My mom brought me a bubba'd Remington 1903A3 30-06 last night for my impending birthday.  She got a really good deal on it (I coached her a little).  Seller had no idea what it was, advertising it as marked only with a serial number.  I suspected a 1903, but from the grainy photo I was not confident.

It is a veritable gold mine given what mom paid.

The rifle is a 1943 manufacture with an RA 9-43 barrel with flaming bomb.  The action has had the original military style safety replaced with a Dayton Traister Mark II safety to clear the scope.  The previous owner had the safety installed wrong and thought it didn't work as a result.  It was a simple fix to just put it in the bolt sleeve all the way.  I don't have a muzzle/throat guage, but it does appear to have some muzzle erosion.  Ultimately I don't put a huge amount of stock in muzzle and throat readings.  While I don't often see a low number gun shoot bad, I have seen plenty of high number guns that shoot just fine to know that muzzle/throat erosion are just negotiating points.

It was topped with a Weaver K4 60B made in El Paso Texas.  Glass is very clear once I cleaned a couple of decades of dust off the lenses.  The scope bases and rings are also US made Weaver. The 60B is considered by many to be the best K4 Weaver ever made.  That is a big score.

It has a stamped floorplate/trigger guard and is installed in a sporter stock that is largely marked and grained like a Remington 700 BDL, complete with montecarlo riser.  The stock has some "character" but is functional.  As an example of the character, the rear sling swivel was being held on by a 2" long galvanized sheetrock course thread screw.  Nothing that a decent once over with some 100, then 200, then 400 grit paper and some BLO won't wake right up.

I have pulled the scope to clean up the action.  The scope I just put on top the safe and didn't realize until later it was a treasure on it's own.

So, now the dilemma.  My original intent on realizing it was an '03A3 was to pull the scope, put A3 iron's back on it, correct the safety and use it to work up '06 loads for my Garands, as well as shooting gallery '06 loads.  If a fully dressed military stock fell in my path that would get added back to leaving me with a mostly correct 1903A3, except for the drilled and tapped receiver rings.

However, given the great scope that came on it I am re-thinking that plan.  There is no reason the rifle can't fill the role I want for it in sporter dress, and I think perhaps in this case preserving a well executed 03A3 sporter with a good 1950's scope may be worthwhile.

I am torn between these options.  What say you?

(And yes, I know I forgot pics of the gun.  I will try to add them in the next day or two).

First off, congratulations on scoring this one. That's a pretty nice Mom you have. Congrats on her, too!

I'd probably keep it as is. It's probably more useful for working up loads with the scope on and could be put into service as a hunting rifle as long as the accuracy is there. It's probably more accurate than the garands  it was intended to back up.

Awesome and congrats on the new birthday addition

Yeah..That is how I am leaning.  The other option I briefly considered was to make a 03A4 clone, but I am not regressing to a M73B1 or M84 scope when I have a great Weaver K4 ready to roll.

So, yeah, I think the scope goes back on and it gets tested for accuracy.  Based on those results I may revise my plan.

nice score!
if you try to put it back to military configuration you will still have a "parts gun" with little collector value any way. what you now have is a great example of a high end rifle & scope from the golden years of  sporterising. I hear they are collected too.  it might be worth more the way it is than if it was restored. either way, for your intended purposes, it will do what you want.

I freshened up the stock yesterday with some sanding passes and a few fresh coats of BLO.  Coat two went on this morning and it is really waking up the walnut.  The forend tip appears to be actual gaboon ebony wood rather than the plastic you more commonly see today.  It does increasingly seem this was a very well executed sporter and not a "bubba".

The promised photo:

http://fellingfamily.net/images/1903A3.jpg

Very nice and fantastic wood too!

I showed the "best" side.  The other side has a bit more blond in the forend, but the butt stock is still nicely figured.

Very nice, nice job by your mom 😊

looks like a real keeper to me!  have you shot it yet?

This weekend.  I will try it out with some Greek HXP, some home rolled 168 grain HPBT loaded with American Reloadings MP475, and I will probably load up some of Bobs Load using 314299's or 311284's with gas check (42 grains of 4831 with some TP or Dacron to fill the case, gas checked bullet seated to the base of the neck.

The MP475 powder was the real source of motivation to add a bolt action '06 to the safe.  There is not any data for it in 30-06, so I am working from extrapolation based on the load data I have for 55 grain 223 and 150 grain 308, as well as what I worked up for 165 grain 308.  Seems to burn like 4064, so I reduced that data by 20% and will work up from there.  But, I hate to be that far off book in a historic WWII era M1 Garand.  The 1903 is plenty strong for me to be comfortable even if my start charge is stout.  If velocities line up with where I think they should, then I can search around for a load that is accurate in both the Garand and the '03A3.

Range report on Monday.

Ended up being a water weekend, so I only got to zero the scope and shoot a quick group:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/anoNW215yS9UGXvN7

The three shots in the top left were while I was adjusting the scope.  On the "Q" is a five shot group of HXP-77 150 grain ball ammo.  Group measures about 0.650", shot at 25 yards using an improvised rest, kneeling.  Should work out to about 2.5" at 100 yards 2.76" above the aim point.  2.5 MOA is about the best I expect out of standard ball ammo, so I don't imagine I have actually found the limit of the guns capability.  Handloads and actual 100 yards shots should inform that, but I expect about 1.5.

I fired three of the cast bullet 314299 load's.  They fell 1" low at 25 yards, cloverleaf holes overlapping each other slightly.

not bad at all.

These rifles Garands and Bolt operating mechanisms should remain in the SAMMI Safe Zone.  The SAMMI Safe Zone is 62,000 PSI on the bolt face.  I would recommend American Eagle ammo and careful reloads. Reloads with bullet weights of 150-173 bolt face pressure not to exceed 50,000 PSI.
I have had 2 Garands and a 1903A3 separate at 70,000 PSI Breech Face Pressures. Don't forget these rifles are not capable of modern ammo pressures.. These wonderful firearms often fall into 80-100 years of age. Good Luck.