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Thread: New Member, restoring a sporterized M1903.

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  1. #11
    Contributing Member ssgross's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mmontag View Post
    Has anyone else recently restored a sporterized M1903 closer to original military configuration lately?
    I did one last year that is now at Chuck's for parkerizing.
    I have a thread going for my next one I just started this week - and A3 someone not only sporterized, but then beat it over a tree/table/telephone-pole/head and broke the stock in two.

    ---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by bml View Post
    If you want a C-stock, find a Minnelli.
    I have fitted two of the Minelli stocks now. The inletting was nice and tight, with wood to work with - it was pretty easy to fit. The outer profile was very fat - the lower band wouldn't slide on even with the screw backed all the way out. Their "stain" is not very deep. a light scuffing will take it off. this was nice because the areas that didn't need worked were easy to take down to raw wood. It was easy, just tedious. What was nice about it was that I had plenty of material...lots really... in the wrist and palm, so I had the chance to customize the palm swell and wrist to my large meat hooks.
    I'll be doing another Minelli next week on my new rifle.

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  3. #12
    Legacy Member fourweight's Avatar
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    The Minnelli stock is for a 1903 A3. Will it also fit a 1903?
    thank you

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  5. #13
    Contributing Member ssgross's Avatar
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    yes. it will fit either a 1903 or a 1903a3. It has the groove already cut for the 1903a3 handgaurd ring, but also has the area milled out for the 1903 rear sight base. I have used the Minelli stock on both a 1903 and a 1903a3. It comes with an A3 handgaurd, so you may need to purchase a handgaurd.

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    Legacy Member fourweight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssgross View Post
    yes. it will fit either a 1903 or a 1903a3. It has the groove already cut for the 1903a3 handgaurd ring, but also has the area milled out for the 1903 rear sight base. I have used the Minelli stock on both a 1903 and a 1903a3. It comes with an A3 handgaurd, so you may need to purchase a handgaurd.
    Thank you. I'll look for both and certainly be back with more questions.

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    Contributing Member ssgross's Avatar
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    For new handgaurds, not all are created equal. I ordered one from Numrich...warped. Ordered one on ebay...not enough inletting but at least it was straight, so I resigned to grinding away...Then I was looking for something else at Fulton Armory, and they had NOS m1903 handgaurds, still in their USGI packaging. Those were perfect. It took a bit of hair dryer work to get the grease out...there is a greased paper wrap around the metal clips. But it came out nice and even, and after it and the Minelli stock were sanded together with perfect alignment, the color of the walnut matched pretty good after several treatments of raw linseed oilicon.

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    Legacy Member Wthenley's Avatar
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    Yes..

    I have restored a sporter once a few years ago. Very rewarding and worthwhile if it is possible to do. Nice job!

  9. #17
    Legacy Member mmontag's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssgross View Post
    For new handgaurds, not all are created equal. I ordered one from Numrich...warped. Ordered one on ebay...not enough inletting but at least it was straight, so I resigned to grinding away...Then I was looking for something else at Fulton Armory, and they had NOS m1903 handgaurds, still in their USGI packaging. Those were perfect. It took a bit of hair dryer work to get the grease out...there is a greased paper wrap around the metal clips. But it came out nice and even, and after it and the Minelli stock were sanded together with perfect alignment, the color of the walnut matched pretty good after several treatments of raw linseed oilicon.
    I actually saw a beautiful M1903 C-stock, used but great condition, with all metal already on it, matching hand guard, all for only $149 on a site called Liberty Tree Collectors. By the time I checked again, it was already sold. I was going to post a link here in the forum, but it sold too fast.

