1903-A3 Questions

I recently acquired the 1903-A3 pictured below. It cost me nothing, so feel free to bemoan the fact that it's been sporterized.

I've done some research, but still have questions about what I should do with it - make it a woods shooter, or try to restore it to original standards (if possible).

In addition to a nicely finished -but ruined - original stock, it has a Remington 03-A3 action (8-43), a Smith-Corona barrel (8-43), 1903 milled trigger guard, a modified bolt handle, Lyman 48C receiver sight and a Lyman front sight. The parkerized finish is quite good. The trigger has either been worked to a nice crisp target feel - or replaced with an aftermarket trigger assembly (haven't taken it down to see, yet).

Question 1: Does the Lyman 48C receiver sight being D&T'd eliminate the possibility of the receiver ever being considered period correct?

Question 2: Does the Smith-Corona barrel eliminate the possibility of the rifle being period correct?

If if can be returned to a correct military significance without spending more than what it would be worth, I'm willing to do that and add it to my military collection. If not, I would like to make it into a woods beater and enjoy shooting it without any associated guilt. Any opinions welcomed:






The rifle is now at the gunsmith shop - I asked him to parkerize the bolt handle and jewel the bolt. I know the bolts weren't originally jeweled, but my initial thought was to restock it, remove the Lyman sights, D&T for quality scope mount, add a scope and make a deer rifle out of it.

Permission to Bubba, Sir?

Frank

Thanks for the replies.

I thought the Smith Corona barrel might be ok to mix with the Remington action, but I wasn't sure. The only thing I can't get around are the holes in the receiver for the Lyman sight. I've seen several '03s in original full stocks with Lyman and Williams aperture sights, but didn't know if that was ever a modification done for military use. If not, I guess the only thing I have is a barrel as a starting point and hardly worth scrounging parts and building a rifle around it.

Yes, the Lyman 48C was the ticket in the early days. I'm 66 years old and remember them well - but they were easier to use with younger eyes. I like them for paper target shooting, but a scope probably makes more sense now. I see the 48Cs are going for a pretty penny on ebay and such, so I'll probably sell them if I put a scope on the rifle.

Another question: Is there a quality set of 2-piece bases that work with a good choice of scopes in a very low mount position? I like the more open look of the 2-piece bases over the 1-piece Leupold, Redfield and such, but if the likes of the Weaver Grand Slam (or others) are too limiting or not stable, I'll use a 1-piece. I do want any scope mounted as low as possible. Any recommendations?

Frank

I forgot to post this picture - better view of the bolt handle - and you can see why I'm having it parkerized. You can also see the dovetail is still on the receiver:



I've put a few rounds through it at a 25yd indoor range to make sure it chambers and extracts ok and it does, so I felt the bolt was worth spending a little on. Since I've already asked the smith to jewel the bolt, I think I'll go a little further down the Bubba route..... might even want to use it for a winter project and see if I can cut and recrown the barrel, D&T the scope mounts, rust blue (or re-parkerize) it and restock it myself. I'm always tinkering with something and reinventing the wheel.

I'm still looking for advice on the scope mounts, if anyone has an idea.

Frank