Jump to content

Picked Up a New US Rifle for My Collection


Recommended Posts

1943 remington 1903a3. Found one that was redone at the Ogden Arsenal and i believe never shot since 1945. even the feed ramp and mag follower shows no wear. gun looks like a brand new gun. its going to be a shooter. everything is R marked except for the Bayonet strap- i believe its Smith Corona as its unmarked. Rifling is mint/new

 

 

 

arKDScS.jpg

m6E4u0c.jpg

moZgtIG.jpg

iVYjD50.jpg

jQBgDnc.jpg

jeog9sl.jpg

As6fHaL.jpg

sCJuah3.jpg

D6SEO4g.jpg

bei3x4O.jpg

JcGZGE9.jpg

HqkI1di.jpg

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

sadly none of them fought in a war

 

thompson-police gun 1940

garand 1954

and the 1903 is too minty to have even left the States.

 

1903a3 is surprisingly light! compared to the other 2

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

sadly none of them fought in a war

 

thompson-police gun 1940

garand 1954

and the 1903 is too minty to have even left the States.

 

1903a3 is surprisingly light! compared to the other 2

Congratulations on a nice find ... I might be wrong, but I think I read once that no 03A3's ever saw front line service during the war. Great looking guns,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any idea how much an Arsenal refinish hurts the value ?

 

I had a 2nd choice of one in good + condition that was all original. -$50 less. I decided Id rather have a flawless Ogden redo. I considered buying both.

 

I wouldnt want a sanded stock by joe gunsmith. But when sanded by Ogden Im not sure it loses the same value ?

 

Its an authentic 1903a3 as our govt made it and rebuilt it.

 

Not sure a Thompson m1 thats been redone like this Is worth any less than an original. If it is its not much

 

I looked at this gun the same way. Its going to be a shooter for me. If some day I can sell it for more great. Odds are it will be in my collection for my lifetime

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WTB ad. on the cmp forum

 

there's one pretty darn nice right now on gunboards...just listed today...same price range...

 

if you want my #2 choice i can put you in touch with him..it was all original and i believe in above average condition $850 shipped....it was a very,very close call on which to choose..i was 51/49 on the one i bought....

 

if you want a redone like mine the one on gunboards is sitting there at $950 i think...not as nice, but in the same category

 

GB is too expensive....dont even bother unless you want to over pay $300+

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WTB ad. on the cmp forum

 

there's one pretty darn nice right now on gunboards...just listed today...same price range...

 

if you want my #2 choice i can put you in touch with him..it was all original and i believe in above average condition $850 shipped....it was a very,very close call on which to choose..i was 51/49 on the one i bought....

 

if you want a redone like mine the one on gunboards is sitting there at $950 i think...not as nice, but in the same category

 

GB is too expensive....dont even bother unless you want to over pay $300+

 

I very often overpay on GB but I get what a pay for. Some very high quality items. I do know when to stop bidding but an extra $300 for much higher quality is worth it sometimes, since condition is really everything.

Eric

Link to comment
Share on other sites

one i was looking at went for $900..it had a CMP pedigree...but was in much worse shape and more mismatched...i always over bid on GB also...bought a K31 this past Sunday...bid more than i wanted, but when i look back it was the highest quality one for sale and only went for $75 more than all the others listed that night...the wood is barely marked, vs others that have 1000 hacks in them.

 

ive over bid often...typically i lose and i feel good that i lost as winning = over paying $500+

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an identical example. I'm not entirely convinced that Ogden necessarily rebuilt every gun so marked. The gun may have been only inspected and stored there. Why, after all, overhaul a brand new, unissued rifle? Your barrel date is commensurate with the serial number range. Hard to see, but those may be the original Remington inspection marks on the wood forward of the magazine. They'd be gone if the wood were refinished or replaced. On my OG marked '03A3 they're deep and crisp. Replacement stocks at this time tended to be "scant" stocks, not the earlier design with the straight wrist. Rebuilt guns also tend to have a mixture of '03 and '03A3 parts. Every parked part on my '03A3 is of a subtly different shade. The bolt body and stamped bands, butt plate, and several other small parts are blued. Arsenal refinishes at the time seem to have been limited to park only. Just a thought.

Edited by TSMGguy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

a guy on the cmp forum who used to work for cmp grading their guns told me the barrel and receiver are a match. his opinion was it was a complete redo/refinish at Ogden.

 

the stamps on the wood are very light except for the OG and a restamped P..so the wood is sanded down, so as the OG/P are not i assume Ogden did it. the parts all look like some kind of park. to me...some green, some more grey....i wonder if the bolt is new?

 

all the parts appear to be 1903a3 and not 1903 mixed in....

 

in the end none of it matters as long as i paid a fair price as im shooting it, not collecting it...its going to have wear very shortly...its a neat find though....wonder where it sat for all those years?..still had some cosmo on it! so i think fired a few times at Ogden and never touched since...

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your stamps are very good. Mine are 1/2 gone

 

Your stock didnt need sanding when OG got it

 

Most I see say OG

 

I thought I read if it has a square around the OG it meant complete overhaul. Without the square it was just inspected. I do see some that dont have a square around the OG.

 

Anyone know that answer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i read when the sanded the wood at OG they restamped the P...so the P is very deep and w/o the circle..you can see bits of the original P under/around it...

 

the only marks that are deep on my stock is the P and the OG

 

 

shot the gun today....accurate!!!....with a scope i could most likely shoot in the same hole....and after shooting 80 rounds through it i can see wear now on the feed ramp and mag well follower as well as some on the bolt..so i 100% believe my gun was not fired since OG rebuilt

 

question!----once in a while after shooting the first round of 5 the bolt would lock closed tight...you had to muscle it to open it...this happened maybe 5x out of (16- 5 round shooting sessions)...only on the first round...you couldnt easily turn the bolt up...once pulled up it would go back smoothly...ammo was PPU..mixture of 150 grain m1 garand ammo and 180 grain

 

over all very pleased with my gun...only wish i had a A4 sniper...my range is 45 yards, so i cant miss anything on it...trigger is sweet!....i do plan to visit a 100 yard range and have more fun

 

here's approx 35-40 yards from a bench, but w/o sandbags..i lowered the sights right after this and it shot all in the black

PLgSLjq.jpg

Edited by huggytree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice shooting!

 

When I get the chance I will pull and post some pictures of my pride and joy. 1903A4 unfired and with cardboard tube in the barrel and pedigree. I fell in love with these rifles some time ago and paid up for this one. Said to be one of the only unfired around. Stacks of paperwork on it too.

Keep buying these guns and never sell them. Just feel the history when you touch them. I have been collecting for over 40 years. Be careful when buying the scopes. Many have broken cross hairs, foggy lenses and black specks. Hurts the value. I buy the shitty ones too but don't pay up for them. I love to hold them, close my eyes and imagine where they have been and who they and touched. (so to speak)

Enjoy it. My favorite guns.

Eric

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i wont wreck the gun by trying to mount a scope to it.....i didnt want to put too much into this bolt action idea...its my only bolt action gun..just wanted one....also grabbed a K31 which i should have tuesday....so now ill have 2 bolt actions....its different and i like the history on these guns.

 

 

as for my issue above? anything think the bolt wasnt completely closed when firing?? many of the times were with my son shooting and he was trying to speed load and unload...i wonder if the gun fired and the bolt was 1/4" from being completely closed?....it would seem that it could make the problem i describe and most likely not be the best for the gun

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...