New to me 1903a3 Remington

[Lancebear]

Hey ramit,

Break that rifle down and soak all of the metal in mineral spirits for an hour or so. Any old dried cosmoline or whatever should come off with a good wipe off.

The barrel should maybe precede the receiver by three months. That's not carved in stone, but ya' might be a little long in the difference. But......

If the bore is fine and the wood is good. Nothing to worry about.

Maybe the arsenal rework marks were sanded off by a prior owner, but for the price of the rifle and the good readings about ME and TE, it should be a fine shooter that you got for a fair price.

What are the markings on the bolt root top and bottom?

The big dogs will chew your bone and give you more info than me.

Bright flashlight is your best friend when observing a firearm in person. Like the Streamlight ones.

Lancebear

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[ramit]

Hey ramit,

Break that rifle down and soak all of the metal in mineral spirits for an hour or so. Any old dried cosmoline or whatever should come off with a good wipe off.

The barrel should maybe precede the receiver by three months. That's not carved in stone, but ya' might be a little long in the difference. But......

If the bore is fine and the wood is good. Nothing to worry about.

Maybe the arsenal rework marks were sanded off by a prior owner, but for the price of the rifle and the good readings about ME and TE, it should be a fine shooter that you got for a fair price.

What are the markings on the bolt root top and bottom?

The big dogs will chew your bone and give you more info than me.

Bright flashlight is your best friend when observing a firearm in person. Like the Streamlight ones.

Lancebear

I'll double check the bolt when I get home. I tried to look for any other marks other than the "R" and could find any,
Do I need to take the bolt apart?
(Sorry if it's a nob question)
I had it out a couple of times thinking I was missing something, that there should be more markings.

I'll try the ms on a small section of the receiver and see what comes of it.
I don't think it's the cosmoline, but thinking it's oil from someone constantly oiling the stock that's dried to a near lacquer like finish.
When I take pix, I'll try and capture that aspect.

Would an arsenal rebuild use a much older barrel?
From the little I read, most of the barrels made in 43 and after were 2 grove.
So I was thinking it was original.
Yes, the barrel date(7-42) and receiver(1-43) date puts it 5-6 months.
Another s/n list just lists my receiver s/n as part of the lot for year 1942 (near the end of the lot), and not by month.

Barrel marking has the RA , then the bomb, then the 7-42. On the underside of the barrel, opposite those marks, is a P.

Could someone have purchased the barrel, and fitted it, attempting to make it correct? Were / Are such barrels on the surplus market?

The collector's Garand collection it was part of, this was the only 03a3 in it, along side two 03. And about 10 correct grade CMP Garands...

Yup , was looking for a good shooter, and that was my top end price, but all the "R"'s (I know , it's not a SC make) made me more excited about it.

To me having a Remington 03a3 , is liking having a SA M1 Garand, for me anyway.

I think the straight stock is soo distinctive, but I do like the looks of the C stock better.

Lesson learned on the flashlight!!. Thanks.

[Lancebear]

Hey ramit,

I can't answer your questions, but Rick TRL and John Beard certainly can.

Thanks for all of your hard work on the photos. Very fine rifle and photos.

Lancebear