USGI M1903 Remington (modified) - deals can still be had

[Faulkner]

I was on a weekend motorcycle ride in the Ozarks and stumbled across a heck of a deal on a USGI M1903 made by Remington in 1942. I'd stopped to visit a friend at his home and noticed the neighbors were having a garage sale across the street. My friend said he'd been over their earlier and they had a couple of rifles for sale. I walked on over to see if there was anything interesting and noticed the M1903 and asked if I could take a look. Looked to be all original with "R" marked parts including the bolt and bore was shiny and clean.

I asked the fellow sitting in the lawn chair guarding the cash box what he wanted for it and he said, "make me an offer."

I made him a low ball offer thinking this was the start of negotiations.

"Sold!" he replied and held out his hand for the money.

I paid the man and took the rifle back to my buddy's house and asked him to hold it until I could come back when I wasn't on my Harley. I finally got it home and confirmed it's a 100% original Remington M1903 (modified). I stripped it down and let the metal parts soak overnight in mineral spirits and commenced to strip down the stock, steam out the dings, and do a refinish with boiled linseed oil. Turned out to be a very nice '03.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17545443_1319485834784183_8836745556341482088_o.jp g?oh=d3524b5f1882fae2cd35bae09f96995c&oe=599105AA


Stock completely stripped down to show the black walnut.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17620147_1321405487925551_6923909613196906759_o.jp g?oh=77c8fca1b29ed6de99d64d35ac223fe8&oe=595A9FB7


Stock with one light coat of Chestnut Ridge Military Stock Stain

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17758222_1321405794592187_5440591599677630243_o.jp g?oh=3a22c59b078b0968991515aa01b71de5&oe=599A9A0B


Stock with several hand rubbed applications of BLO mix

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17504494_1321406651258768_1959075582246672912_o.jp g?oh=5274e8956ee38141391142f1e28773cf&oe=5998DE49


Finished project.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17814640_1322326317833468_1339027986731116728_o.jp g?oh=031e65e05dab5b4a32685c1799b04286&oe=595B8171

[ltorlo64]

Nice looking '03! Have you had a chance to shoot it yet? I would have thought that by 1942 they had upgraded to a gripped stock.

[Richard Simmons]

Very nice rifle and a great restoration!

[rci2950]

Those are the kind of deals that excite me! I never fired an 03' before. Hope its a good shooter. It sure turned out to be a good looking rifle.

[mrkalashnikov]

Congrats on the score.

I too, have a Remington '03... manufactured 11-42. It's in pristine shape & is the closest rifle I own to being a "safe queen". I paid around 600 bucks for mine about 4-5 years ago.

[Helen Keller]

thats pretty good.

i got $1000 for my remington 03 and around $900 for the 03A3 , buyers didnt even blink or check the bolt/bore. Put up high to counter lowballs (wasnt expecting more than $600-700) but the US WW2 crowd is a rabid bunch when it comes to well cared for guns.

The Garand and M1 Carbine I sold off went even faster than those. guys looked at the receivers and barrel dates and Poof! gone.

[Schuetzenman]

Damn that's nice!

[Faulkner]

Got a chance to try it out at the range last weekend. First couple of test shots showed my laser bore sight got it lined up on the paper, then a few more shots got the sights dialed in to zero. It holds a nice tight pattern from the bench. I also took an M1 along and it's amazing how much less the felt recoil is on a M1 rifle compared to the M1903 using the same ammo.