatbase bullets. Handloads of say 40-45 gr. 4895. This is a moderate load and will be a good test of any accuracy you may still have. Not certain, but I think you have a Greek return '03 and they are fun. Also: there is a decent gunsmith on this site, Chuckindenver, he does have a very few '03 barrels. Good luck.

[Mike D]

You should talk with "ChuckinDenver". He's a member, look him up. Everyone of his posts has his phone number. Gunsmith and good guy.

He can let you know how much money it will cost and you can decide for yourself what to do.

If you really like the rifle, it might be worth it to spend the money to get it in good shooting shape.

Whatever Chuck charges, would be worth it, just knowing it is getting done right.

[rimfire]

I have cleaned it real good, the bore is a light grey with no black but looks as bad as any barrel I have ever seen including black powder corrosion. The outside of the rifle is beautiful with zero corrosion and about 90%plus bluing.
I think the serial number places it in late 1919, if I'm reading the charts correctly, which is correct for the barrel and it actually will shoot a group but the chamber is corroded at the forward edge of the cartridge neck.
It flares the mouth of the cartridge and makes it difficult to extract.
I guess I could trim some brass back an eight of an inch and try it.
I think it really needs a barrel to be right...............don't you think????
What about that early straight handle bolt? Should I replace it? If so what bolt should I replace it with? I have a friend that will give me a new BF marked bolt for free.

[Calif-Steve]

A picture would help. I think this is a late 10-1919 rifle. Nearly in the middle of the Mk1 production. But you say it is not a Mk1. A photo would help as this is a little confusing. You could take your friend up on the offfer of a BF bolt. Do you see a stamp on the bolt like a J5? Vi Shooter site will help you. One more thing, find a good gunsmith. Have him check the barrel, trimming the brass isn't that hot of an idea. Finding a nice 1919 barrel won't happen, either.

[Patrick Chadwick]

I guess I could trim some brass back an eight of an inch and try it.

I don't know much about 1903s, but this is not 1903-specific: the brass trimming idea is BAD. It will lead to rapid erosion in that exposed area of the chamber, thus making things worse.

Until such time as you can get the thing "chucked" (in Denver!) I suggest that you really, really polish the chamber. This a) cannot hurt b) will make extraction just a tad easier, by taking any sharp eges off the pitting.

If you then find that you can live with the barrel, then I further suggest that you freshen up the muzzle crown and use fire-lapping to polish out the rest of the bore. Depending on the size and distribution of any pits, bullets will sometimes ride over pitting and produce good results, even though the bore looks horrible. The fire-lapping makes sure that there are no sharp edges to those pits to tear up the bullets and cause leading/coppering.

Patrick

[Rick the Librarian]

Although Springfield Armory's production, during this time, was almost totally Mark Is, there were other regular serrvice rifles and National Match rifles made at the same time.

[Don W]

It seems there might be at least three small s/n blocks that were not allocated to MK I's.

My recordings indicate these: about 1,092,xxx ~ 1,095,xxx, 1,135,xxx ~ 1,138,xxx, and 1,180,xxx ~ 1,182,xxx

I have rifle 1,135,415 and receiver 1,180,739 and a friend has 1,137,925. None of those are MK I's.

Don W