Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Military Remington 03A3 find

Yesterday I stopped by the local gun shop and made the mistake of asking what was new in the store. One of the employees there mentioned a new gun and handed me a pristine Remington 03A3 made in 1943.

I have a collection of guns from WWII and the Springfield was the only one really missing. They had always been scarce and I never seemed to have any money when the few seen were for sale. Needless to say, it has now joined the Ruger 3 screw blackhawk on lay-away in the shop.

The bore on this gun was perfect, and the metal had been taken care of. Someone blued the bolt handle and worked the stock over, but it was not altered at all. The gun looks like a presentation piece and will fit nicely into my collection. Now all I have to do is pay for it and get it home with it's cousins Mr. Garand, Mr. Carbine, Mr. Enfield, Mr. Carcano, Mr. Nagant, Mr. Arisaka, Mr. Mauser, and Mr. Swede.

Depending on the cartouches, the bolt may be correct as many were rebuilt along the way and an original 03 bolt might have found its way into your rifle. I would suggest checking headspace before shooting it. You may wish to buy J.C. Harrison's Collectors Guide to the 03'for more details. Good score!

Thanks. I'll keep my eye out for that Guide and see what I can find. On the end of the barrel is stamped RA then the Bomb symbol and under that the digits 5-43. So my guess is it was made in May of 1943.

I actually have one of these that is in pretty good shape. It has not had any of the updated junk put onto it. It was my grandfathers and has been in the family for 40 years. I want to sell it but don't know who might be interested. The serial is:

4042432 and it has the RA and FJA on the stock. I can send photos to anyone who wants them and any other info, feel free to ask.

Anyone know the value of these??

Sweet find.

All Remington bolts were blued. All bolt pieces should be marked with a small R. You can look up the barrel date and check to see if original here. http://www.vishooter.net/m1903.html
The stock should have a circle P behind the trigger guard and one or 2 boxes with initials in them on the L side under and rear of the on /off lever. Regards, Rick.

Here are some pictures of my 03A3. It shot very well at the range and I'm so glad to get it home.

Nice! I wish mine had the correct rear sight, Bubba got a hold on mine years ago and put a Lyman on it, dug a hole with hatchet for the arm to come down. My stock doesn't have a cross bolt so I think it's probably not issue either.
Shoots OK and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Mike

I found a remington stacking swivel for the gun on e-bay for $11. Now the gun is complete and all I need is a few other things to go along with it.