War relic picked up at gun show
- Thread starter H&R Glock
- Start date
- Status
Fine looking 1903. When I saw the post heading of War Relic, I was expecting to see a rusted out hunk of junk that used to be a rifle. Relic in collectors terms usually means degraded by rust or damage so much that you cannot fire it.
GBExpat
Member
Very nice!
It appears to D&Ted for a rear aperture sight.
It appears to D&Ted for a rear aperture sight.
.455_Hunter
Member
Early WWII Remington?
AlexanderA
Member
Yes, and unfortunately that detracts from the collector value.
Looks like it could be. Remington used that type of stock without the finger grooves, and also a rear sight base without flats milled on the sides. Obviously the receiver ring marking would say "Remington."
ApacheCoTodd
member
I dig the *pinned* stock. Don't listen to the nay-sayers that they are "weak" - most particularly for sport shooting.
Todd.
Todd.
You Guyz are right!! It's a Remington with 3 million serial number. Someone had a rear micro sight installed, But-- I had my gunsmith restore it as best he could to military.
The top stock (handguard) had been replaced, but I plan to use some Gunny (USMC) on it to try and match it up with the hull.
The American Legion took up some of my afternoon, but I am now engrossed in making the bore shine. Believe me the bore is dirty and the rifling does not look that strong. Who knows --after scrubbing the bore there might not be any rifling in it!
I plan to shoot it a few times and retire it to my collection, with my M1's.
I was looking at two 03's on the Michigan auction site, but they were low numbers. Prices vary greatly and these are hard to find without owning a gold mine.
I am in love with the way this piece looks now.
I now have about $500 invested in this piece. Is it worth it? YES "The pursuit of happiness" is my goal. You can't own too many guns!!
The top stock (handguard) had been replaced, but I plan to use some Gunny (USMC) on it to try and match it up with the hull.
The American Legion took up some of my afternoon, but I am now engrossed in making the bore shine. Believe me the bore is dirty and the rifling does not look that strong. Who knows --after scrubbing the bore there might not be any rifling in it!
I plan to shoot it a few times and retire it to my collection, with my M1's.I was looking at two 03's on the Michigan auction site, but they were low numbers. Prices vary greatly and these are hard to find without owning a gold mine.
I am in love with the way this piece looks now.
I now have about $500 invested in this piece. Is it worth it? YES "The pursuit of happiness" is my goal. You can't own too many guns!!
ApacheCoTodd
member
Nice thing about the holes for the Lyman sight is that it has a fine established history with National Match guns and NRA *Sporters*.
The barrel isn't by chance star-gauged, is it? You'll see it at 6 o'clock at the muzzle.
Too, it'd be cool if the bolt has all or a portion of the serial number electro-pencilled on it.
Todd.
The barrel isn't by chance star-gauged, is it? You'll see it at 6 o'clock at the muzzle.
Too, it'd be cool if the bolt has all or a portion of the serial number electro-pencilled on it.
Todd.
22250Rem
Member
Congrats on a nice find. I've always been an admirer of those but never an owner. And I also was expecting to see some rusted junk when I saw the thread title. But it was a pleasant surprise.
GBExpat
Member
Be sure to hold onto that rear aperture sight.
As you age your eyesight may change to the point where you cannot clearly see the OEM rear sight and you will be happy that you did.
Very nice! I'm a big fan of 1903s. I have five, from sporterized to stock.
Moving this to Rifles, where there's more traffic.
Moving this to Rifles, where there's more traffic.
Apache-- no marks at the muzzle. There is, however, a "P" at 6 o'clock about 3" from the muzzle. What does the "P" mean?
The bolt is unmarked.
Cleaning is obviously a chore that has not been accomplished since WWI.
The bore is shiny but continues to release fouling crud. I worked on it last night for 45 minutes and decided to let it soak overnight in Hoppe's
I'll not let it get the best of me!
The bolt is unmarked.
Cleaning is obviously a chore that has not been accomplished since WWI.
