Gibbs 1903a4-got One

[Curt]

I have been looking for lense covers as well

Information

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[JAYFMT]

I have been looking for lense covers as well

Try Ebay seller "iblamemydog", he has some.

[JAYFMT]

Try Ebay seller "iblamemydog", he has some.

His name is Jon Moore and this is his email address: mooreleather@yahoo.co.uk

[JGaynor]

Tedijr, a couple of minior points.

The Gibbs replica scope is a copy of the Weaver 330C or M73B1. The M73 was actually the militarized version of the Lyman Alaskan. It was planned for use on the M1903A4 but due to prodction difficulties none were delivered in time for A4 production. Some became available in time for issue with the M1-C in 1945.

A couple of other purchasers have reported the windage and elevation knobs on the replicas are reversed. Apparently Gibbs has confirmed they were all delivered this way.

A few purchasers have also reported that some screws (i.e. scope base) needed tightening as well.

Good luck and lets us know how it performs.

Regards,

Jim

[Garry]

Got my last week. Took it to the farm and it shot about 1.5 moa. Wood to metal fit was good. The scope adjustment knobs are backwards. My does not
appear to be a former drill rifle. I took it out of the stock and did not see any
signs of a weld. It will make a fine non-standard hog gun here in South TEXAS.

Garry

[snipers]

I had been waiting a long time for this Gibbs 1903-A4 copy and have to say the wait was not worth it and the rifle is certainly not worth the money either.

The quality of the wooden stock is awful and seems to be made of something more akin to balsa wood as it is very light and easily marked compared to my original A3.

The bullets constantly jam in the magazine no matter how you load them and so most of the time it has been fired single shot to avoid jamming.

The scope is a waste of time and seems to have lenses made from clingfilm.

Because of the poor quality stock and being lightweight the gun suffers from more recoil than my original 1903-A3 and is horrible to shoot.

I am going to be seeling it at the earliest opportunity and will be glad to see it go.

[ballistic]

Amazing. I have arranged the purchase of 9 of these rifles in the last year, all with Criterion barrels. The wood quality is on par with after market replacement stocks, actually quite nice but not original. The scopes all "track" from 300 to 600 yards and back. The crosshairs are fine, but need to be used as iron sights at 600 (six o'clock hold). I have cleaned the 600 yard target a number of times in practice when I was on the wind with Hornady 168 amax. None of us ever had a feeding problem.
My concern is the recoil thing. Lighter to the point of more recoil? My Gibbs weighs 4oz less than my original A4. Never weighed them until I read this.
Something stinks here. I agree you need to seel it soon.

[saddler]

Tedijr, a couple of minior points.

The Gibbs replica scope is a copy of the Weaver 330C or M73B1. The M73 was actually the militarized version of the Lyman Alaskan. It was planned for use on the M1903A4 but due to prodction difficulties none were delivered in time for A4 production. Some became available in time for issue with the M1-C in 1945.

M73B1 WAS the code of the military Weaver 330C
The Lyman Alaskan scopes were given the codes M81 & M82 - depending on the reticle style of that particular model scope.

I make covers for all the above, plus a few more besides!!

[JGaynor]

M73B1 WAS the code of the military Weaver 330C
The Lyman Alaskan scopes were given the codes M81 & M82 - depending on the reticle style of that particular model scope.

I make covers for all the above, plus a few more besides!!

Two scopes were initially approved for the M1903A4. The Lyman Alaskan (M73) and the Weaver 330C (M73B1). The scope specification was written broadly enough that both the Lyman and the Weaver could qualify. Due to difficulty obtaining the lenses from Bausch and Lomb no M73's were delivered in time for A4 production. Few M73's were issued as M73's. In early 45 the rubber eye shield and sliding steel sunshade were approved modifications to the M73. Most of the early M73's had their markings defaced and were electropenciled or etched M81. Yet another scope, the M73B2, was made in france by OPL and test ed experimentally in the ETO.

The Alaskan as either the M73, M81 or M82 began to appear in late 44 and early 45 and were used primarily on M1C's.

Regards,
Jim