scott63 Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I tried this post in a couple other areas with no luck so far. Here goes......... My best friend called me today to tell me he picked up a Remington 1903, 1942 dated barrel, supposedly 95%. He is not into milsurps and I'm not into 03's although I do appreciate them and will one day buy one. I haven't seen it so I don't know if it really is an 03 or an 03A3. Here's the thing: He tells me he wants to make it into a repro sniper cause he knows another guy that is doing this. It gets worse.....The other guy took his rifle to a local gunsmith, to have it drilled and tapped. The "smith" drilled it but it was too hard to tap, so he used an oxy-acetelene torch to heat the receiver "dull red" then let it cool and tapped it. My friend actually witnessed this and I told him it seemed like a bad idea to me because of the heat treating, to which he replied, "No, he packed it in wet saw dust so it would be ok." Wow, that hardly seems like a precise way of doing things. My questions are as follows: Won't drilling and tapping (even in a historically correct method) destroy the collector value? Are 1903 Sniper rifles marked any differently? Doesn't the tapping method this smith used seem dangerous? The rifle my best friend has is his to do with as he pleases, but I am trying to help him see that the real value in it is "as is", and that there are plenty of screwed up rifles out there to drill and tap to hearts content. I may be making some progress in this, because he was really impressed with how accurate it was with iron sights. Thanks for your thoughts.......Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 The '03a4's were the sniper rifles. Yes, altering a rifle from original will tend to diminish it's collector value. there are certainly better ways to spot anneal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I'm a big proponent of doing whatever you want with your own guns, but yes, drilling and tapping will destroy it's collector value. I don't know much about the sniper variants in terms of how they are marked, but you can often tell just from the serial number. (at least you can with the National Match rifles) If this rifle is 95% I would try to convince him to leave it alone. I have a National Match rifle that was put into a bishop stock and I restored it to military trim. There's just not as many of them around as there used to be. I can relate to wanting to build a sniper style, (that's actually a cool sounding project) but it would be unethical to try to pass it off as original and a collector would be able to tell anyway. If he just wants a replica of that style with no intent to scam, I say go for it, but build it as a franken-rifle out of cast off parts. Don't cut up a nice matching military rifle. Yeah, annealing the receiver to D&T without re-heat treating is not a safe idea. He might have been able to protect it somewhat, but wet sawdust doesn't seem like a very precise solution to me. Just my two cents worth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milsurpcollector Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Tell your friend to sell it outright on gunbroker and use the money to buy a sporterized 03a3 The redfield base on the 03a3 is the same (almost) as the military used on the 03A4 sniper. The rings 1" and the correct 7/8" show up all the time on ebay. The 03A4 sniper used a crappy weaver 330C telescope which was 2x magnification. If your friends has an 1903, sniper conversions of those rifles are even more expensive, They used a Unertl 10X or a Lyman Target spot with special rings that had the elevation and windage in the rings. The scope was not adjustable. The 1903 snipers were used by the USMC. The army stuck with the 1903A4 If your Friend just wants to slap any old scope on his rifle then get an 03A3 that has been drilled and tapped. He can sell his rifle and use the money to fund the sniper project. Mint 1903's sell between $600 and $1000 regularly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milsurpcollector Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Heres my rifle I put together, I have snince used Brownells bake on laquer in black for the whole rifle. Orginally this was a sporterized 03A3 I used 1" rings and a Lyman All american scope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Just another thought, B-Square makes a mount for the O3A3 that does not require drilling and tapping. It looks like the one in the photo Milsurpcollector posted. I wouldn't recommend their side mount scope base for the standard 03 however. I had a bad experience with one... It all depends on what your friend wants the end result to be, but I agree that you could finance a nice project with proceeds from the sale of the original rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 I'm like Mike and a big proponent of doing whatever you wish with your firearms. However, were I ever lucky enough to come in to a pristine, 95% M1903 Springfield, it would be in 95% condition (or better) when my heirs liquidated my estate after I died. There just aren't enough of these around anymore to justify chopping one up. Especially since there are so many Springfields out there that are already sporterized and available cheap with most of the legwork already done. I'd try to convince him to leave it alone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 Well Scott, have you had any luck convincing your friend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hylander Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 Heres my rifle I put together, I have snince used Brownells bake on laquer in black for the whole rifle. Orginally this was a sporterized 03A3 I used 1" rings and a Lyman All american scope. Very Nice I just got this 03A3 that someone else already sporterized. I want to put it back into an original stock. Where did you get the turned down bolt ? the weld on mine was not done well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milsurpcollector Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 New 03A3 bolts are available from Southern Ohio Guns for about $12.00 each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott63 Posted November 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 Very Nice I just got this 03A3 that someone else already sporterized. I want to put it back into an original stock. Where did you get the turned down bolt ? the weld on mine was not done well. I'm pretty sure I've got him talked out of it. Two things helped convince him. First was that the rifle shoots very well with iron sights, he was suprised at how well he could shoot that rifle without a scope. Second was the fact that the rifle is probably worth 650-750 at a gunshow, and any holes will turn it into a 350.00 rifle. Again, I'm all for people doing what they want with THEIR guns, but I'd hate to see such a nice original gun go to the chopping block. Especially when you can look around a little and find one that has already been modified...........Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hylander Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 The other guy took his rifle to a local gunsmith, to have it drilled and tapped. The "smith" drilled it but it was too hard to tap, so he used an oxy-acetelene torch to heat the receiver "dull red" then let it cool and tapped it. That Smith does not know what he is doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hylander Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 New 03A3 bolts are available from Southern Ohio Guns for about $12.00 each But that one in your pic is turned down, did you get it that way ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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