1903A3 Springfield forward barrel band lose / Help!

[brosco]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the site and have a technical question about the front barrel band. I recently acquired a very nice 03/a3 and went through my normal cleaning process. When reassembling I noticed that the forward barrel band and hand guard were a little loose. I' not sure if this is a design measure so the barrel has some float or if it is supposed to be tight. Any help would be appreciated.

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[browningautorifle]

There is always some shrinkage in wood and because of the age of this rifle, you might have just a bit of that. Unless things are falling apart, it's not really a problem.

[brosco]

I actually made a wooden shim band that tightened things up well. I would hope it won't affect the accuracy.

[browningautorifle]

That's a common fix and shouldn't do anything adverse. I bought and M1 with a rubber shim between the upper hand guard and the upper band, which are always loose...and there's no effect on accuracy.

[brosco]

Thank you Jim