Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles '03A3

We had some beautiful weather today, so I did a little old-school plinking. This is my Remington 1903A3. I bought it through James River Armory 10 or 12 years ago, and it has a Criterion barrel, new walnut, and milled bottom metal. This was three rounds at 170 yards from a braced offhand position, and the load is the 155-grain Nosler HPBT on top of 49 grains of IMR4064 for about 2750 to 2800 fps.



It's a great plinker. A 5.56 from an AR15 will make an audible clang and tip the steel enough to be visible at 200 yards. The .30-06 renders an exaggerated clang and tips the target a full 90 degrees.

When I bought it I quickly found a good load, but it shot about 11" high at 200 yards with the lowest setting on the rear sight. I had a new front blade made slightly too tall, and then filed it to a 200-yard zero. The bottom hit was just me, and I called it when the trigger broke. I'm not a particularly good group shooter, but from a rest the rifle will shoot less than 5" at 200 yards, and frequently 4 of the 5 are in about 2.5". I suppose I suffer from too much aiming error; nevertheless the rifle shoots straight.

Alas, I don't shoot this rifle as much as I should. In this day with all the polymer, high capacity magazines, high-speed triggers and red dots, I do find it redeeming to spend a little time with walnut, stripper clips, aperture sights, and two-stage triggers.

That is a nice looking rifle.

kwg

Nice O3A3!

I like and prefer yours, Mr G, to the original 03a3 configuration, of which I have a couple. The milled bottom metal, a nice touch, if the downside of "Not original"'. The bolt looks to be the earlier model, or is it just the photo?
Your words similar to the "truth" of blued steel & real walnut, as refreshing! A 'me too!'

Thanks for sharing!
Best!
John

Nice.

I like the art of deliberate hits, not spray and pray. They sure did put a thin front site on them.

That's a fine looking rifle. Thanks for posting it up.

That is some darn good shooting for OFFHAND. Even with a support. And also appreciate the reminder there is more to this old stuff than just collecting.

Viking:

My original front sight was really thin, the top almost disappearing into a fine mist. The guy that made my new one is a Camp Perry competitor, and he made me a target post that is a little thicker and square on top. It practically covers the width of my steel at 170, but I do get a good, consistent sight picture for elevation. My "sighting errors" generally occur when group shooting and trying to hold 6:00 on a round bullseye with a square sight. I think I do better with a target with a square bottom, such that I am holding a 90-degree edge underneath a 90-degree edge of the same apparent width. I like to make targets with an inverted "T", but when zeroing this rifle, all I had to work with was the NRA 200-yard bullseye target. I'd still get 4 out of 5 where I wanted as I filed on the sight, it's just the occasional left-or-right flyer that makes me mumble to myself.

FWIW, Elmer Keith had a customized S&W 1917 .45 with a .25" target front post, and he was able to shoot it accurately to several hundred yards. I don't see front sights that well, of course, and it would be interesting to see what a competition shooter could do with my rifle and load.

It's a refurb with a Criterion barrel, new stock, and refinishing, don't know who did it. It had feeding issues when I got it, but the proper follower fixed that. The feeding issue was why I got it for the price I did. It would simply refuse to feed the last round.

It shoots the same load as my Garand better than said Garand, and the front post is noticeably thinner, action is rough feeling, and it recoils harder than my Garand (not surprising).

It's fun to shoot!

To the OP, I'll repeat this.

We had a saying " Shoot Garands in the summer, shoot Springfields in the winter."

Fine looking rifle, got a Garand, need one like that.

I use 48.4 of Varget under a 150 grain FMJ in my Garand and my 1903a3 shoots it just as well. I have a sporterized 1903 that is lighter than a standard 03a3 and I have dropped it down to 47.6 to tame some of the recoil. I'm getting to be an old pu$$y.

kwg

I'm flinging gas-checked Lee 309-170 grain castings through a 1918 '03 that was previously sporterized in a terrible cobblejob target stock. I found a good Fajan stock and bedded the action using Score-high gunsmithing bedding kit. It turned out great. It has the original barrel, or at least one very close to the original date of manufacture which is why I think the barrel is original

Speaking of sporterized 1903's, here's one I picked up today...













[img]https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/15608/20220630_112950_jpg-2437077.JPG[/img]

That's a pretty fantastic representative of a bygone era. Very cool. This rifle deserves to hunt.

Definitely not my taste, sure as hell wouldn't have that done to
a piece of walnut.

But I'd love that rifle, its cool as can be in its context.

Exactly how I feel. A friend has one very similar to that.

The first CF rifle I ever had was a Remington 03-A3, serial number in the 3 million range, 4 groove barrel. It had had the original stock reworked into a pretty decent Mannlicher style with blue steel fore end cap, barrel cut and nicely crowned at just over 19 inches, original military peep sight in the rear, but a nice gold bead ramp front sight installed. Barrel and action fully glass bedded. All work was very nicely done.

I was 15, hanging out in the LGS one Friday night when the guy who'd done it came in with it to trade it in on a Sheridan Blue Streak 5mm pellet rifle. Don, the shop owner, gave him the Sheridan and ten bucks for the rifle, the guy left and Don put it up on the used rack behind the counter. I asked how much he was going to price it at. Don was no fool. "I've got $37.50 in it, you can have it for that."
I had about $5.00 on me. "Will you put it on layaway for me?"
"Sure."
It took me about a month to accumulate the balance.
All I ever shot with it were woodchucks. A friend of mine handloaded with his father and loaded me 130 grain (Speer?) hollowpoints over 49 grains of Hi-Vel #2. That 19" barrel was probably largely responsible for the state of my hearing today, but those loads sure disintegrated woodchucks.
The fall before I went into the Navy, I let a guy use it who was going deer hunting with me. By then I had a 788 in .222 and I was happy to use that (Stunt shooter at a young age!) He asked if he could use it for a while and I let him. When it was time to get it back, he came up with some cock and bull story that I soon found out was a lie, but by then he'd left town. I'll give him this, while I was away at boot camp he came by and gave my mother the $50 I told him it was worth. I'd sure like to have that rifle back.

Here is my 1903A3 rifle. However it it shoots a 7x57 cartridge. My gunsmith somehow was able to shorten the magazine box and chamber it to shoot a 7mm. How he did it, I have no idea. The guy is just good!!

https://imgur.com/cUVPynY

Interesting Thread here! I like the O/Ps 'principally original' and the mods reflected and bottom metal described! I also like the '03 in 7mm Mauser! A nifty contemporary stock. Handsome!
I'm frankly not particularly into stock carving. "Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder." That said, it looks to be well executed. Bust a bit large & bold in perspective! Rather than delicate.

My only carved stock model below. I don't know what idiot... Oh, wait a minute! "I..." was the idiot. A Sako FN barreled action originally in 300 H&H. Age 16, I purchased it new at Wetherby's store & in Southgate, Ca. Had them rechamber to 300 Wby! All in 1956. Bit later in Midwest, the opportunity to take it to Bishop stock company in Warsaw, Mo. Having them produce the stock and art work. A standard pattern of theirs. My dad there with me, bought the finished stock for me. We'd not contracted for any wood upgrade. When it arrived completed some sort of a tag or some such. Referencing "upgraded wood" to facilitate shipment. Complimentary!

The pity it's in a fifties style motif with huge drop at the toe achieving boat oar buttstock. Not hacking 'current styling' nowadays. Still.... It's yet mine with memories of a great dad appended!

Thanks again for the great Thread and eye candy all!

Best!
John