1903 or 1903A3 for S&K scope mount

[ammca]

Hey all. First post. Not in a position to post pics but may be able to keep this simple. I have a Springfield Armory serial number 823,XXX. This rifle was given to me years ago from father in-law. It is in lousy shape. original stock has been sporterized, barrel had been totally stripped so it looks almost chrome. The weird thing is, it does not have the leaf rear sight set-up. It has the rear aperture sight like an A3. I have taken the gun apart and prepping to refinish the stock and paint the barrel forward of the action. I have cut and re-crowned the barrel (don't gasp) really this gun has been neglected and beat up. Barrel had severe rust on exterior that has caused some pitting, so it would never look or be worth anything other than what it is. So I am making a deer rifle. I am going to get the no drill S&K scope base, but they actually make one for the 1903 and one for A3. Since mine looks like an A3 (serial number and armory do not support this) or at least was set up like one should I order the base for an A3? I have the rear dove tail in the receiver and have looked far and wide at everything on the internet but nothing really tells me what the major difference in the two scope bases by S&K for the standard 1903 compared to the A3. I have tried the B-Square NOS I found. no wonder this isnt made anymore. What a complete failure of a scope base mount this is. The S&K looks to be a good option and cheaper than going the drill and tap.

[m1903rifle]

We need pictures. Is the rear sight the same as or identical to the sight on a M1903A3?

[jamie5070]

I have an older S&K '03 mount. The way it mounts is that it has a ring to go around the barrel shank, at the front. Then it has a set up that kind of hooks and clamps at the rear receiver bridge. I imagine that the '03A3 mount slides onto the reverse dovetail and then is secured by a set screw. Does your rifle have a dove tail slot cut into the rear receiver bridge? Or does it have the raised dovetail (often called pins in furniture construction)?

[ArtPahl]

I'd have to agree that there's no reliable way to answer this question without pictures. I don't know why any one would try to make a 1903 into an A3. Except for your "I have the rear dove tail in the receiver" statement, I would guess your rifle has the common alteration of a receiver sight (Lyman, Redfield) screwed to the right side of the receiver.