My first 1903

[churchill]

I'm going to set the rear tang bushing just under the wood, not let it stick out and just change the torque on the bolt. It is a scant stock for sure. I don't have a picture right now but you've all seen one.

If it was a WWII rebuild it would have a punch mark in the bomb on the barrel after proofing, right? If it was sanded enough to remove all the other marks why would the AAO still be there? And if it was a WWII rebuild the stock would have cracked horribly a long time ago, I think. I just stopped the tang from touching the stock two weeks ago. If it was armory rebuilt they certainly would have not had the tang touching the wood.

I'm guessing that stock sat at Augusta Armory until it was sold when they stopped using m1903's. Someone just bolted it in. It doesn't fit well in the bedding areas.

I could be wrong! I can get more pictures later.

And thank you, Bear. So it's not a Remington front band/bayonet lug. My rear sight is missing any R mark as well. I'm thinking for maybe just aesthetic reasons one of the previous owners replaced some parts with wear marks on them. The stock was probably beat up and the barrel worn out. Somebody did some work on this! Maybe the bolt didn't headspace correctly with the new barrel so the tried different bolts until it was acceptable. What other reasons might someone want to change the bolt?

On an unrelated note I've got some swedish mauser clips on the way. I got some m1903 clips but I've already broken the tabs off one of them. I read the swedish mauser clips work better so I'm excited to give those a go. I've also got a nylon sling on the way. I like that style better than the leather. Easier to adjust and make a loop sling with IMO. I've also got some prussian blue on the way so I'll fix the stock inletting.