Correct Handguard for Remington M1903?

[WW1 Fan]

This is a picture of one I stole off the old CSP forum

Information

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[339th]

When I'm looking at, or for, Remington 1903 H.G.s, the "extra wide" sighting groove and "circular" Windage Knob cutout is what I key on. The "hump" profile is definately there, but can be subtle. Any narrow sight groove and/or "convex" profile to that area is cause for rejection, my opinion only.

[Mike D]

I think this handguard looks good. Handguard for 1903 Springfield Original - eBay (item 220581595701 end time Apr-06-10 17:05:58 PDT)

What do you guys think?

[John Beard]

I think this handguard looks good. Handguard for 1903 Springfield Original - eBay (item 220581595701 end time Apr-06-10 17:05:58 PDT)

What do you guys think?

The handguard does indeed look good. But, it's not a Remington handguard.

J.B.

[Rick the Librarian]

Not a Remington - could be a 1920s or 1930s HG. Would like a better picture of the right profile.

[John Beard]

What does the correct handguard for a Remington M1903 look like? Is the windage knob cut a slot or a circle? How much of a circle? What about the underside cut out for the forward handguard clip. A 1" cut or just the width of the handguard clip? I have Poyer's book, but I am confused.

Thanks,

Curt

The correct handguard for a Remington M1903 rifle has a concave "high hump" profile with a half-circle shaped windage knob relief cut. The handguard also has a distinct 1" wide relief cut in the barrel channel for the front metal clip.

All Remington M1903 rifles were fitted with the same handguard style.

Poyer's book is very useful for lining the bottom of a bird cage if you don't mind taping the pages together.

J.B.

[RBruce]

So, what is the explanation for the relief cut at the front clip? Perhaps a replacement?

[John Beard]

So, what is the explanation for the relief cut at the front clip? Perhaps a replacement?

The relief cut at the front clip was not unique to Remington handguards. Other handguards had the relief cut as well. But, all Remington handguards had the relief cut.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[RBruce]

The handguard pictured in #15 seems to be less concave than the right most photo in #19. Were there variations of the Remington 1903 handguard? What is the length of the sight cut? --TIA

[Bill Ricca]

This post has nothing to do with the Remington Hand Guards used on the production of rifles, but I figured it would add to the information out there.

There are different Remington hand guards, but from what I have been told from the advanced collectors, these were never used on the rifle production. I do not know that based upon my research, as I am not a rifle collector. I am going on their knowledge of the rifles.

About 30 years ago I purchased about 4 thousand hand guards and found a few Remingtons labeled. As I started to research contracts (WWII to 1970's) I kept trying to find my example of the Remington WWII contract for hand guards.

Finally a few months ago I dug up a few that have been buried for years. They are 2 to the pack.






The Remington Spare Parts contract for Hand Guards was not individual. I suspect it was part of a larger contract for other parts. The hand guards vary in characteristics. All have the notch cut instead of the circular cut. There are slightly different size grooves, different wood, and different sized notches. I am sure a lot of this is just due to different tooling set ups and the fact that we were fighting a war and not trying to please weapons enthusiasts like all of us.

As far as overall hand guards (Remington and other makers) I have somewhere between 9 and 12 different patterns, due to tooling differences.





As far as the Remingtons compared to others I have, they are a lot better quality. The wood appears stronger, the wood cuts are sharper, and the wood is more consistently straight grain. Unfortunately compared to the other makers, I do not have nearly as many Remingtons.