The bore is shiny but continues to release fouling crud. I worked on it last night for 45 minutes and decided to let it soak overnight in Hoppe's
I'll not let it get the best of me!
bannockburn
Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 26,285
total recoil
Sounds like you got a decent deal on one of my favorite bolt action rifles! Let us know how how it goes at the range, weather permitting!
Sounds like you got a decent deal on one of my favorite bolt action rifles! Let us know how how it goes at the range, weather permitting!
One more thing needing explanation. Stock is marked with crossed cannons stamp and FJA in a box outline on the left side. Is this the original stock? Replacement? Serial # is 3221xxx. When was it made? Thank you for all the compliments as I did not know if I made a good deal on this piece or a bad deal. Sounds like a good deal.
OOPS, II'm blind---- on the top of the muzzle is an "RA" with flaming bomb and "7-42" so that tells me the date of bbl manufacture.
OOPS, II'm blind---- on the top of the muzzle is an "RA" with flaming bomb and "7-42" so that tells me the date of bbl manufacture.
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AlexanderA
Member
That would be the proof mark.
Probably the original stock. "FJA" are the initials of the army inspector, Col. Frank J. Atwood, and the crossed cannons are the Ordnance acceptance mark. Also look for the letter "K" in the recess for the cutoff. This stands for Keystone Manufacturing, which was the main subcontractor for the stocks used in the Remington production.
GunnyUSMC
Member
Don’t get in a rush, cleaning the bore.
Wet it with a good gun oil , like CLP Break Free, and let it sit for a day or two. Then scrub the bore. You may need to repeat this a few times.
Also when letting it sit, set it muzzle down on a pad. This will keep oil from soaking into the wood around the action.
Wet it with a good gun oil , like CLP Break Free, and let it sit for a day or two. Then scrub the bore. You may need to repeat this a few times.
Also when letting it sit, set it muzzle down on a pad. This will keep oil from soaking into the wood around the action.
theotherwaldo
Member
I seem to be stuck in the year 1943.
So far I've picked up an '03, an 03a3 and an M-1 Garand, all dated 1943.
Now to find a properly dated M-1 carbine and 1911a1... .
So far I've picked up an '03, an 03a3 and an M-1 Garand, all dated 1943.
Now to find a properly dated M-1 carbine and 1911a1... .
You ain't gonna believe this! I have worked on the dirty bore for two days now.
I used Hoppes and bronze bore brush and my wife's old T-shirts and bra as swabs, but they still come out black..... or they did on the first day of cleaning. Then they were dark grey. Scrubbing with just the bore brush resulted in more black patches.
The second day of working on the bore kindled my slow mind into thinking the bore might be leadded! I grabbed some "Chore Boy" copper pads out of my meth pipe and wound it around the bronze bore brush. This unleashed a spate of black crap that was obviously lead. Someone has been shooting lead in this gun. Gunny suggested I get some CLP and have a new attack on it. Maybe it will loosen up in a few days of work.
Man versus lead fouling is now my problem. So far the CLP was just $8+ so I expect to report on it's success. If useless I will let you know.
I picked up a Beretta 81 tonight from my dealer which I am extremely happy with an will report on soon.
BTW I was just joking about the meth pipe. True I do have some chore by pads and I got them long ago for removing lead. They showed me that the bore of this gun was leadded. (my opinion for sure, I could be wrong?)
I used Hoppes and bronze bore brush and my wife's old T-shirts and bra as swabs, but they still come out black..... or they did on the first day of cleaning. Then they were dark grey. Scrubbing with just the bore brush resulted in more black patches.
The second day of working on the bore kindled my slow mind into thinking the bore might be leadded! I grabbed some "Chore Boy" copper pads out of my meth pipe and wound it around the bronze bore brush. This unleashed a spate of black crap that was obviously lead. Someone has been shooting lead in this gun. Gunny suggested I get some CLP and have a new attack on it. Maybe it will loosen up in a few days of work.
Man versus lead fouling is now my problem. So far the CLP was just $8+ so I expect to report on it's success. If useless I will let you know.
