the 1903A3 was made so that the follower and spring could be removed without removing the trigger guard, upwards through the receiver, if you have a worn follower and or spring, or wrong type spring, they will pop right through.
example, if its a sporterized rifle that someone has ground the rear edge of the follower so it wont lock open on the last shot, or they used a 1903 spring and or a 1917 , or 1903 follower, they give this problem.
an after market stock will make the trigger guard not fit right, and make it come out as well.
thats why i asked for more detail on the rifle, iv noticed in this new forum, that alot of the new readers have non military 03,s that have been modified.
more so then the old CSPforum..just an observation, thats why i asked the questions i did.:}