I was really interested in the '03 rifles but I will make the trip to see a nice M1anyday. I have two, might as well add to it. I load my own ammo, so I'm ok there. I don't shoot anything but cast loads though any of my rifles. I hate cleaning copper fouling out. A clean shooting cast bullet is easy on the barrel, and my shoulder. Plus it is super accurate. I'll post a pic of a group I shot last weekend with a new rifle of mine. I should be able to tighten it up a little toying with different loads. I will shoot 250 + rounds a trip and run a single patch through the bore and it looks brand new. Run a lightly oiled patch and put it back in the safe. It is a little tricky to get an M1 to cycle with cast though. My '03s love it.