Time to knock the dust off my 03-A3

[woodstock]

I've recently commited myself to shooting my Remington 03-A3 in matches this year so I took the old girl out of the safe the other day and was wondering: What does one use to gently clean the stock? I don't want to remove any of the finish but want to reduce the grime a little. Is Murphy's Oil Soap ok? Any other tricks? Also, the hood for the front sight is very small, crowding the sight blade. Their is barely any daylight between the two. Is this normal? I like the idea od a hooded front sight. Is their a replacement that allows for more daylight or should I just remove it all together? Thanks!

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[Johnny Peppers]

Personally, to clean the stocks I like boiled linseed oil and turpentine mixed 50/50. You don't even have to remove the metal. Give the wood a good heavy coat, let it sit about thirty minutes, and wipe it all back off with old toweling. Any that is left will liven the wood up, and won't cause any build up or harm the original finish. I am sure others have their favorites also.
The issue sight protector and the 03-A3 sights are not compatible. The front sight is way too tall, and your sight picture from the rear aperture sight will be screwed up. Best to just take something along to blacken the front sight for target work.

[Emri]

If the stock is REAL dirty and dark, either Murphy's soap or just plain mineral spirits will clean it. But you must remove the rifle from the stock as both will dry the surface and you will then need to re-oil it (the stock). Use either formula on a terry cloth rag to rub the wood. Be careful if there are any rough edges to the inletting areas as the cloth could get under a small splinter and may pull it out. Unless there is a lot of grease in the inletted areas, don't try to clean them. But if you need to clean the inside of the stock, use mineral spirits and an old toothbrush to get into the tight corners.

After cleaning, oil the stock with your preference of finishes. I use just plain old boiled linseed oil. Johnny Peppers mix of 50/50 BLO and turpentine sounds good to me also. I just have never tried it.

Whatever you do, DON'T get in a hurry. The last stock I cleaned and oiled sat for several weeks with an occasional coat of oil put on and wiped off every several days.

HTH,

Emri

[woodstock]

Some great advice! I will take my time whichever method I use. Now that I realize that, I'd better get cracking so this rifle is ready to shoot! I stopped by the Ace harware store near my office and looked at the available products they carry. They had boiled linseed oil and pure gum turpentine. Is that the turpentine I want?

I will end up taking the front sight protector off and shoot the front sight bare. I usually purchase a can of sight black out when i get to camp perry or there is someone on the line who has some or a carbide lamp.

[Kirk]

I use Simple Green to remove grime; it is probably similar to Murphy's - a water based solvent. I'd use Formby's Tung oil finish. It goes on smoothly, dries quickly and, best of all, after 4-5 coats, is nearly waterproof.