I picked up a Beretta 81 tonight from my dealer which I am extremely happy with an will report on soon.
BTW I was just joking about the meth pipe. True I do have some chore by pads and I got them long ago for removing lead. They showed me that the bore of this gun was leadded. (my opinion for sure, I could be wrong?)
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SSN Vet
Member
Kroil is your friend
GBExpat
Member
Stop trying to clean that bore ... and ... SHOOT_IT!
Many old milsurp bores will never (ever, ever, ever) again produce a clean patch, only gray ... but they shoot very well.
Dial down the OCD and shoot the silly thing ... then decide whether or not it actually needs any more deep cleaning.
BTW, I speak from experience. I have, more than once, had to kick myself out of a milsurp bore-cleaning frenzy and move along.
Many old milsurp bores will never (ever, ever, ever) again produce a clean patch, only gray ... but they shoot very well.
Dial down the OCD and shoot the silly thing
... then decide whether or not it actually needs any more deep cleaning.BTW, I speak from experience. I have, more than once, had to kick myself out of a milsurp bore-cleaning frenzy and move along.
Archie
Member
Nice old girl. From my era, too.
ApacheCoTodd
member
I had a Garand once that had an exceptionally dirty bore. Bad enough that I didn't even want to try to shoot it until I had cleaned it properly.
As in your case, after cleaning it for varying periods over the course of several days, It was still returning astoundingly blackened AND rough patches. Finally, I got out my Hawkeye bore scope and had a closer look.
The entire bore had the finest and most evenly spread pitting from corrosive ammo that I had ever seen. It was so fine that even with a magnifying glass, it was not obvious at the muzzle end.
I hammered at it aggressively with a tornado brush - which I only EVER use as a last resort - and once determined it safe & sound, I took it out shooting.
It shot very, very well and 168 gr AP best of all. Too, after shooting it, while the bore was certainly not cleaner to any great extent, it sure did look better to the naked eye and the patches were less torn and blackened. So, between the tornado brush and finally shooting it, some of the edges of the 1,000s of corrosion craters within must have been somewhat smoothed off.
After I was content with that degree of shooting and follow-on cleaning, I tended to liberally apply RIG to the bore before storing it back up as each of those 1,000s of pits will forever be an open wound in the bore.
Todd.
As in your case, after cleaning it for varying periods over the course of several days, It was still returning astoundingly blackened AND rough patches. Finally, I got out my Hawkeye bore scope and had a closer look.
The entire bore had the finest and most evenly spread pitting from corrosive ammo that I had ever seen. It was so fine that even with a magnifying glass, it was not obvious at the muzzle end.
I hammered at it aggressively with a tornado brush - which I only EVER use as a last resort - and once determined it safe & sound, I took it out shooting.
It shot very, very well and 168 gr AP best of all. Too, after shooting it, while the bore was certainly not cleaner to any great extent, it sure did look better to the naked eye and the patches were less torn and blackened. So, between the tornado brush and finally shooting it, some of the edges of the 1,000s of corrosion craters within must have been somewhat smoothed off.
After I was content with that degree of shooting and follow-on cleaning, I tended to liberally apply RIG to the bore before storing it back up as each of those 1,000s of pits will forever be an open wound in the bore.
Todd.
My gun club is open but very cold, damp, and usually snowy at today's date. I'd like to shoot it, as you strongly suggest, but I don't want to sit in a puddle while doing it. I have some old M22 TP ammo that I loaded up some years ago. It only goes about 1300 fps so I may get by firing the gun out my back door without scaring the neighbors.
Frangible and fairly accurate at short distances.
Frangible and fairly accurate at short distances.
GBExpat
Member
Oh ... OK, in the words of Emily Litella, "never mind".
Shooting in miserable circumstances is not high on (or even on) my Fun To Do List, either. I like to get the milsurp (especially) bore cleaned down to steel, too. Not only do I like being able to assess its condition by visually inspecting it, I also very much like knowing that any crap in there was put there me and not some mystery crap deposited by a former owner.
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