What is the value of a Remington 1903?

[grampajack]

I'm looking at a Remington 1903 dated 1943. It seems to be in really good shape. I don't know much about them though and was wondering if anyone could give me a rough idea of what they're worth.

The receiver says US, REMINGTON, MODEL 03-A3, 3878022

The barrel, just behind the front sight, says RA, then below that is the shell and flame cartouche, then below that is 5-43

On the right side of the buttstock is stamped 4578

 

[P5 Guy]

I sold my Remington made 1903A3 two years ago for $750. An expert at the same gun show evaluated the rifle as mostly original. Wrong trigger guard and stock.

 

[Sunray]

That S/N dates from 1942. Production started in 1942 at number 3348086 so it's fairly early but may have been rebarreled on just not assembled until 1943. Isn't horrible if it was though.
It in full military configuration? Condition is everything and that includes the stock(dark and oily isn't good, but is easily fixed by cleaning. And it's just cleaning, not refinishing.). Anyway, full military '03A3's start at about $500 to about $800 on Gunbroker with some insanity from guys who think they're worth more than they are.

 

[25-5]

A very accurate battle rifle. You will like it. A good book is "The Model 1903 Springfield Rifle", by Joe Poyer. The 03A3 is covered well.

 

[Laphroaig]

full military '03A3's start at about $500 to about $800

$500 was what the CMP was selling them for 10 years ago when they still had them. I'd think $750 - $800 for a shooter in good shape, maybe more if it was pristine or special in some other way.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I was shocked to see what one is selling for these days. I bought mine for $50 from a former boss, sold the spare sporter stock that came with it for like $200 a few years ago. I have mine valued at a grand for insurance purposes.

 

[tark]

As with any collectible military arm, condition is everything. And originality. While 03-A3s aren't exactly in the same class or level as, say, gas trap Garands, they are collectible. A 99%, unissued gun would reach four figures. Shooters go for 4-500 in "Well used" condition. Everything else is in between, the cleaner it is the more it's worth. A two groove barrel in no way shape or form, detracts from the value. They were used in production on some 03A3s and are simply part of the breeds history. Besides, they shoot every bit as accurately as the standard four groove, at least for military purposes.

Can we get a pic or two? Yours appears to have the original barrel, but one never knows. If the Army re-barreled it it would have been re-proofed and there would be a second circle P stamped in the stock behind the trigger guard. There would also be an Arsenal stamp of whatever arsenal did the work. This would be on the left side of the stock, near the grip area and the original acceptance stamp.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I didn't realize the circle P meant a re-barrel, mine was done in Ogden Utah (by the OG stamp). If the start number is right mine is 187xxxth one made. 3-43 barrel.

Any idea what the numbers are stamped in front of the magazine?

 

[ilbob]

Classic firearms has a bunch of them right now starting at $1300

 

[AlexanderA]

For 03A3's, the first thing to do, these days, is to check that it isn't a reactivated drill rifle. (A whole bunch of these hit the market in recent years.) Look for discoloration on the front bottom edge of the receiver ring (where a tack weld was ground off) and also for signs of grinding around the magazine cutoff.

That's not to say that a reactivated drill rifle is necessarily unsafe, or cannot be a good shooter. However, it doesn't have much collector value other than as a place holder in a collection.

 

[Jackal]

Classic firearms has a bunch of them right now starting at $1300

It almost seems like Classic Arms is trying to inflate the market value for surplus rifles. Every time I see one of their sales flyers, I see surplus rifles at 20-50% higher prices than what they sell for on Gunbroker.

 

[tark]

Good pics. I was a bit miss leading in my re-barrel description. All rifles were stamped with a circle P after proof. A re-barrel required re-proof and a SECOND circle P would be stamped next to the first. Sometimes a square P was stamped. This indicates a rebuild at an arsenal. Here is a pic of my 1903 rebuilt at San Antonio Arsenal and re-barreled with a 1944 barrel. Your gun only has one stamp. If it was re-barreled, the army didn't do it. The initials in the cartouche stand for Frank J Atwood, who was the Army's final inspector at Remington during the war. The small stamps in front of the magazine are various inspectors/ assemblers at the Remington plant. When they finished their work they would stamp their mark into the stock . The punch mark in the flaming bomb on the barrel means the barrel passed proof. The army proofed the barrels separately, before assembly to the gun. At 100,000 PSI if I remember correctly. The assembled guns were proofed at 70,000 PSI.

Now, for that OG stamped in the stock. OG stands for Ogden Arsenal, which was a rebuilding center during WWII. You gun was there because something on it was broken and the army fixed it. This does not detract from the value of the gun, it is simply part of the guns history. Whatever they fixed, at least we know it was not the barrel.

It appears that you have a good, honest milsurp 03A3 there, original and untouched by Bubba.

 

[tark]

Got distracted before I could finish. I hope you will leave the gun in its present condition. It will never be worth more than it is right now, doing anything to it will only lower its value. I wish I could do better on giving you a value assessment, but they really are all over the place. How is the bore? If it is clean, I wouldn't sell it for less than 7-800 dollars.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Sorry grampajack didn't mean to hijack the thread. Hope the pics help you and others.

Thanks Tark, I knew about Frank J Atwood and Ogden Utah, your description of the circle P had me confused.

It came with a sporter stock, (Boyds Iif I recall, sold that off to fund another project) but the original owner smartly kept the military stock and hardware, and I got it all complete. I have no intention of doing anything to it. I've more than made my $50 bucks back.

I originally bought it as a 'spare rifle' to have at elk camp. Noone ever hunted with it, but it want to camp a few times.

If I was to sell it I don't think I'd go much under $800, if I had to replace it I might have to spend more.

 

[diyj98]

I recently sold my CMP Greek return Remington for $600.

 

[grampajack]

It also comes with a cut down bayonet. The guy is claiming those go for 150, but I remember them being more in the 70 dollar range. Anyone know anything about them?

 

[25-5]

I saw them recently for $125 and up for the E1's and $250 for the M1903. I think it was on the ebay. with scabbard.

 

[Reloadron]

Around here, that being the greater Cleveland, Ohio suburbs, at the better large gun shows I have seen some exceptionally clean 1903A3 Remington rifles in the $800 to $1,000 range. The cut down bayonets are in the $50 to $75 range with nice uncut original versions running in the $150 and up range for a real good specimen with scabbard. Mine is a pretty Clean Remington and at some point, no clue where I got them from, I ended up with several 03A3 bolts including a few complete and at least one complete Remington bolt. Anyway, the rifles I have seen, including some real nice clean ones were in that $800 to $1,000 range.

Any rifle on any given day is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no more and no less.

Ron

 

[AlexanderA]

It could be that prices for 03A3's are rapidly escalating... or maybe not. Let me just throw out this data point for your consideration: I was at the Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly, Virginia, today. (This is a very large gun show that is held every couple of months.) Asking prices for 03A3's in excellent re-arsenaled (Parkerized) condition were in the $1,100 - $1,300 range. 3 - 4 months ago, you could buy the same guns, at the same show, for somewhere in the $600 - $800 range. I'm not sure that the guns are actually changing hands at these inflated prices, but the mere fact that the sellers have upped their asking price so dramatically means that they're sensing something. I'm waiting to see if the higher prices hold for the next couple of shows.

The other thing I've noticed is that the supply of restorable ("lightly sporterized") 03A3's has dried up completely. There are still a few M1917 Enfields to be had in that condition, but no 03's or 03A3's.