Pacific Miniseries 03A3

[mercman]

Last week or so I ordered one of the Pacific Miniseries 03A3 rifles from Sarco Inc. Now I've dealt with Sarco off and on for 25+ years and had mixed luck with them. Their products were always as advertised, but that term was open to interpretation. I have in general been satisified with their offerings so I took the plungs and ordered one of these shooting irons.

What intially attracted me to them was their provenance trail of being used in a WWII miniseries as an investment (maybe better than my 401K has been doing GI2) The add stated that they had new 'GI' barrels installed, hmmm, and had suffered the usual dings and scratches in being used in the making of the miniseries. The rifle also came with a picture of the whole lot before shipment, purchase orders and a signed certificate of authenticity from the movie director. What the heck, why not try and see what I'd get.

More pics after I figure out how to erase my camera's memory card. And very sorry for the workbench mess, I guess it's time for my biannual cleaning.

Well anyway it came today on the BBT and I must say I was pretty happy with what I got. I was expecting a redone drill rifle that I would probably have to return, but what I got was a Smith Corona receivered (as I had requested), 1943 R A barrelled (looks brand new!), USGI stocked period gun. The package also included a couple of stripper clips (brass and steel) and a sling marked Hoyt 1917 (in a package that says Made In India) and obvious repop.

Of course partway through taking some really lousy pics I got an error message saying my memory card was full, D'oh!! Here's some pics of what I got:

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Not visible here, but below the action is a stamp that says "US PROPERTY ROTC"

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Very sorry about the truly crappy pics. The receiver is marked Smith Corona and the barrel is marked RA 12-43. Barrel has very sharp rifling and a dusting of powder residue which I haven't cleaned out yet.

The bolt has a B&S body and mostly Remington stamped parts. The stock besides having the US Property ROTC stamp (looks more like ink than an impression stamp) is marked "OG" (Ogden Arsenal), "P" on the pistol grip and an "SS on the butt near the butt plate. No weld marks anywhere (Whew!!), just a good looking period rebuild. I am very happy with my purchase.

Correction!! After a closer inspection I found that this rifle is a reconditioned drill rifle that was welded at the cutoff lever and then repaired to allow functioning. I was so intent on inspection of the receiver ring/barrel area (which shows no indication of being welded and appears to have been intact for quite some time) that I overlooked the cutoff lever area. I purchased this rifle for an investment given the provenance of having been used in the miniseries. If the rest of the rifle was not in such good condition my decision as to whether to keep or return the gun would be easier. What do some of you folks that collect the 03 think about this decision?

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[mercman]

More pics. Here's the cutoff area. Sorry for the poor quality.

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[Midmichigun]

Merc,
Good questions. I am actually interested in your rifle, so additional pictures without the glare would be appreciated!
I think you are going to find many people here, having an issue with the "rebuild" that Sarco did.... ie... reactivation of a welded drill rifle. I know that Gibbs/ OWS was also selling these rifles.

Most people are concerned about safety.... There is alot of conjecture about heat treatment/ annealing during the weld process..... but as some would say... a well done reactivation is safe, if the rifle wasn't heavily welded on. Chuck in Denver may have sage advice here.

There will be a value of the rifle from being used in a series... but it will be detracted due to the reactivation. Some people may not care... best course of action, in the future if you wish to sell the rifle, is to notify people of the fact that it was a drill rifle but has a letter of authenticity as being used in a movie. All bases are covered, and people won't feel cheated.

I think experts will have some opinions... I look forward to their discourse!

[mercman]

Midmichigun, Thanks for the reply. And of course I would be completely open with anyone that I was selling the rifle to 10 or 20 years down the road. I don't like problems! More likely it will be my heirs that sell it and the rest of my collection. My duty is to leave an accurate description of each item I leave behind.

