1903 Restoration Complete

Excellent! I love to see Bubba's handiwork reversed for posterity. Good job.

As for original finish on Rock Island rifles, originally they were rust-blued and finished with BLO, IIRC.

Nice work!

NICE..

What did you use to refinish the stock with?

Absolutely beautiful!

Kudos to you for bringing the lost soldier back into the ranks. I'm working on a No.4 Enfield so I know how difficult that can be.

I feel restoring an old vintage firearm that has been bubba-ed is a noble venture.

Personally, I have a weak spot for old dogs like sporterized '03s, bubba-ed Banner mausers, pre war Winchester 70's and 52's or ANY Winchester for that matter- they often follow me home from gunshows and pawn shops...

Bringing it back from the brink of 'death' takes considerably more skill, effort, knowledge, and dedication than bubba had that night he got the cheap bourbon out and decided to drill into the Oberndorf markings to install the weaver side mount with self tapping screws...

Great job. I would also be interested in what you finished the stock with- Watco oil??? Matte Tung oil? Looks great.

Good to see I'm not alone...

Thought I was the only one bringing cut-up and sporterized warhorses back into their original issue condition. I'm doing an 1898 Krag right now, matter of fact.

Here's my 1903A4 restoration:





BTW, do you mind my asking why you chose a "scant" stock for the 1903?

By the way, can you fire the hotter .30-06 ammo through 1903A3s?

Steve

1903A4's were pretty standard in scope mounting...

Redfield Jr. mount, you're looking for the ones with the square edges, more recent versions are beveled at the corners. The rings are the ones that are split at the top, if you're going for an earlier, WWII 1903A4. Those rifles used the 3/4" Weaver 330C scope, with the 7/8" Lyman Alaskan as substitute standard. Both scopes had a military designation, the Weaver 330C was called the M73B1, while the Alaskan was called the M73, authorized to replace the Weaver late in 1944.

By adding a rain/sun shield and rubber eyepiece to the Alaskan, the M81 and M82 were born. These scopes are seen more often on Korean War and Vietnam-vintage 1903A4's. The M84, with it's metal covered turrets, carried the refinement of the Lyman Alaskan family one step further. This scope wasn't available in quantity until well after WWII, and was most commonly seen on M1D Garands, although it was also issued for use with the 1903A4.

There are also Redfield Jr. 1" diameter rings that worked with the Weaver K4-60 series of scopes, sometimes seen on Vietnam-era 1903A4 rifles.

BTW, are any of those Springfields that are drilled and tapped bearing offset serial numbers on the receiver ring?

The info I have states that scant stocks were used as replacements at depot-level refurbishment locations. The 1903A1, of course, had a full C-Stock (basically the only thing that differentiated it from the 1903), and the 1903A3 usually had a straight grip stock. The 1903A4 could be found with either the scant stock or the C-Stock. My Z-series 1903A4 deer rifle restoration above wears a DuPage Trading Company reproduction C-Stock. I don't know if they even offer them anymore, but Boyd's does. Here's an October 1918 1903 I found in a pawn shop that had been arsenal rebuilt to 1903A1 configuration:



Steve, what *hotter* ammo are you talking about? Hotter handloads, M2 Ball, or Hornady Light Magnum? M2 Ball was standard issue fodder for both the 1903A3 and M1 Garand, no reason not to use it, or a ballistic duplicate, in a 1903A3 that passes a safety check by a qualified gunsmith...

Great looking rifle. I definitely want to add one to my collection.

Great stereotype DeBee....

So now ya' gotta be some hulking,bourbon besotted bubba to be hunkered down in the workshop with the dremel tool, hacksaw and other implements of destuction, cutting up old combat queens for fun and profit. Just when we got a bad enough image.jeez. :banghead:

Some of us make a pretty good silk purse out of a sow's ear.

A gun show dealer told me that some orginal stocks are reappearing. Does anyone know who is selling them?

I understand the 03A3's have nickel steel actions, and should be quite strong enough to fire any reasonable .30-06 load, assuming correct headspace.

I bought my 03A3 already sporterized for $100, when I was a teenager. I shot it for some years, and even got one MOA groups with it before realizing the 2-groove barrel has a slight bulge in it, about halfway down.

The bolt appears different on mine - I think it was a replacement bolt designed to clear a scope. Odd, it's never had a scope mounted, but does wear a Lyman receiver sight.

still scratching my head as to what to do to mine...

tex_n_cal, take a closer look at that bolt...

It could be an aftermarket or gunsmithed low scope mount version, or it *could* be an original bolt intended for use on the 1903A4.

well, the Nikon and the Springfield were handy, so...



By the way, we checked the headspace on the gun some years ago, and the gun has a very tight chamber, almost won't accept a "go" gauge, all the more reason why I think it's not the original bolt.

edited to add photo & comment...

just started the book - it is the first in the series, simply titled "Master and Commander". The movie is based on a later novel. I think there are 20 books in the whole series, first written about 1970.

More importantly, is the bolt on my 03A3 opriginal, or altered?

An '03 and Patrick O'Brian novels...now there's an excellent combination!

For building a sporterized rifle, would the 1903 or the 1903A3 be better? (Given that the 1903 is about 800,000 serial number.)

Was there anything better about the 03 vs. the 03A3?

Steve

I will likewise plead innocence - the 03A3 was sporterized when I got it. The previous owner actually thought it unsafe to shoot (probably realized the barrel was bulged). I shot it off and on for 10 years, before realizing the dark spot halfway down the barrel was a slight bulge, not a corroded spot!

Despite being a 2 groove barrel, it will put 180 gr bullets into a little over 1 MOA - that's with the receiver sight and younger eyes on board

Since mine will never be original, has a pretty nice stock, and since it really should be rebarreled, I am thinking of making it up into a iron sighted sporter, reminiscent of the old Sedgely and Griffin & Howe sporters. Maybe it will be a .30-06, maybe a .338-06, maybe a .35 Whelan.

Besides the fine groups it's shot, I also recall how useful that surplus action was when I had a box of bad factory loads - 3 bad primers out of a box of 20 - they failed to go off on the first firing. What did I do? Just yank on the knob, recock the striker, and the hangfires were safely fired, all without opening the bolt.

When I told my WWII veteran Dad about it, he remarked, "yep, that's exactly what that rifle was designed to do!"

Make no mistake, the Springfield WAS a hell of a good rifle!