Recently purchased Remington 03A3

[lmpeders]

Purchased my first 03A3 a week ago and would like to get some feedback on this rifle.
All parts are matching and stamped "R" except for the butt swivel which is stamped "RP".
Took the bolt apart and all the parts are also stamped "R". Two groove barrel rifling is bright and shiny with no pitting. Purchased a throat erosion gauge from the CMP and it looks to be about a 2. Stock has some minor scuff marks with no dings or gouges with several cartouche stampings. Does have an S S stamped at the base of the butt stock that I have not been able to find any information on. Would appreciate any feedback or assessment of this rifle.

Information

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[Rick the Librarian]

Looks like a nice late Remington!

[sakorick]

It looks like it has an OG cartouche(a good thing) and it looks correct and like someone put varnish on the stock. That can be corrected if true. There were quite a few late Remingtons that were in unissued condition that went through Ogden. Most of them were inspected, stamped and went back into storage. Some had minor parts changed and in some cases bolts that did not meet headspace tolerances. They are very much sought after by collectors. I would like to see a close up picture of the OG cartouche. I am also surprised to see the muzzle wear. Most of these rifles gauge at zero. I'll drag mine out tomorrow and take some pictures. It's a 12-43, 4.13 version and I have a letter from John B. on it.

[lmpeders]

Thank you for your assessment of the rifle. This is my first 03A3 and I thought the stock looked to shinny for a war rifle. Fortunately I don't see that the stock had been sanded in any way. Looking closely at some of the metal hardware it has a light coat of varnish on it so I don't believe the gun was even taken apart when the varnish was applied. The varnish on the metal does come right of just rubbing it with a fingernail. Attached is a close up picture of the OG cartouche you requested. Regarding the muzzle wear, the inside of the barrel is bright and shinny with absolutely no pitting whatsoever so at least it appears to be well taken care of. Could you please refer me to someone that works on restoring the rifle stock. Also would you have any idea what the SS stamping on the butt stock signifies? If there is any other area of the rifle you would like to see more detailed pictures of please let me know. Again thank you so much for your time in helping with this.

[browningautorifle]

Welcome to to the forum, here's an old thread with an appearance by John Beard, an authority on these. Also a second post that I've heard the same opinion more than once... http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=15764

[sakorick]

Thank you for your assessment of the rifle. This is my first 03A3 and I thought the stock looked to shinny for a war rifle. Fortunately I don't see that the stock had been sanded in any way. Looking closely at some of the metal hardware it has a light coat of varnish on it so I don't believe the gun was even taken apart when the varnish was applied. The varnish on the metal does come right of just rubbing it with a fingernail. Attached is a close up picture of the OG cartouche you requested. Regarding the muzzle wear, the inside of the barrel is bright and shinny with absolutely no pitting whatsoever so at least it appears to be well taken care of. Could you please refer me to someone that works on restoring the rifle stock. Also would you have any idea what the SS stamping on the butt stock signifies? If there is any other area of the rifle you would like to see more detailed pictures of please let me know. Again thank you so much for your time in helping with this.

Sir, you can do it yourself as it looks like it is a very thin coat. Start by removing all the metal then use Denatured Alcohol to get all the dirt off.....it may even lift the varnish a bit. Use a soft cotton cloth. Then use a generic orange stripper(Home Depot or Lowes has) Just keep lightly rubbing until all the varnish is gone and go over the wood with DA again. Then rub in a few very thin coats of Raw linseed oil with the palm of your hand and wait 2-3 days air drying between coats. It will look just perfect....do not use steel wool, sand paper or any kind of scraper. You can also use Tung Oil for this but I prefer RLO as that's what was used by Remington when it was made. Take your time....no need to rush this. RLO contains the fatty acids that allows the wood to redden over time.

[sakorick]

Here is my Ogden and what JB said about it. "Most OG rifles are in new or near new condition. A few OG rifles were fitted with new bolts to correct a headspace issue. For some reason your rifle failed re-inspection perhaps because of feeding issues. So the inspectors at Ogden replaced parts until the problem was corrected."

So, my rifle has a parkerized brand new bolt, floorplate and bayonet band. It also gauges way under zero on the CMP muzzle gauge which would indicate it probably wasn't fired other than for testing. Like your rifle, mine also has a RP(Remington Peters) rear sling swivel base.
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[lmpeders]

Thank you Rick for helping me read the CMP throat gauge It didn't come with any directions and I wasn't sure how the rings on the gauge were numbered. Attached is an updated picture of the throat gauge where the barrel actually ends. Also thanks for the directions on how to remove the varnish on the stock. You have been a great help.

[sakorick]

Thank you Rick for helping me read the CMP throat gauge It didn't come with any directions and I wasn't sure how the rings on the gauge were numbered. Attached is an updated picture of the throat gauge where the barrel actually ends. Also thanks for the directions on how to remove the varnish on the stock. You have been a great help.

The way I read it is that your muzzle is .8 or so. Like I said most of these were never issued so your rifle has a bit of mystery as well. Perhaps J.B. will chime in. Your rifle appears to me to be in unissued condition. It looks to have every single trait of a OG rifle with the exception of the varnish on the stock. Once removed I would estimate it's value at $1500 and probably North of that. Congratulations on finding an exciting rare Remington. Somehow my rifle never made the trip so here it is....