Remington 03-A3 good find?

[LindenBruce]

Hello all,

I was out killing time today and stopped by a local gun store. Sitting there in the consignment rack was this very clean 1903-A3 in .30-06 for a grand. Bore looks very clean with no pitting. Obviously the entire rifle has been re-finished and has a nice deep blue on it. Appears to be fairly original otherwise. No markings on the stock.

What do you guys think of her? I know of, but don't know a lot about this model of rifle. B.

[LindenBruce]

It appears to have been made in middle to late November 1943? B.

[splithoof]

A picture of the complete rifle would help.

There are several variations of the 1903; later production models had more stamped parts.
I have a 1903 “modified” version with a different stock sight.

[LindenBruce]

Yeah, I thought I had taken an overall pic but I guess I did not. B.

[bigbossman]

Blueing is not original....Looks like the wood has been refinished as well. Not worth 1k, IMO.

[JWil]

I'm never the guy to poo poo a gun buy, but yeah a totally refinished milsurp is not worth 1K, maybe if a gunsmith had it over, blue printed it, bedded it or free floated it, reworked the trigger, etc it might be worth a grand but otherwise, sorry man. It's still a nice rifle and I bet it would shoot nicely.

[Enzo rules]

I think that’s a very nice looking rifle. Would like to see a complete picture.

[SDDAVE56]

Offer $800, see what they say. I would buy it.

[GunDog]

Refinished as it is, greatly diminishes the rifle's value.

[newbutold]

Refinished as it is, greatly diminishes the rifle's value.

True.

[Tere_Hanges]

Sporterized milsurps have little to no collector value.
I wouldnt pay more than 200-300 for it.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Sporterized milsurps have little to no collector value.
I wouldn't pay more than 200-300 for it.

There is NO decent 03-A3 that will sell for less than $600-700 nowadays. This one is at least Clean and would be a decent shooter. But it's not worth $1000. But it will probably sell for that anyway due to the scarcity of decent guns to buy right now.

I would Grit Blast the metal on that gun and Re-Parkerize it and refinish the stock to something more original looking and then shoot it.

But I wouldn't have started with a $1000 gun and tried to get $6-700 back from it! I'd start with a $2-300 gun.

Randy

[LindenBruce]

Yeah, I hear you guys. I have not really priced the 03-A3's as they never really occurred to me to buy one. But this one looks like it's in really good shape. I'm not sure if the barrel has been shortened. I may go to that gun store on Monday and take a closer look at it and measure the barrel. It's on consignment, so they may take 700 or 800 for it. I would not buy it for collector piece since it's been molested. But they are neat rifles none the less. B.

[socal m1 shooter]

Blueing is not original....Looks like the wood has been refinished as well. Not worth 1k, IMO.

There is NO decent 03-A3 that will sell for less than $600-700 nowadays. [...]

Agree, it is nothing most mainstream collectors would care to pay $1K for.

With these rifles there is a bit of uncertainty. How's the throat? How's the muzzle?

There are gauges to measure this but at least check the muzzle with a bullet. You may have to work with the dealer on that. If the muzzle swallows the bullet on an M2 ball round, that is not good.

Regarding the date, October 1943 seems about right.

Your pics seem to suggest it comes with a sling; current M1907 sling preproductions are not cheap, but I can't be sure from the pics what that sling is, or whether it is any good. It could be.

Back in the day, these were less, but the modern equivalent of $400-$500 fifteen or twenty years ago is $600-$750, give or take. If it can be obtained for $750-$800, buy it if it makes you happy. None of the folks here on CG will really be able to console you later if you pass and regret.

[LindenBruce]

Oh come on Socal M1 Shooter, no one here gives hugs anymore? LOL

How do I tell if the sling is authentic? B.