I just picked up a sporterized Remington springfield that I'm pretty sure is a Model 03-A4. It is stamped "U.S. REMINGTON MODEL 03-A3" The stamp is upside down on the left hand side of the receiver. The receiver and rear bridge have a single screw securing a redfield jr scope base. The bottom metal appears to be from a 1903 as it is milled steel. Barrel has 2 groves.


It is now seriously screwing with my plans to build a .35 whelen on a commercial FN I have. The whelen just seems to go with a springfield action.


Any info on this action would be appreciated. Any area in particular to check for problems.

Thanks,
Weagle

quote:

Originally posted by weagle:
It is now seriously screwing with my plans to build a .35 whelen on a commercial FN I have. The whelen just seems to go with a springfield action.

Any info on this action would be appreciated. Any area in particular to check for problems.

Very good candidate for the Whelen. O3-A3's can be a bit rougher aesthetically, but yours doesn't appear to be seriously offensive.

Here's one of mine that started with the very same components you have.....03-A3 with milled bottom metal and Redfield bases and rings.


http://www.hunt101.com/img/304140-big.jpg
http://www.hunt101.com/img/304139-big.jpg
http://www.hunt101.com/img/304141-big.jpg
http://www.hunt101.com/img/313807-big.jpg

It subsequently has been upgraded with one of Dennis Olson's 2-pos safeties.

http://www.hunt101.com/img/465643-big.jpg

GV

That’s a nice action and it appears that the receiver, bolt handle and the scope base are original.

I have never seen an original 03-A4 with milled bottom metal, but that could have been added on when it got sporterized.

Most of the collector value is gone, but it ought to make a beautiful and sturdy rifle for you with a bit of history thrown in.

Good find!

As far as I know, the 03A4 action is the same as the 03A4 except that the receiver ring and bridge were drilled and tapped with two 8x40 holes for the Redfield Jr base and the bolt was altered for scope clearance. Can't say about the upside down stamp job.

The A4 as marked A3 on the left side was originally a sniper rifle and had no front sight.

I've found a couple of original 03-a4's with pics on the auction sites and everthing looks correct on this receiver including the up side down stamping and the 4994xxx serial number and the 2 grove barrel.

Apparently there were less than 30,000 03-a4's made which makes the cool factor go way up in my book.

The stamping on the receiver was done on all the 03-A4’s so it was visible with the scope mount in place.

Some of the first ones were actually built from existing 03 Modified receivers on hand (not 03-A3’s) and were ground and re-stamped.

The 03-A4’s were drilled and tapped with one hole in the front receiver ring and one hole in the rear bridge right in the middle of the dovetail base to match the holes in the Redfield Jr base which only had two holes (one in front and one in rear) NOT four holes.

Right, two holes only, one hole in the receiver ring and one hole in the bridge.

Great candidate for 35 whelen. Go for it and enjoy. I was just outside today playing with my 35 whelen AI, built on an enfield, a waste of good action in ways. If I just had money I'd have the barrel pulled and installed on my extra 03 receiver.

keep us posted on the progress of your rifle. turn the FN into a 7x57 or something.

Red

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Right, two holes only, one hole in the receiver ring and one hole in the bridge.

Sorry, Syntax mix up! Thought you meant both the front and rear had two holes.

I'm gonna back up a minute and suggest you do a bit of research on that barreled action before making a sporter out of it.

That appears to be an original bolt modified for scope. I've seen them sell for ridiculous prices. Perhaps you'd be better attempting to recreate an A4 sniper. That's a noble endeavor also.

GV

Grandview, Good point. I'm not going to rush into anything with this action. It does appear to be all correct except for the re-blue and it wasn't buffed to death when that was done. I'm certainly not going to do anything to further modify the action. If I go .35 whelen, it will be a straight rebarrel and or rebored ( the military barrel is already shortened and crowned ).

I believe the base is also original except for the reblue. It's certainly the correct, single hole front and rear, redfield model.

