Can nice 03-A3s still be found? What are things to look for or stay away from? What can I expect to pay for a nice one?

I have 2 a got from the CMP. Remington and Smith-Corona. Both very nice

CMP Springfield rifles have dried up. Nice 03's of any ilk can be found wherever used guns are sold. 03A3, original configuration? Anywhere from $600-1000, leaning toward the upper end of that scale for a decent one, a bit more for a really nice one. '03's, figure 40% or so more across the board. 03A4's double to triple that at least. 03A1 snipers, original condition (no replacement barrels) with original Unertl 8x scope, second mortgage time. (A verified 8x USMC Unertl will bring $2500-4000 these days, when a non-USMC marked specimen fetches $6-700. Nuts.) That's why so many are being created from parts, mine included. A wise guy once said there are twice as many 03A4's in existence now than there were in 1945. Be very careful if contemplating the purchase of one of them.

It's amazing isn't it how the prices of all kinds of milsurps have skyrocketed.

Simpson’s in Galesburg Ill has had several nice ones available in the last few weeks on their website.

Yes they can be found if you look in the right places.
Keep an eye on the CMP forums.


Stay away from National Ordnance.

Yep, those Nat Ord are just too dangerous to flip a coin with.

there are some around.
i ran across a collection of them a few years ago. The owner had been working right after the war at a naval weapons disposal place.
the offer went out for ten bucks you could have one of the rifles. Quite a few ten dollar bills went to the secretaries to acquire the rifles.
He told me they had them in stacks on the floor after offloading from the ships, moving them with forklifts.
I later checked muzzle wear on a number of them, measuring either 0 or a 1.
basically brand new.
I ran into a guy some years ago at a local gunshow, he had several hundred of them, and was in the process of disposing of them.