03A3 Questions

[kz1000]

Just got my 03A3 from the CMP. Very nice & shiny bore with good rifling. TE 2 & 1/4" bullet at the muzzle. A few questions:

- How do you change the distance on the rear sight?

- What is the purpose of the lever marked "off" on the left side of the receiver?

-The stock appears to be varnished with a shiny finish. Could this have been done when the rifle was at a VFW post? All the correct cartouches are preserved underneath.

Thanks in advance.

Information

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[Embalmer]

to change rear distance, slide the rear peep up and down the ramp. as for the shine.. either someone varnished it, or still covered in dried grease??

[kz1000]

No grease. It came clean as a pin except for the bore & chamber.

[Dave B from western NY]

The lever marked off on the left side is called a magazine cutoff. The purpose was to be able to fire the rifle as a single shot, saving the ammo in the magazine for when it was needed, i.e. rapid fire if the bad guys attacked. The lever simply stops the bolt from being pulled to the rear far enough to get behind a round in the magazine and push it into the chamber. When the cut off is moved to the other position it then allows the bolt to come back far enough so it will pick up a round in the magazine. My SC 03a3 has one side of the cut off polished or "white", I suppose so officers and NCOs could see if their troops had the cut off in the correct position.

Dave

[John Beard]

Just got my 03A3 from the CMP. Very nice & shiny bore with good rifling. TE 2 & 1/4" bullet at the muzzle. A few questions:

- How do you change the distance on the rear sight?

- What is the purpose of the lever marked "off" on the left side of the receiver?

-The stock appears to be varnished with a shiny finish. Could this have been done when the rifle was at a VFW post? All the correct cartouches are preserved underneath.

Thanks in advance.

(1) The rear sight distance is changed by simply sliding the aperture up and down the ramp with your fingers.

(2) The lever on the left side of the receiver is a magazine switch, commonly called a "cutoff". In the "ON" position, the magazine is switched "on" and the rifle will load cartridges from the magazine. In the "OFF" position, the magazine is switched "off" and the rifle can be loaded as a single-loader. With the cutoff (switch) in the center position, the bolt can be removed.

(3) Yes. The varnish is a very common VFW finish.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[duggaboy]

thanks for this info cause I was wondering about this stuff too. duggaboy

[Chuckindenver]

if you take the rifle out of the stock, paint remover will take that varnish off , without hurting the original finish,
check the bore for black nastys, from having blanks fired..
DONT SHOOT THEM OUT. if you have a dark bore from blanks , clean it out with hot soapy water, and a worn rifle bore brush, then clean with bore solvent.

[Mike Haas]

if you take the rifle out of the stock, paint remover will take that varnish off , without hurting the original finish,
check the bore for black nastys, from having blanks fired..
DONT SHOOT THEM OUT. if you have a dark bore from blanks , clean it out with hot soapy water, and a worn rifle bore brush, then clean with bore solvent.

Perfect advice!!...

[Rick the Librarian]

One of my "Gold Dust Twins" I won on GB for a very good price, probably due to the fact that the stock was heavily varnished. An afternoon with a combination of Jasco and elbow grease produced a very nice rifle that even had some stock markings I hadn't been aware.

Here's the "before":



...and the "after":



(Rifle looks much better with several coats of BLO on it since the bottom picture was taken).