A few things have occurred since I posted this on Milsurp.com and other forums. I finally got someone at Sarco to acknowledge that these are reactivated drill rifles and that they have been deemed safe to shoot. Even though this is a speculation piece I would still like to be able to put a few rounds downrange with it. As far as I can tell this was a lightly welded drill rifle with just the cutoff lever and bolt being altered. There is no weld of any sort on the barrel/receiver ring as far as I can tell. More pictures will be forthcoming as soon as I see to my camera dilema (or beg the wifey person for help;-)

When I first enquired about purchasing one of the rifles the salesperson at Sarco was not forthcoming with the altered drill rifle part of the story. I have since found someone at the Sarco gun shop who has presented the fact that these 100 Pacific miniseries 03A3's are all reactivated drill rifles that were purchased from the CMP. I am satisfied that the rifle is as advertised and is safe to shoot. I have decided to keep the rifle as an investment and as an occaisional shooter.

More pictures will be forthcoming.

[Midmichigun]

Merc,
I actually edited my message several times before posting, regarding the lack of "forthcoming" that some company's have exhibited regarding the Drill Rifles.
Personally I have no problem, owning, or shooting one of these. I am a BSME with a background in metals...
But the devil is in the details... a poorly or overly welded receiver WOULD be dangereous.
It MAY be difficult to observe the weld in the thread region of the receiver. I don't have a clear picture how these were fixed.
I do believe that Gibbs/ OWS mentioned that are selling some that were converted... after some discussion by various folks. However I can't find the link. There may be details in there (if I find it) that you would find interesting regarding your 1903!
One safe comment to make, is that "mismatch" or overhauled rifles never bring a premium that a "as new/ trailer queen" brings. Keep your provenance paperwork handy... and post more photos!

Thanks for posting!

[mercman]

Well it does shoot. Here's some pics. I had the range all to myself to no action shots.

Date:12/2/2010
Weather: Cloudy and intermittent rain. (It IS the PNW!)
Temp: 45 degrees fahrenheit
Humidity: 89% (surprise!!)
Wind: Calm
Place:Ravensdale, Cascade Rifle and Pistol Club
Ammo: CMP Greek HXP 1970 adn 1972
Firearms: Pacific O3A3 and SA Garand 661XX Marlin Barrel

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The top group is my sight in and the lower left group is my for score group.

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This my 50yd for score group.

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This is my 100yd sight in group.

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This is a 50yd sight in group for a Garand that I brought along. I had a 'buddy' over who just had to play with my sight adjustments.

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Okay, here's my 100yd center hold target. The bad news is that my windage is cranked several clicks to the left.

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I really suck at the Navy hold.


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Here's with the Garand with a center hold. Top group was my sight adjustment group. Hard to see, but my final group was uh, 9-10 ring with a couple of called flyers.

[Midmichigun]

Merc,
So what you are saying... is that all those Jap actors in the movie are actually dead?
Do you think you have a problem with your windage adjustment? You mention that you are a "few click over".

Otherwise, things look good to me! I always love range reports!

[pastprime]

I'm glad I came by and saw this post. I just finished my 1903A3 project which is built on a drill rifle receiver. Chuck fit a NOS Remington barrel on it and test fired it (He's OK). I'm hoping to get to the range tomorrow and fire it for the first time.

What kind of ammunition did you use when you fired the groups pictured? They look pretty good to me...

[mercman]

Midmichigun, yeah they may be as dead as the real thing! And yes, my windage is left about 5-6 clicks at 100 yds so there appears to be a problem, but I won't monkey with it. I just wanted to make sure that it would safely shoot, which it did. Now it goes into the back of the safe to wait.

pastprime, I was using CMP's Greek HXP years 70 and 72. The 72 was ejecting a little erratically out of the Garand so I switched to 70 and thigs seemed t0 even out. As I remember HXP is about $90-100 for 192 rounds in enbloc clips. Best of luck on your project. There is life for 03's after drill rifle service!!

So now I just have to resist the urge to play and remember that this is an investment piece and not shoot it anymore. Right.

[pastprime]

Well, since YOU don't know how many rounds have been fired through the rifle in its life time, how will ANYONE else know...

Mine does not have the pedigre yours does so it's going to the range often..

Thanks for sharing your prize with us..