Hello all. I inherited a Remington made Springfield 1903A3 rifle from my grandfather that has been sporterized and am working to get it back in to firing condition. The first thing I found was that the rifle was missing the bolt assembly, so I bought a surplus bolt, installed it and checked the head space with a head space gauge, and the bolt passed both the go and no-go tests. This past week I purchased 4 A-Zoom snap caps, to practice with the rifle. The dummy rounds seem to load in the magazine fine, granted I'm not quite sure how they are supposed to be loaded, but the bolt picks them up fine. The issue comes when I am pulling the bolt back on the second to last round. I pull the bolt back and the second to last round ejects fine, but the last round also pops out at the same time, which obviously shouldn't happen. I made a short 30 second movie of me loading the snap caps and the chambering and ejecting them with the final round popping out. The video can be found here:
Thoughts on what might be causing this?
As I mentioned, the rifle has been sporterized with a new stock and a modern scope fitted on the rifle. So far, I had been practicing with the scope off so I could see what I was doing, but when I put the scope back on, I discovered the rear eye piece was too large and prevents me from moving the bolt into the vertical position. See picture below:
I also noticed that the bolt lever rubs slightly on the slot where the lever sits in the stock as seen in these pictures:
In the second picture you can see where the wood has rubbed off on the lever a bit. This leaves me with two options; I can either replace the bolt, or replace the scope. I'd really like to return the rifle to a WWII spec, or as close as I can get. To do that it looks like all I'd need are the front and rear sights, which I'd like to know what kind I should be looking for, and where the best place to find them would be. I looked through the "for sale" section and found one person selling both the front and rear sight. I'm also planning on skipping the front sight hood since it seems it doesn't serve a functional purpose. One last, kind of silly question, I can't seem to rotate the safety on the bolt from "ready" to "safe." Is there any trick to it, or could it just be really stuck from sitting around to 50 years?
If you like to see any more pictures that could help with my issues, let me know and I can take them for you. Thanks a lot!
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One more thing, I noticed that the follower normally (for me) comes up to the top of the reciever and even prevents the bolt from closing (first picture). I first thought this was normal and the rifle basically telling you, "time to reload," but I can also get the follower "stuck" a bit lower so that the bolt can sitll close as seen in picture two. Which is right?
Well doggy. First of all we are assuming the rifle is still in 30-06 caliber, and the rail haven't been opened for a larger caliber like a 30-06 Imp since it headspaced. If the rails have been opened, that would explain why the last round ejects itself. There is no cure unless the follower has been altered. You might want to replace it with another to see if that solves the problem. The vertical rail on the follower may be ground at an angle to allow for a larger cartridge to release in order to chamber, as if it doesn't, you can actually bend your rails. I just had to do exactly that for a 45-70 using a 98 follower after opening the rails to allow the 45-70 round to chamber.
The bolt not clearing the scope is no problem. Send me your bolt and I will send you one that will clear the scope. If you are going to restore the rifle, don't replace the bolt, just remove the scope.
Did I forget anything?
Recap:
1. Replace follower first.
2. Remove scope or replace bolt (free with mine).
3. Relieve any wood touching bolt handle just enough to clear bolt handle.
4. Verify the rifle hasn't been rechambered to 30-06 Improved cartridge.
One other thing may be causing the problem with the last round ejecting, which is the magazine spring. It may be weak, or it may be improperly installed.
The follower should keep the bolt from closing on an empty magazine.
The safety problem is a common one. Try first pulling back on the cocking piece while attempting to rotate the safety. If it works when you pull back, then the problem is either that the trigger or sear is worn, or has been modified, a different bolt may solve this.
Do you guys have a recommendation on the best place to source original replacement parts? What about the front and rear sights? Also, should the rounds be loaded staggered, like in my video, or are they supposed to be loaded in a linear way since that's how they are on the stripper clips? I’ll take the spring and follower out tonight and take some pictures of them. I appreciate your help, as I am excited to get my little piece of history back in to working order.
The rounds are supposed to be staggered, which physicaly retains them in the magazine. Your last round has an inadequate surface(s) to bind it in place (the reason that little vertical rib exists on the follower). The round is kept in place by the follower rib and the right receiver rail. If either are altered, out pops the last round. Never file on those rials unless you know exactly what you are doing. It is a quick way to make a single shot rifle. The front and rear sights are available from Bill Ricca and others (Google him).
You can fix the safety by judiciously filing the safety engagement area at the tip of the safety unless your sear is so worn it doesn't protrude past the edge of the bolt shroud. You can check this by removing the safety and cocking the rifle (unloaded of course). Look at the edge of the firing mechanism. It should be just outside the edge of the bolt shroud in order for the tip of the safety to engage it and shove It back a fraction of an inch.
It is a simple operation, but a difficult one to describe. If I was there, we could solve this problem in 1 minute or less, or at least determine the cause.
I emailed Bill Ricca, and he said he didn't have the parts. I think I also figured out the safety. What I didn't realized was that the bolt had to be cocked to engage it. I also think I know the part you are talking about filing down, I have circled it in yellow in the picture below:
Here are the pictures of the spring and follower, top and bottom of the follower and the bottom of the reciever. I tried to take off the finger guard piece, but to my supprise the barrel and reciever came out of the stock instead.
It also looks like I need a key and pin for the front sight as well, which I found at Springfield Sporters. Where is the "R" stamp, if there is one, on the sights?
first, the front sight you have on GB is for a 1903 not an A3, i have a few id sell for the same price as the seller.
second, take off the stock, and replace it with a GI stock, id bet thats the feeding issue.
third, if you plan on using the scope youll need a turned down bolt, if not?
then the bolt you have will work fine, and with a real GI stock, youll not have any fitting issues.
if you still want to use the scope with a GI stock, look for one that has been notched for a turned down bolt already, and dont ruin a nice stock.
stand back and take a picture of the whole rifle, also, is the barrel cut down below 24 inches? if so youll have some issues with installing a front sight on the barrel thats cut dow,
if not, youll need a sight key, and pin to hold it in place.
also, if your safety wont engage easy, and you need to pull the cocking rod back even after its cocked, youll need to replace, one or all of the following.
cocking rod, sear, sear spring, main spring inside the bolt, safety sleeve, and safety.
you can file till the cows come home, all it will do is make it look like doo doo, and still wont work right.
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Originally Posted by Jim 