Weagle

Complete, original 03-A4‘s and USMC 1903 sniper rifles are worth some bucks, but the operative words are “complete†and “original.â€

Boys, I have a 03A0 that was new in the box when my dad bought it in the late 50's. I have shot it maybe 200 times and carried it deer hunting in my mis-begotten youth because the other option was a 30-30 winchester that was not cool enough for a 13year old.
When dad died several years ago, I pulled the 30A3 out of the safe and cleaned it up, and it still looks new. The action is as smooth as any I have worked.
For a project I would like to re-stock and rebarrel it, and make it a little better handeling and a lot prettier, but keep all of the parts so that it can be put back to as issued condition.
Would this work? I have an 03 in 280 Rem that I love, except that it has developed a feeding problem I can't get a handle on.
Or would it be better to sell the 03a3 and invest in a differant action?
Give me your ideas.
Judge Sharpe

I'd leave it alone. Sell it to finance a new project or hang on to it and sell later, prices for original Springfield will never decrease, only increase. Either fix the feed problem on the 280 or better yet, rebarrel the rifle back to '06 or 35 Whelen. Then you'll have a classic rifle in a classic round!

GrandView,

Nice stock patern,is that one of Mr. Olson's.

Did he also do the checkering ? How many LPI?

Thanks a lot.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by manhasset:
GrandView,

Nice stock patern,is that one of Mr. Olson's.

Did he also do the checkering ? How many LPI?

Thanks a lot.

Actually that stock came from Ebay. It looked like this.....although I had inletted at this time.




I shaped, finished, and checkered it. It's 24 LPI.

GV

GV,

Thanks, you do very nice work. Is it maple or birch?
Bob

the markings being moved off to the left is a dead give away.

the receiver, if nothing but polishign has been done, is worth quote a bit more than a a3.

how much more? hard to say

jeffe

sell it and buy something else!!

Red

I'm leaning hard toward a straight rebarrel or rebore to 35 whelen. Add a trigger and low safety and call it good. I like the stock pretty well. The forend and grip cap are are a dark rosewood and it fits me well.

Can a barrel threaded for a large ring mauser be rethreaded to fit the springfield?

Weagle

This is an example of what an original 03-A4 bolt can bring.

03-A4 bolt

If your interest is primarily just a Springfield in 35 Whelen, I'm betting that action, bolt, and base would go far in funding the project.

There is a serious group of Springfield restorers out there. You have the guts of a rather desirable recreation. Not the $5K - $7K variety.....but value far beyond the typical 03A3 for instance.

GV

Grandview. I'm going to have to give some thought to that. It is almost a shame to use it for a pretty common sporter when it's certainly a less than common action. I paid less than that stripped bolt for the whole rifle so I could come out pretty well on a trade or sale and I'm certainly not a stranger to flipping one.

Weagle

weagle

I have to agree with Grandview on this one. While it would not bother me in the least to use any Springfield 1903 for a sporter if I really wanted to, this one is probably worth too much money to a serious collector to pass up. I am betting all they will probably be interested in is like Grandview stated, bolt, receiver and mount. I am betting you can sell those for enough to build a nice sporter as you will still have the stock and 03 triggerguard.

Your stock is better looking than Grandview's started out too!!

I think it's worthwhile thinking about, weagle.

My interest in the Springfield is the history of those rifles as basis for custom hunting rifles. I'm not above taking apart a pristine '03 to do that, but I've never had to. There is still an ample supply of available actions for that purpose.

On the other hand, there exists a group of people who like to preserve the military heritage of the '03. They jump through hoops to find available projects and parts to reassemble military "rebuilds". An honorable exercise.

You have a fairly desirable "starting point" for some of those fellows. I think it could be a "win-win" arrangement for both parties.

GV

quote:

Originally posted by manhasset:
GV,

Thanks, you do very nice work. Is it maple or birch?

Thanks, Bob.

It's maple.....and my experiment on "toasting" before applying finish. Regardless of finish, maple is an "acquired" taste. And I'm not aware of anybody, save Hal Hartley perhaps, that liked to work with it.

GV

Thanks for all the info. In thinking through this I think I will list the barreled action over on GB and maybe give someone a chance to restore this gun. I already have all the parts to build my whelen on the fn and although at some point I'd like to have a nice springfield sporter, I think I'd really rather find an already sporterized DHT or high number 1903 for the donor.

