Drill & Tap 1903A3 receiver

[Chuckindenver]

they are supposed to be offset a little bit,
if you look at the, receiver from the rear angle, youll see the front ring is actually offset just a tad, and the reason the new made bases dont fit worth a crap, the early and original bases were made with this in mind, and made off set, so that they would fit on the rifle correctly with no large gap.
look at a real A4 with the base installed, it will set just like the one you have, your hole is drilled correctly.

[snell]

Thank you my friend, I've been worrying for nought then.

Art

[Rick H.]

For Chuck in Denver: Just to clarify, if one has the China made Redfield base the rear mounting hole will be off slightly to compensate for an improperly made sight mount correct? If one has an early Redfield mount then the mount will center up on the rear receiver stand. Also, can you advise if the 1903A4 mount holes went completely thru the front and rear receiver or were they blind holes? Thanks, Rick

[Chuckindenver]

the early made redfield bases {in the red and white boxes} will mount directly onto real A4 holes.
the holes were drilled before heat treatment on a real A4, and drilled all the way through.
do to fitting issues, i will no longer install China made bases...more work then they are worth, i have posted several pictures of the problems and soft mounting screws that stripped as soon as they were used...

[Rick H.]

Thanks Chuckindenver, are there any markings on the good versus bad Redfield mounts that would indicate which is which? Many times these mounts come up for sale without the packaging which would cause an identification problem. The civilian Redfield mount I have has an "S" stamped on the bottom of it but no other markings.

Thanks, Rick

[Jim Tarleton]

I just stumbled onto this post, and if I may be so bold....listen very closely to what Chuck said. My experiences have been like his. I use jigs and the best equipment I can buy, and I have been doing it since 1968. Without the proper jigs and tap guides you better forget D&T'ing that SC. You are going to ruin it. If that tap breaks, you have one serious problem. Try that nitric acid-tapping on the tap with a punch deal and see how well it works. You can make it work, but you had better be one skilled sucker. I have tapped countless receivers of all types, and I have broken more taps on the Springfields than all the rest together. By the way, they aren't cheap. Send it to Chuck or the gunsmith of your choice. A good gunsmith isn't cheap because his skills came at a high cost of time and money.

Jim

[faawrenchbndr]

Great info here,.......thanks to all