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1. K98 Ejector and 2. Remington 1903 Magazine Spring/Follower


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My guess is that the magazine body is off a bit due to the aftermarket stock work and you may have to trim the new follower to free up the binding.

 

I did stick my finger into the magazine box and feel the difference between the magazine box and the wood of the stock. There is a little difference (box sticks out a little). In other words, it's not completely smooth between the magazine box and the wood of the stock. Not much difference, however.

 

I did think about filing down the new follower at the base, but of course I've only got the two followers and I had the question about the stripper clips.

 

I think I may take it to the range again, and see how it works (keeping in mind I have to load singles or depress the follower at the rear to fully load the magazine).

 

Robert

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In summary, with the "new" follower I can only load one shell. The second shell will not depress far enough to go in the magazine. I can depress the follower at its base so it clears the magazine box and it will load four shells. It then feeds all four shells fine.

 

With the "old" follower, I could load four shells but if I only loaded one shell and pushed the bolt forward it would jam. If I loaded two or more, shells number four, three, and two shells would feed but not number one. Same situation using the new R marked spring.

 

I never thought a bolt action rifle would be so finicky. I guess if the tolerances aren't right there will be an issue.

 

Robert

Edited by Robert Henley
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Another thought- try assembling the action in the stock without the follower or spring in the magazine. Check to see if there's an exposed edge where the magazine box meets up with the bottom of the receiver. That may be where the follower is catching as you try to depress it. If this condition exists, I would take the corner off the top of the magazine box and blend it in so there is a smooth transition between the receiver and the magazine box when they are assembled.

 

I could try this, but I didn't want to start bending anything unnecessarily. It does seem like there is an issue with the magazine box sticking out (actually sticking in) just slightly, and the follower hitting it when you try and put the second shell in the magazine.

 

Robert

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Well, it seems that you are closing in on the problem area- there's a misalignment between the mag box and the receiver that is causing the follower to hang up when depressed for the second round. Now you have to figure out how to resolve this.

 

You may want to re-work the stock slightly to correct the misalignment, or resolve it by filing on the "shelf" that is sticking into the magazine interior or filing an angle on the underside of the follower so it slips by the shelf. Not having the rifle in front of me, I can't help you decide which way to go.

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The stamped '03 front sight cover just snaps over the sight from the top. The front sight is slightly adjustable on the base by loosening the screw and drifting the sight in the dovetail a little bit. Make sure you're happy with your rifle's zero before installing the sight cover.

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Well, it seems that you are closing in on the problem area- there's a misalignment between the mag box and the receiver that is causing the follower to hang up when depressed for the second round. Now you have to figure out how to resolve this.

 

You may want to re-work the stock slightly to correct the misalignment, or resolve it by filing on the "shelf" that is sticking into the magazine interior or filing an angle on the underside of the follower so it slips by the shelf. Not having the rifle in front of me, I can't help you decide which way to go.

 

OK, I think I got it (subject to going to the range and checking the function).

 

First, there was no bushing but it didn't appear with the sporter stock that there was any room for a bushing. The fit of the stock seems superb--everything seems to fit perfectly all around. The wood is very nice too.

 

So what I did was take out the magazine box and I could feel two slight ridge lines inside, and there was some scraping there where the follower was hitting them. I took a small file and worked on smoothing out the ridge lines on the left side where the follower was hitting with the second shell, and then dusted them off and lubricated everything and reassembled. I put four shells in and they all went in the magazine without catching on anything. Everything seemed smooth. I cycled the shells until they popped up, and all four popped up. Seems OK now.

 

One thing I did notice was when I worked the bolt without any shells in it the ejector sometimes went back into its housing and sometimes it stayed out. I noticed I had to use my finger to push it back in when I loaded a few shells (and it didn't seem like there was much spring pressure like there is on the K98 ejector I installed on the K98). I'm not sure about this (weak ejector spring maybe--assuming there is a spring?) but when I function test it at the range I'll see how everything operates.

 

I'll take it back to the range maybe one day this coming week, and see how it works.

 

Thanks for all the tips, which really helped me home in on what appeared to be the problem.

 

This Remington Model 1903 does seem like a heck of a rifle--we'll see with some more shooting.

 

Robert

 

Note: Deleted several pictures to save storage capacity.

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IMG_20200411_125953827_MP.jpg

Edited by Robert Henley
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Went to range yesterday, and K98 and Remington Model 1903 worked great in the few rounds I cycled through them. The 25, 50, 100 yard range was closed for maintenance (I was going to check sights), but had the 200, 300 yard range to myself and moved up to check sights while checking cycling. All seemed good.

 

The K98 ejects empty shells basically at your feet, while the Model 1903 kicked the empty shells about five or six feet to the right and slightly behind you. I'm not sure what's "normal" for a K98, but they ejected nicely so seems OK.

 

Thanks again for all the tips,

 

Robert

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