I think I see the deal now with that vishooter link I posted above. I was in a hurry and thought it was showing groups of s/n's with 1st and last by the year of manufacture. Now, I see that it's probably just a list of Remington 03's that owners have sent in, showing their s/n's and barrel dates. The barrel date for my '03 is 12-42 and that's probably why I had it figured as likely built in '43. Now, I'll have to find that NRA article and take a closer look at what it actually says. Thanks, - Bob
Edit: That article I mentioned from the American Rifleman magazine in post #1, was from the June or July issue of 2015. I had it a couple weeks ago, and now can't find it anywhere! It was written by Bruce Canfield and was in a "Q&A" asking about a M1903 "Modified". I gave up looking for it and searched the NRA website a couple days ago and found a longer (earlier) article by Bruce Canfield that I had already seen - just not the same one I was looking for.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...-m1903-rifles/
Do any of you guys happen to have a copy of that 2015 issue of the American Rifleman? Maybe I could get a photo or a copy of that page from you. Just would like read again what I thought at the time was something different on the s/n ranges or the months of manufacture. Thanks - Bob