A4 replica advise

[Mike D]

I'm with Calfed. Take your time and try to find a sporter with a lot of original parts. Most important the barrel. Don't buy a sporter with a cut-down barrel.

Another important thing is the finish of the receiver/barrel. The barrel can be "corrected" with a little epoxy paint. I would look for a receiver with original park.

I have found that it is kinda hard to find an A3 receiver that has been drilled and tapped for a Redfield Jr. mount. More often that not, it's the 2-piece Weaver deal. Which is no big deal, if you can d&t yourself, or know someone who can do it for you. I am always on the lookout for a good A4 clone candidate.

Posts like this one remind me how lucky I got with the clone I bought. It was complete, all GI. The bolt, base and rings are all original A4. I switched the scant it had on it for a C-stock that I altered for the bolt. Up graded the scope to a 330C, which I still need to have serviced. ME just under 1. After scope servicing, I'll still be just under a grand.

Point is, take your time, the right gun for your project could be just around the corner. Happy hunting!

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[viking guy]

I spoke with the gentleman today and cancelled the N.O. build. He appears knowledgeable and a man of high integrity. The bolts in his replicas looked just like the real deal bolts I have seen on this forum, having the pronounced stem concavity. He told me today that the barrel I examined was specifically made for an A4. That there are specific A4 barrels built without front sights. He said all replacement A3 barrels left the factory with front sights attached. He also said the new barrel factory standard for muzzle gauging was a range of 0-2.0 which is 0-.0020. Thus, a barrel gauged at 1.5 would actually be .0015. He used a calibrated cylindrical metal gauge that was dropped into the muzzle end of the barrel. Can someone explain what is being measured here?

Regarding failure of the N.O. receivers, he referenced Brophy's purple book wherein the author described blow-ups of Sante Fe receivers but makes no mention of N.0. receiver problems. My guess is that this fellow was unaware of failures with the N.O. variant.

[Calfed]

That there are specific A4 barrels built without front sights. He said all replacement A3 barrels left the factory with front sights attached. He also said the new barrel factory standard for muzzle gauging was a range of 0-2.0 which is 0-.0020. Thus, a barrel gauged at 1.5 would actually be .0015. He used a calibrated cylindrical metal gauge that was dropped into the muzzle end of the barrel. Can someone explain what is being measured here?

I can't speak to whether there were specific A4 barrels made. It is true that A4's did not have front sights or front sight bases. It is also true that front sight bases come off easy enough.

However, what he told you about new barrels does not sound right to me. A muzzle gauge is a form of taper gauge that measures the muzzle across the lands. I have one that I got from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. I also have a number of new and barely used 03 and 03A3 barrels. All of them measure close to "0" on the gauge, which equates to a land-to-land measurement of .300". This is a picture of an 03 barrel that I recently scored at an auction:

It is representative of every new or nearly new 03/03A3 barrel that I've ever measured. It measures right at "0" on the muzzle gauge, so the land-to-land measurement is right at .300".
A barrel that measures a 1.5 on the muzzle gauge would have a land-to-land measurement of .3015", which indicates significant wear to me. I'm not saying that the barrel wouldn't still be accurate-there are a number of factors that go into barrel accuracy other than muzzle wear. It just doesn't seem to me to indicate a "new barrel".

I will say this..if the barrel, bolt, mount, and scope are truly original 03A4 parts, it is all the more inexplicable that he would put them on a NO receiver. Those parts have great value in and of themselves and would be wasted on an NO receiver build.

[JGaynor]

i see Gibbs Rifle Co. now has three different flavors of M1903A4.
The original with the "authentic replica" M73B1 (actually marked M73G1 but hey!) for $995.

A version with an "authentic replica" (as opposed to a fake replica) M82 for $1199.

and a version with a reproduction M84 for $1249.

Regards,

Jim

[Chuckindenver]

well,
not all barrels left with a front sight base.
during production,. barrels that gaged better then others, were set asside for the A4 snipers rifle, said barrels were also parkerized from end to end, and parkerized were the front sight would slide over,
also, real A4 barrels have a punch prick mark on the underside of the sight base area.
barrels not used for the A4,s had a front sight installed, and then were put into regualr service,
i have removed the front sight from a few A3 barrels to find that they were indeed parkerized under the front sight, and had a prick mark on the bottom side.
in retrospect,,, 200.000 for a replacement A3 barrel is a little on the high side, unless he is offering to install it as well.
i have several A3 barrels id sell for 200.00 installed.