Need your help in ID'ing a stock and with a 1903 project !

[normrp]

I bought the stock and handguard pictured here off of eBay for a project I have planned. I do not know if they were ever on the same rifle or were just thrown together at some point. I need to know if they would be better served on someone's real restoration or if it matters if I use them on the project I have planned.

My project is a pile of parts I have aquired over the years. I have a Remington 1903 stripped action s/n 3,163,xxx [which makes it a 1942 I think] bought 15 years ago and a 1903 barrel marked USMC date of 9 41 with a circled S below the date stamp. Could the receiver/barrel combo be right together? I am building a shooter for me out of all this but want it to be fairly accurate in detail. Or maybe it becomes a Springfield prototype that never made it into production.

Anyway I bought this stock and handguard for the project but have some questions on the markings. For my project I also don't want to use anything that could be better used in a real restoration. I had originally thought of buying a repro C stock to use for this but don't know if that is historically accurate or not either.




What is the C stamped over the flaming bomb on the forened tip?


What is the D stamped in front of the triggerguard inlet?


What is with the weird inspector stamp on the left side ahead of the grip?


What is the 45 stamp on the butt?


Does the drawing number D28179 on the handguard make it special or unique?


I really appreciate any info you guys can provide.

Thanks,
Norm

Information

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[emmagee1917]

It will never be original. The Reminton reciever dates from '42. The bbl is a WW2 contract replacement bbl for use in rebuilds. Never used for new builds. The stock is a scant stock. Was used in A4 production. Only used on A3s and 03s during rebuild. The RA-P mark is a rebuild mark showning the rifle it was on passed through Raritan ( sp? ) Arsonal and was inspected by inspector " P" , very common. Any orig. factory stock marks have been removed if they even were ever applied ( stock might have gone to the arsonal without ever being used in orig. production). You do have the start of building a replica of a WW2 rifle that went through a early rebuild ( late war or post war , not sure when Raritan was active ). This would allow you to use mixed , " wrong" parts and still be correct. When done , you could park the whole thing to the same color and be correct for a rebuild. Don't know why more people don't take this path.
Chris

[RCS]

The few originals that I have seen in person or photos, were all WW1 era receivers, I did see a 1.2 with a USMC circled S barrel dated 9-41 but could not say that it was an original

[Mike D]

Not sure what the C at the stock tip stands for but the other looks like part of a flaming shell, commonly found on replacement stocks. Stock was used as a replacement for a rifle that was rebuilt at Raritan Arsenal. D is probably just an inspector stamp. 45, who knows?

D28179 is the drawing # for the handguard. It is found on handguards that date to the mid to late 30's, I think.

If your building a shooter, a mixmaster is fine. Just don't put any A3 parts on it. MO

I've heard that many Sedgely (S in circle) barrels were bent and then re-straightened, resulting in some bad barrels. Not sure if the date of yours can tell you anything, but definitely look into it. Others can tell you more about this. It needs to be checked (by a competant smith, not some jackleg that "works on guns" like me!) before being installed.

[normrp]

emmagee1917 - thank you for all the info. I really like the "rebuild" idea and think that is the way I will take this. It makes the most sense for the parts I have on hand. Then get it parkerized.

RCS - thanks. I will have to do a search and see if I can find more info on the Sedgley barrels.

Mike D - thanks for the tips. I had heard that about he Sedgley barrels also, only after I had picked this one up though! It is in good shape but I don't know if any work to straighten it would be apparent on the barrel or not. I need to find a good smith to mount the barrel and will ask about its condition.

Thanks to all of you for the help.

Norm