Now I have seen everything--cheap copy of 03a3 listed at 5K

Gunbroker has a national ordinance copy (made with badly cast receivers) of a 1903a3 with a starting bid a $4995.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/695298310

desidog said:

Very descriptive Item Description.

I'd presume it's someone who knows nothing at all about the item in question. I've gotten some good deals in that regard on GB, but on the other end of the knowledge bell curve.

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I have too, just bought a 71/84 Mauser receiver and parts for restoration. But, the seller has no rating and so who know whether it is ignorance or something worse.

TheVision said:

National Ordnance receivers are not bad; they were thoroughly tested by H.P. White Laboratory and found to be stronger than USGI receivers (see "The Springfield 1903 Rifles" by Colonel William S. Brophy), and the rifles are worth the sum of their parts.

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The major point was the price for a poorly constructed ersatz rifle. In essence, 5K for a parts rifle.

Brophy mentions these rifles on page 101--quote ". . .the workmanship was poor, Bolt parts fit loosely, and very little finishing was done to the receiver casting" and "It is my opinion that a collector is wasting his money if he invests in one of these ersatz rifles for any reason other than curiousity."

Futhermore, http://s426.photobucket.com/user/warpathvintage/slideshow/Nat Ord fail

http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=16494 (Chuck in Denver is a well known gunsmith who does military restorations and has personally seen several blowups).

Lookup Slamfire's THR postings on the matter with pictures.

Like the low number Springfields, you will have a number of people swear that it is good. But there are a surprising number of pix floating around of Springfield 1903's blown up and a fair number are actually National Ordinance receivers. BTW, Nat. Ordinance also altered GI Parts to fit their rifles so some of the parts including the barrel may be out of spec for use in restorations. Caveat emptor, YMMV, and all of that.

HP White according to Brophy tested "three" of the Fed. Ord. receivers and is also the lab that Samco used for their .308 Spanish Mauser conversions to prove they were safe to fire which is another whole controversy. Haas and Brophy claim Yugoslavia as the source of these receivers, others claim Spain, and still others credit a U.S. company. No one seems to have a copy of the original HP White report online nor the Birmingham Gun Barre Proof House either. At least the Samco HP White report copies are still floating around.