I have a Smith Corona 1903 A-3 with a build date of April 1943 . It shoots very well and is also very accurate . It has a Remington barrel dated 9-43 . Was this a common practice to interchange barrels ? Will not having the correct Smith Corona barrel affect the value greatly ? Many thanks
Smith Corona 1903-A3
- Thread starter junedog
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A primary goal of military rifles is parts interchangeability. Your rifle went through an arsenal rebuild at some point and they replaced the barrel with one they pulled out of a pile of replacement barrels.
It affects the value as far as a collector's rifle goes since it is not original or "correct," but it makes no difference for a shooter and a rifle to enjoy. There are very few original or correct WWII rifles any more because the Army is interested in keeping rifles running, not in making sure the name on the barrel matches the name on the receiver. It is part of the rifle's history and you may still have the stampings on the stock to trace some of that history.
Keep shooting it until you need another barrel, and then you can look around for a SC barrel and make it correct again.
It affects the value as far as a collector's rifle goes since it is not original or "correct," but it makes no difference for a shooter and a rifle to enjoy. There are very few original or correct WWII rifles any more because the Army is interested in keeping rifles running, not in making sure the name on the barrel matches the name on the receiver. It is part of the rifle's history and you may still have the stampings on the stock to trace some of that history.
Keep shooting it until you need another barrel, and then you can look around for a SC barrel and make it correct again.
This is essentially correct. A rifle that is all original and all correct will have more value to a collector.
However, recognizable military rebuilds have value.
Few Colt SAA’s were rebuilt to become “Artillery Colts” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army . These are a recognizable subset of Colts, are very rare, and very valuable.
If your M1903A3 has CMP paperwork, has all the military stamps on the rifle, and the stock shows an Arsenal rebuild stamp such as A.A. (Augusta Army) or RRAD, (Red River Army Depot) it will have more future value to a collector than a generic parts rifle.
It is important, for collector value, to keep those CMP certificates.
1KPerDay
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How do I find out the build date of my Smith-Corona?
If it has the original barrel, that is usually pretty close and can give you the month. Here is a link to go by year.
http://oldguns.net/sn_php/milmods.htm
All SCs were built 1942-1944.
1KPerDay
Member
thanks for that... says mine was made in 1943, and my barrel says S-C 5-43 so I assume it's original.
BTW my bolt handle is marked B.&S. --anyone know what that means? I assume it's not original to the rifle.
BTW my bolt handle is marked B.&S. --anyone know what that means? I assume it's not original to the rifle.
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Baba Louie
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I've seen bolt handles w/ a BF (Bonney Forge) and BP (Brown Precision) and NS (nickel steel) but my SC has an X. If it has anything other than the X it typically has been refurbed. No biggie. But I've never seen a "B.&B." marked bolt... yet.
Mr. John Beard, an 03 expert who posts on www.jouster.com, I showed him a drill rifle bolt I had. It had the firing pin hole welded over. Mr. Beard is able to look at parts, look at the machining, and can tell you who made it, and when. It is simply amazing. He spent years cleaning 03's at Anniston, handled thousands and thousands of 03's and A3's.
He rolled my bolt around and said it was an early SC.
It does not have an "X" stamping any where on the bolt.
Reference books are based on small sample sizes. Based on the rifles that came in the CMP, a lot of what is gospel in old reference books, is not true.
1KPerDay
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Duh... I just took another look and it's B.&S. not B.&B.
Any help?
Any help?
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