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What I would like to see from Springfield in the future…..

Annihilator

Annihilator

Emissary
Founding Member
We already know they make some of the best 1911’s, they also have the M1A, and they recently introduced the SA-35 (High Power). I would love to see them introduce an make one of the best rifles made, the Springfield 1903, would love if they would bring this rifle out, I shot one of the original 1903’s back in the 80’s, friend had one, great rifle.
 
03 on the left, the middle one is an 03 A3, supposedly this gun was one the national guard carried when the integrated Central high in 1957. I done some research on it and what i came up with. but no real proof of it. either way i haven't shot it much. i did kill a deer with it many years ago. lol
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Belt Fed said:
03 on the left, the middle one is an 03 A3, supposedly this gun was one the national guard carried when the integrated Central high in 1957. I done some research on it and what i came up with. but no real proof of it. either way i haven't shot it much. i did kill a deer with it many years ago. lol
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Nice looking Model 1917 on the right. What's the barrel date on your 1903? Most of the 03-A3s were never issued and basicly became surplus the day after Japan surrendered. Is your 03-A3 a Remington or Smith-Corona?
 
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Recusant said:
Nice looking Model 1917 on the right. What's the barrel date on your 1903? Most of the 03-A3s were never issued and basicly became surplus the day after Japan surrendered. Is your 03-A3 a Remington or Smith-Corona?
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I think it's a smith corona, that sounds right anyway. i haven't seen neither of them in years. lol they are in the back of a safe i don't open much. barrel date i have no clue.
 
Unfortunately, the supply of original surplus 1903/A3 parts are in short-supply and increasing in price so building new "03" would be costly. A lot of parts today have to be confirmed as real surplus since a lot of Chicom copies have been around for awhile & are of limited quality.

Restoring an Original today adds up due to parts costs & avoiding the Chicom stuff. Even the supply of CMP "03" are slim as the limited numbers of VFW "03s" have been turned into CMP. Recreating a lot of the "03" small parts could be expensive.

Best to find a good "03/A3" at a gun show vs. wishing for SA to build new ones from scratch IMO.

As I've said before I'd like to see SA release a 10mm 5.25 in the XDm-Elite line. That wouldn't be difficult.
 
This rifle is on my acquisition radar as I type. I found 5 rifles at retailers near me, 3ea 03 models ranging in price from $1600-2600. The 2 03-A3 models one is $1900, the other is $1700. My POS is a range shooter, thus the A3 is more attractive....not a fan of the rear sight of the older 03's. Gorgeous bolt action for sure. Springfields, Remingtons and Smith Coronas (SA for older 03 models).

Gun Broker has them ranging from $600-$15k...if I saw an A3 for $1k I'd jump at it....that price is a lot lower than what I'm currently finding.

The rifles I've found in the $1500 range are pretty beat up.
 
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Having restored a few O3A3's in the last 20 years, besides my originals, drill guns have a barrel/receiver spot welds as is at the magazine cutoff area. Thes welds can be ground off with care depending on the size & extent of these welds. The barrel area can be hidden by the handguard retaining ring, but the cutoff area would need refinishing.

In addition, sporterized 03s that have been drilled & tapped for scope mounts can be fixed with careful TIG welding of the holes, and clean up followed by refinishing.

Criterion makes good replacement barrels aside from the few original barrels out there.

Some small stock parts are becoming hard to find unless you go with Chicom reproductions.

I have enough parts for one more restoration but finding a decent receiver that hasn't been Fthd-up is the hard part right now.
 
HansGruber said:
Gibbs made a reproduction M1903A4(5?) sniper rifle a few years back…

They were pretty pricy, iirc.
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The Gibbs A4 replicas (there never were A5s) used rebuilt drill/surplus A3s with Criterion barrels, reproduction C-Stocks & Hi-Lux reproduction time-period correct scopes.

I have one & as HG says it was spendy at the time but originals were/are off the chart.

Correct A4's and A4 receiver are scarce & very $$. You can tell a correct A4 since the receiver ring markings & serial number were offset to the side to clear the one-piece scope mount. If those are covered by the mount its an A3 receiver that's been used for the replica.
 
Jfal said:
This rifle is on my acquisition radar as I type. I found 5 rifles at retailers near me, 3ea 03 models ranging in price from $1600-2600. The 2 03-A3 models one is $1900, the other is $1700. My POS is a range shooter, thus the A3 is more attractive....not a fan of the rear sight of the older 03's. Gorgeous bolt action for sure. Springfields, Remingtons and Smith Coronas (SA for older 03 models).

Gun Broker has them ranging from $600-$15k...if I saw an A3 for $1k I'd jump at it....that price is a lot lower than what I'm currently finding.

The rifles I've found in the $1500 range are pretty beat up.
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Legacy Collectibles has one listed. It is a Smith-Corona, but I noticed it has a Remington Bolt which would not be too hard to correct. The color of the receiver is what you would expect to find on a rifle that hasn't been used much. They say the barrel is a 10 out of a 10 which if so would rate almost "new" so that's another indication it may have never been issued. Many of these went to military schools and ROTC programs in the 50s and 60s. At $1295 it's worth a look.

www.legacy-collectibles.com

1944 Smith-Corona Model 03-A3

10/12/22 - This is a very nice example of a Smith-Corona 03-A3 rifle issued to the US military in 1944. The barrel is "S-C" marked and dated July of 1943. The stock has the proper cross-cannon military cartouche and "FJA" inspection stamp. There is also an "OG" marking on the left side of the...
www.legacy-collectibles.com www.legacy-collectibles.com
 
Recusant said:
Legacy Collectibles has one listed. It is a Smith-Corona, but I noticed it has a Remington Bolt which would not be too hard to correct. The color of the receiver is what you would expect to find on a rifle that hasn't been used much. They say the barrel is a 10 out of a 10 which if so would rate almost "new" so that's another indication it may have never been issued. Many of these went to military schools and ROTC programs in the 50s and 60s. At $1295 it's worth a look.

www.legacy-collectibles.com

1944 Smith-Corona Model 03-A3

10/12/22 - This is a very nice example of a Smith-Corona 03-A3 rifle issued to the US military in 1944. The barrel is "S-C" marked and dated July of 1943. The stock has the proper cross-cannon military cartouche and "FJA" inspection stamp. There is also an "OG" marking on the left side of the...
www.legacy-collectibles.com www.legacy-collectibles.com
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I am slightly drawn toward a rifle that was manufactured by a typewriter company!
 
I really don't know what to ask for, maybe something totally new instead of the usual plastic fantastic, 1911's and AR's with tiny changes they call new.
The SA-35 was a welcome surprise, so maybe another classic remake.
 
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