New member as a 1903 A1 followed me home from gun show

[wanderer32]

Hello all, I have been reading everything I can on here to try to figure out how to satisfy my new pets needs as I have been wanting 1 for a long time and this was the one that talked to me. From what I can tell it looks like a late 1929 receiver #1338263 the barrel has a SA and 7-42 date. Stock has to have been replaced but not sure when but beautiful shape and cannot find any stamps or marks in stock. The gun is old but was taken good care of. Supposedly it came from an old man about 83 but who knows for sure. I will be surfing thru as many post as I can in the next couple days here and will try to attach a couple pics to see if anybody can help me learn a little more history on this rifle. Trying to see if this could have been refurb then not issued or just repaired at home and if I need to change anything to make it 100 percent orig.
Thank everyone for the great knowledge I am finding here and any help I can get to make this a cherished pet. More so than my other old rifles.

Information

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[Mike D]

Looks like a nice rebuild. Too bad the rebuild stock is not with it.

[wanderer32]

Thank you for the Reply Mike D. Does that mean probably somebody changed out the original stock on their own or possibly got a barreled receiver and added a stock?
I would still like to see what options are open like, would it be best to keep it like it is and shoot it sometimes, or look for an original stock and anything else that might not be correct (and shoot it sometimes).
As you can tell I like to exercise my rifles.

[Rick the Librarian]

Unless the stock is a reproduction, it appears to be a Keystone from WWII. Is there a "K" stamp in the recess for the cutoff?

[Mike D]

The stock looks like a repro to me. Just my guess from the photos.

Wanderer - Can you find any markings on the bolt? Maybe on top or under the handle or around the safety lug?

And welcome to the forum.

[wanderer32]

Unless the stock is a reproduction, it appears to be a Keystone from WWII. Is there a "K" stamp in the recess for the cutoff?

No not a k stamp in recess

OK, I was taking it apart to check mechanicals, clean and look for hidden marks. Here is a few pictures of what I found as no id marks on out side of stock. The little greasy oil and crud I found in the magazine well and on parts is old oil and smells like it has been there many years. Brought back memories from working on equipment in the 50s and early 60s. The main rifle is very void of markings and stampings. I could be missing a few but Will keep watching for anything as I know sometimes these things escape the untrained eye.

[wanderer32]

Wanderer - Can you find any markings on the bolt? Maybe on top or under the handle or around the safety lug?

No markings that I see other than a dot under the bolt handle base. Here are a few pictures of it, looks well used. I did notice it is a straight down looking bend tho. Are these bolt handles supposed to have a slight swept back bend? I wonder if this could have came back in the old days to be why it is missing all the re-arsenal marks then rebuilt at home by someone?
Just a hopeful thought lol.

[browningautorifle]

I still think it's a nice example of 1903. I always liked the C type stocks the best as they hold better for shooting. This would be one that would suit someone like me because as a shooter it wouldn't matter as much if the stock is replacement or reproduction. The number's high enough that no one can tell you it's going to blow up if you shoot it. Very nice.

[wanderer32]

still think it's a nice example of 1903. I always liked the C type stocks the best as they hold better for shooting. This would be one that would suit someone like me because as a shooter it wouldn't matter as much if the stock is replacement or reproduction. The number's high enough that no one can tell you it's going to blow up if you shoot it. Very nice.

Thank you, That is what drew me to this one as I thought it was nice condition and love to shoot my old war rifles. As soon as I get this one all cleaned and headspace checked I will see if I can tear up some paper at 50, 100 and 200 yards to see how well it shoots. Also the price helped a bunch and left me room to try to make it original if I need to replace the bolt or anything that is not period correct to this model year. It was a young guy and his dad, first time set up at gun show in a corner and they did not have prices marked. People would walk buy and move on. I talked haggled price and walked away with pretty rifle (in my eyes)for a little over 400 so I figure even if it was a parts gun and shot good it was well worth it to me. Have a great day.

[wanderer32]

I just slugged the barrel after cleaning out the bore as it was pretty dirty. It came out as .301 and .307 for lands and grooves and was a pretty steady pressure to go thru bbl until the last couple inches before the shell chamber then it just lightened about 1/2 so looks like it should be able to hit a piece of paper if I do my part.