Pictures of another "Correct" Near Mint Remington 1903A3... A little different.

[oneshot onekill]

I'm new to this Forum so Hi... and thanks for being here! I've found a wealth of information here recently and after lurking around for months I finally have something worth posting!

I just found this Gem in my favorite Fun Shop on Friday. I've been researching it 9 ways to Sunday since. The Bore is 2-groove and like a mirror. Everything that should have an "R", does have an "R". The stock has the "RA", Crossed Cannons (Although you can't see them in the picture I took) and "FJA". The parts that should be Blued are Blued and the parts that should be Parkerized are Parkerized. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the Trigger Guard-Floorplate. Mine is Parkerized. Everything I've read states it should be Blued to be "Original". Well... I guess that just isn't always so. The last picture shows the Tell-Tale circled "R" on the left side of the back of the Magazine Box and It shows no signs of being refinished. Enjoy the pics and please feel free to critique the rifle.

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.

[JGaynor]

Very nice rifle. Regarding the magazine box assembly by that date and s/n i would have expected it to have the large bow guard. Original finaish as you suggest would have been blued.

Regards,

Jim

[oneshot onekill]

OK... So does it appear likely that part was replaced for some reason? Or more likely it was just built with the one on it? I don't have any reference books yet or years of experience so I'm at the mercy of those that do and have. It's been my experience though, especially with Military Weapons, that when so much about a firearm is original, it's likely that the one part that leaves you scratching your head is just something that got put on the firearm in the interest of getting it out the door... Or completing an order. Unless, of course, the whole rifle is just a complete parts gun that someone spent a lot of time and effort putting together. Not likely on this one. I'm told it was owned by an elderly Gentleman who had it for many years. (I know the shop owner very well. he wouldn't lie to me.)

Anyway, Thank you very much for your insight! Happy Easter!

[Chuckindenver]

trigger guard the 1903A3 was easy to crack, likely thats the reason why only it was changed..

[Calif-Steve]

Looks like a DCM 03-A3 to me. Very nice find. Years ago I saw a DCM 03-A3 still in the original box. The guy had bought it around 1962 and just received it. Put it away in his closet and then suffered a fatal heart attack the next day. When his widow died his son grabbed it and immediately sold it off. That is when I saw it. The dealer would not open the box and saw busy taking crazy offers for it. I never saw it again.

[Johnny Peppers]

Don't know how true it was, but reminds me of the story about the "new in the unopened box" Model 42 Winchester that was making the gun shows around Texas in the 1970's. Supposedly it changed hands several times at an increasingly higher price until someone decided to open the box and found a neatly wrapped well used single barrel shotgun.

A DCM box from that period of time might contain a rifle in just about any condition, as condition was just luck of the draw. You might get an unissued rifle, or a rifle that had been through multiple rebuilds.

[Calif-Steve]

Johnny-The dealer who had the DCM boxed rifle was a crook. I learned later he had piles of BS guns. However, the DCM box was real and I think it was the real deal. Also, the DCM had new rifles and OK rifles. I am sure I could have bought a near mint 03-A3 at that show for half what the box eventually sold for. But guys are funny, for sure.

[Johnny Peppers]

We agree that any condition rifle could have been in the box, and when you get right down to it, the box had nothing to do with the original manufacture of the rifle. The folks buying and selling the Winchester at least had an original Winchester box.

[oneshot onekill]

Looks like a DCM 03-A3 to me. Very nice find. Years ago I saw a DCM 03-A3 still in the original box. The guy had bought it around 1962 and just received it. Put it away in his closet and then suffered a fatal heart attack the next day. When his widow died his son grabbed it and immediately sold it off. That is when I saw it. The dealer would not open the box and saw busy taking crazy offers for it. I never saw it again.

So after posting the pictures around the net the general consensus from the "Experts" is that it is a DCM Rifle that was probably sold by the DCM in the 50's or 60's and rarely, if ever, shot. Apparently there were some 1903A3's that were built during WWII and never issued because the Garand had taken over as the primary battle rifle for U.S. forces. Some of these "New and unissued" rifles were stored away and later sold to the public by the DCM.

Dammit!... Now I don't know if I should shoot it or keep it in the condition it's in now. I should probably let it go to a collector and find another one I can shoot and not feel like I'm destroying it's value...

[Chuckindenver]

shoot it...it has been shot more then you think, the rail on the follower has wear, as does the bolt body, rust on the buttplate.. ect...its nice,, but not really crispy collector nice.
if it were unissued with the box and papers then i would agree to not shoot... iv owned and shot nicer...these were made to be shot....like have a hot babe...man,,i dont wanna mess her up, i let some other guy do that...heck man..get some!!