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    Contributing Member ssgross's Avatar
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    That would have been a good price. I have bought and tried to fit 2 used stocks before. Thankfully was able to sell them and break even. You have no control over the bedding areas, or how much shrinkage in the wood over the years and these. While they looked pretty with all the right markings and would have fooled an "average" person, the rifles would not shoot to their potential in them without shimming everywhere...without shims the magazine was pressed hard all along the receiver.
    If you want something to shoot and shoot well, my advise is still to fit new wood. The minelli stocks come fat enough that just about any handgaurd which isn't warped will end up matching because you will sand to bare wood to make all flush.
    Nothing wrong with an old stock and shims, except you can't use it in the "games". I personally prefer to hold a perfectly fitted stock in my hands at the firing line, knowing it was me, because every time I caress my hand down the side into position, I crack a slight smile from the satisfaction that it is indeed MY rifle, and there are no others like it for me. Games are irrelevant. My satisfaction was worth the extra money for new wood. Not everyone is the same.

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    Legacy Member mmontag's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssgross View Post
    That would have been a good price. I have bought and tried to fit 2 used stocks before. Thankfully was able to sell them and break even. You have no control over the bedding areas, or how much shrinkage in the wood over the years and these. While they looked pretty with all the right markings and would have fooled an "average" person, the rifles would not shoot to their potential in them without shimming everywhere...without shims the magazine was pressed hard all along the receiver.
    If you want something to shoot and shoot well, my advise is still to fit new wood. The minelli stocks come fat enough that just about any handgaurd which isn't warped will end up matching because you will sand to bare wood to make all flush.
    Nothing wrong with an old stock and shims, except you can't use it in the "games". I personally prefer to hold a perfectly fitted stock in my hands at the firing line, knowing it was me, because every time I caress my hand down the side into position, I crack a slight smile from the satisfaction that it is indeed MY rifle, and there are no others like it for me. Games are irrelevant. My satisfaction was worth the extra money for new wood. Not everyone is the same.
    Yes, that's definitely a good point. I guess for that low price, it might have been worth the try, but if you want a perfect fit, the Minelli is currently the way to go. I had purchased a CMPicon C-stock long ago and it turned out to be slightly canted in the barrel channel, to the side. The Minelli that I recently purchased was straight as an arrow, and after putting the rear bushing in, and pulling the recoil lug against the stock, the rear receiver was nicely and minutely close to the wood, but still not touching it. Also, the magazine dropped right in and after tightening everything down, the barrel pressed down against the front of the stock just like it should. The only thing that I had to carve out was the inlet for the Lyman 48. Before purchasing this rifle, I had bought and sold an M1903 with serial number 15277XX, I forget the last two digits. The rifle has a beautiful C-stock, the barrel was an S.A. 4-39, and the serial number came back to being made in 1939. The bolt was a nickel steel, labeled N.S. but parkerized. The whole rifle was parkerized. It was a beautiful rifle, but it just didn't sit well with me because the barrel pressed up against the front barrel band metal. Rather than pressing down, it pressed up with about 5 lbs. I didn't want to mess with the stock since the rifle looked like it was directly from the arsenal. So I sold it. Glad I found mine. Is there a specific order that one should tighten the action screws? I've always tightened the front screw just snug, then the tang screw, then repeat until tight.

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    Contributing Member ssgross's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mmontag View Post
    Is there a specific order that one should tighten the action screws?
    Tighten the front first, 30-35 inch*lbs, then the rear to no more than the same. If you play around and tune for accuracy, you may find that the rear screw likes to be a bit (~5 in*lbs) less than the front. The exact torque will depend on how your stock was fit. you want the wood to be lightly compressed, not crushed. a poorly fit stock may require more to achieve proper contact, but could also add stresses or an uneven twisting force in the metal while firing.
    I had one CMPicon/boyds stock with the same barrel channel off as you reported. The barrel channel looked straight, but the bottom inletting did not run parallel to the top. Took a lot of work to fix that one. With a good stock, it's not hard to get your inletting perfect, and proper bedding really does make a big difference at the range. even the minelli stocks come vertically thick...just take a look at the gap between magazine and receiver. it should be less than the width of the rear of your follower to avoid being stuck in the gap. I just finished fitting another one and posted the steps required in detail.

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