'43 Remington made 1903A3

[tbone3]

A couple months ago I was given a Remington manufactured 1903A3 by my wife's grandpa. It was built in 1943. The story is that he bought it while stationed in Germany in the 50's. It is unmodified but looks as though it has never been cleaned. . . I don't think he shot it very frequently and if he did clean it, it probably consisted of spraying WD40 in the bolt and action. I do not have plans to modify it but the outside of the barrel has a little surface rust and I'm curious what your guys opinions are on "fixing" the rust. Should I just clean it up the best I can and keep it oiled or should I go the Duracoat route? I don't plan on ever selling the rifle but I would like to use it for deer hunting and as a range toy.

I have started to detail strip the rifle to give it a good deep cleaning job. Yesterday I soaked the bolt in Simple Green for about 12 hours and took apart as far as I was comfortable and gave it a good scrubbing. Wiped it down with CLP and wiped off the excess. The thing was covered with goop and a hard caramelized substance. . . I love Simple Green!! Removed everything I wanted it too! I'll be moving on to the action next.

Also, what are your guys opinions and ides on cleaning the stock. I don't want to change the color of the stain but I kind of want a nicer finish on the wood. I guess it doesn't really bother me but I figured since I'm cleaning everything else why not clean the stock too.

 

[rklessdriver]

It really depends on how rusted the barrel is.

Best way to start getting that rust off the barrel is CLP and a nylon tooth brush.

If the rust is heavier then use a brass brush and CLP.

It'll take some scrubbing and hard work but those are the safest way to remove rust and not damage what remains of the finish.

That stock shoul be finished with BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil)
Will

 

[alemonkey]

For the stock just give it a good scrubbing with boiled linseed oil and 0000 steel wool. That will get a lot of the dirt out and rejuvenate the finish.

 

[morcey2]

+1 on the BLO scrub. The color you're seeing in the stock probably isn't a stain per se, but the darkened linseed oil that was originally used on it. (maybe tung oil; can't remember when they switched). For the rust, I've had great success with an electrolysis tank rust remover:

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=62728

Cheap, easy, effective, but you need to be willing to completely break down the action, other than removing the barrel. I've used it on several guns that I thought I would have to strip and reblue. One was a custom 1903 that I inherited from my grandpa. It was completely covered with a film of rust and I thought the finish was ruined. A half hour in the tank, a good drying, and a little oil and it looked great.

Matt

 

[Float Pilot]

If black grease or dirt is really ground into the wood, some Goop hand cleaner and a rag will remove a lot of it and not dry out the wood. Then do the boiled linseed oil trick as mentioned above. PS: I put a little Japan dry into my linseed oil and heat it a litlle before application.

 

[35 Whelen]

I'd suggest having it re-Parkerized. Done properly, it will need to be bead blasted which will remove every speck of the rust. And the beauty of Parkerizing is twofold; first, it keeps the rifles finish original and second Parkerizing goes a long, long way towards hiding surface imperfections such as pits, scratches and scuffs.
That rifle unmodified with a fresh finish will be worth several hundred dollars AND will look so much better than it would if blued or sprayed with some spray paint type finish.
If you can't find someone to Park it, shoot me a PM. I have a setup.

35W

 

[tbone3]

Ok, here are some pics after some work. I cleaned all of the metal with a Simple Green solution. Got all of the grime and goop off of it. I tried using CLP and a nylon brush on the rust on the barrel as well as #9 and a brush. Spent about 15 min. with each and was able to remove most of the rust. I then coated all of the metal parts with CLP, let it penetrate and then removed all of the excess. I haven't had time to work on the stock yet but hope to in the near future. As I said before, the stock doesn't really bother me as is but might be nice to clean it up. I plan to use boiled linseed oil on the stock.

Enjoy the pics and if any of you '03 buffs have any info you feel like sharing regarding stampings, I'm all ears!

 

[tbone3]

More pics.

 

[tbone3]

Two more. . .

 

[morcey2]

My limited knowledge:

FJA = Commander Frank J. Atwood. Commander of the Rochester Ordnance District. (had to google that one.)

OG EK = Ogden Depot, an hour or so north of me. EK could be the one and only Elmer Keith or Ed Klouser, who I've never heard of. I think it's the later since Mr. Kieth's stamp had a box around the OGEK. (already knew that one.)

Either way, it's a very, very nice rifle. I've got a 1903 w/ a C-Stock and a custom sporter on a 1903 so I know that they shoot very well.

Matt

 

[mljdeckard]

My other concern is that if he didn't clean it much, and had it a LONG time, he might have used corrosive ammo and never cleaned it. I would take a good look at that bore.

(My guard unit drills in the Ogden Army Depot. Or what's left of it.)

 

[BrocLuno]

Very nice old rifle

IF the barrel is nasty - as in looks like a sewer pipe - rough and dark - I've had real good luck plugging the muzzle and filling the barrel with KG12 and letting it sit for a day or two. I've just done this to three Arisaka's that I know were shot with corrosive ammo.

After the soak, I went at them with 338 brush from the receiver end, flushed with water, blew dry with compressed air and patched them out with gun oil. All three are now shooters. Light gray in color and much sharper rifling. Yours will likely come out OK too

 

[tbone3]

The barrel doesn't look bad. I am guessing the only ammo he put through it was what he had in the cabinet with the rifle. There was some WCC M2 ball with a '54 headstamp and some Winchester SP hunting ammo. If the research I did was correct, WCC stopped making corrosive ammo in '52. . . Don't know about the Winchester but it looks like it was packaged in the 60s or 70s. If I recall WCC was bought out by Winchester and I am assuming that Winchester didn't make corrosive ammo after the buy out.

Am I right in these assumptions or am I making the mistake commonly associated with the word assume. . . ?