Good shooting,
Weagle

on the question of mauser theaded barrel on a springfield....

you would have to cut the threaded shank off and recut the springfield square threads...


so, not directly, but the barrel MIGHT can be salvaged.


selling the action and funding the project is a great idea

jeffe

I inherited an already semi sporterized 03A4 with the original scope in 06 caliber. The barrel looked good but it didn't group with a darn no matter what load I tried to develope.

Yes the serial number is "upside down" and the bolt on an A4 was produced to accomodate a scope.

Decided to make a "project" of it. Already had a Whelen and a 338-06 (also on Springfields) so decided to build a 6.5-06. Sold the scope to pay for good Shielen barrel. Bought a milled trigger guard to replace the "stamped" original.

Had all the metal reblued.

Had a Timney trigger installed, and smith had difficulty and had a order another sear from Timney that was high enough to engage the firing pin.

Because the original WWII scope was so "skinney" there was not much clearance when I tried to mount a modern Leupold, so had to go with a "high" rings to get comfortable clearance from the bolt.

Tried using the "sporterized" stock that I inherited with the rifle, but eventually I decided I will now restock. Will do that this spring.

You definitly have an 03A4. My Whelen is built on an 03 Mark I that was designed for the Pederson Device. It shoots sweet. I bought it as a barreled action, and found that the origianl Springfield barrel had been rebored, so it has an 06 twist rate and really handles the heavy bullets. Never scoped it, so it retains a Lyman peep sight.

Barstooler

I went ahead and listed it over on GB with no reserve. Maybe someone will restore it to it's former glory.

Weagle

I went ahead and listed it over on GB with no reserve. Maybe someone will restore it to it's former glory.

This is one of the few times I agree with bringing a rifle back to military guise. As Grandview stated it is probably a win-win for both parties. Glad it sold for what it did weagle. That will give you more money to make a great 35 Whelen now.

How much did it sell for?

Rojelio

A4's were A3's with no change other than the lack of the front sight and the addition of the Redfield JR scope base. There were never any A4's so marked. I understand they were not even selected for exceptional accuracy. I don't know if all A4's even had 4-groove barrels.

Regardless, there is NO collector value to the piece you have. If it WAS an A4, it isn't now......

Must be some collector value since it sold for $775 plus shipping on an open auction with NO RESERVE.

There is an obvious change between an 03-a3 and an 03-a4 in that the stamping has been moved to the side of the receiver. Therefore if you wish to recreate an 03-A4 (an authentic recreation is worth a couple grand) you must start with the proper 03-a4 receiver.

Weagle

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:
A4's were A3's with no change other than the lack of the front sight and the addition of the Redfield JR scope base.

Actually, there were some significant and visible changes to the 03-A3. This from just one source....

All Remington 1903A4 production was in 1943. Remington made all 29,964 Model 1903A4 rifles. 1903A4 receivers were all marked MODEL 03-A3, but the markings are offset to be readable when the Redfield Junior scope mount base is installed. Some but not all Remington 1903A4 serial numbers have a "Z" prefix. Model 1903A4 rifles fall in three serial number blocks: 3407088 to 3427087, 4992001 to 4999045, and Z4000000 to Z4002920. Scrapped receivers that were recovered had an "A" hand-stamped before the serial number.

Additionally, the 03-A4's had a factory-modified bolt handle for scope clearance.

quote:

Regardless, there is NO collector value to the piece you have. If it WAS an A4, it isn't now......

Wrong again. There is significant collector and restoration value. As witnessed by the prices these pieces are bringing.

The stripped 03-A4 bolt I linked to above sold for $430 with 6 bidders.

GV

Grandview. A big THANK YOU to you sir and the others who suggested selling the barreled action. Instead of turning this into a nice, but rather pedestrian .35 whelen hunting rifle I came out with some extra jack to put toward the whelen on my FN action and some springfield enthusiast is happy also.

Also, I still have the nice stock and bottom metal.

Aint the internet great!

Weagle

Great deal weagle, Congratulations.

Shows you what the hell I know about collectors values...Very little!