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Barrel is dated 1-44. Bolt closed on the No Go gauge but not on the Field gauge, so it’s a shooter. For $660, I’m not going to complain.
Maybe I’ll replace the front sight on my wall hanger 1903 with the military front sight. It’s a 400xxx made in 1910 with its original barrel dated 1-10. The receiver is good-it passed the hammer test but I don’t want to replace the barrel.
The LGS has been getting good turnover on their military surplus rifles. The Hakim that was there last time is gone and they had a 1903-A3 for sale. That one will go fast at less than $700.
Last edited by awalker1829 on Sat Oct 31, 2020 4:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Congratulations on the '03! Wow those are not bad prices for USGI 03's. That GS doesn't appear to be pricing to sit on inventory. I know some that will hold onto inventory forever just trying to swing for the fences. A shop fairly local to me has a sportered low serial '03 with a World War II barrel on it for almost two grand. He's been sitting on it for over a year.
RazorBurn wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 9:29 pm
Congratulations on the '03! Wow those are not bad prices for USGI 03's. That GS doesn't appear to be pricing to sit on inventory. I know some that will hold onto inventory forever just trying to swing for the fences. A shop fairly local to me has a sportered low serial '03 with a World War II barrel on it for almost two grand. He's been sitting on it for over a year.
I see the same thing around here. The shops will price stuff at ridiculous prices and then complain that there is no market for surplus guns.
RazorBurn wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 9:29 pm
Congratulations on the '03! Wow those are not bad prices for USGI 03's. That GS doesn't appear to be pricing to sit on inventory. I know some that will hold onto inventory forever just trying to swing for the fences. A shop fairly local to me has a sportered low serial '03 with a World War II barrel on it for almost two grand. He's been sitting on it for over a year.
The gun store I go to is a gun store, not a museum. Guns sitting on the rack don't make money. Took it out to the range Sunday and was hitting the target at 100 yards right off the bat.
tjtM38 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 04, 2020 9:41 am
You are lucky the serial number is high enough to where it is probably safe to shoot with service grade ammo. Nice find!
The receiver on the 400xxx 1903 I have is probably safe as well. The problem it has is that the barrel is shot out and the throat severely eroded. Best test I can think of is to do a hammer test. That's how you found defects in the days before modern inspection techniques. Good metal sounds a lot different than bad.
Most of the ones that were going to fail probably did so 100 years ago or got scrapped by the Army in 1927. At least two of the documented failures were due to the wrong ammo, not a fault with the receiver. The Army also chalked some of the losses up to bad ammunition. The 1903 has a margin of safety built in, but it's nothing like some other rifles. It's designed for 50-55,000 psi. The Army demonstrated that the 1903 could not handle pressure much more than 60,000 psi. 65-70,000 psi will blow the receiver up. The Army did destructive testing of enemy rifles after WWII and found that the Japanese Arisakas were very robust-they attempted to blow up a Type 99 and eventually gave up when they couldn't crack the gun at 120,000 psi.
That said, I'm not going to try my luck with any firearm.
I have a number of rifles on my list of things I want (in no particular order). Oddly enough, most of the rifles I've acquired are Great War era. I want more Japanese and continental European rifles and other variants of the No. 1 Enfield. Odd/obsolete caliber doesn't scare me off either. To me, that just adds to the challenge.
awalker1829 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 31, 2020 4:38 pm
Picked up a 950xxx SN 1903 at the store today.
Barrel is dated 1-44. Bolt closed on the No Go gauge but not on the Field gauge, so it’s a shooter. For $660, I’m not going to complain.
Maybe I’ll replace the front sight on my wall hanger 1903 with the military front sight. It’s a 400xxx made in 1910 with its original barrel dated 1-10. The receiver is good-it passed the hammer test but I don’t want to replace the barrel.
The LGS has been getting good turnover on their military surplus rifles. The Hakim that was there last time is gone and they had a 1903-A3 for sale. That one will go fast at less than $700.
That's a nice '03. I'd jump on an '03A3 for $700 if the barrel still had a lot of life left. I got 2 'A3s from the CMP that shot so well I almost ignored the rest of the collection. It brought home a pig at 200 yards., and knocked down a whole bunch steel.
Nice rifle and great find, probably will never see another at that price.
"Fast is fine, But accuracy is everything" Wyatt Earp
"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
Adolph Hitler – 1933
