WWII Remington 1903 .30-06 Bolt Action Rifle 1942 Our Assessment: When the US Army was looking for a rifle design to replace the 1898 Krag rifle, they looked directly at the Spanish Model 1893 Mauser. This was due to the fact that the performance of the Model 1893 Mauser was far superior than that of the 1898 Krag during the Spanish-American War. The Model 1903 is basically a redesigned Mauser clone. A U.S. Patent Court eventually found that the U.S. Army had violated Mauser's patents and required the U.S. Army to pay the German Mauser manufacturers patent royalties. Payments were stopped once WWI started. The 1903 has a strong reliable action that served the Army for over thirty years in two world wars. The 1903A3 is an improved version of the 1903 rifle that was introduced in 1942. The most significant change was the switch to a receiver bridge-mounted rear aperture sight.This Remington Model 1903 was made in 1942. It has nice Remington markings on both the receiver and barrel. It also has small "R" stampings on some of the metal parts. We don't know its service life but it was probably put to good use during WWII. The rifle has been refinished and is in Very Good Plus condition.
Make: Remington
Model: 1903
Serial Number: 3290139
Year of Manufacture: 1942 Barrel Date: October 1942
Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
Action Type: Bolt Action, Internal Magazine
Barrel Length: 24"
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a pinned blade set atop a raised base. The rear sight is a U notched blade attached to a fully adjustable sight ladder. When flipped up, separate notches and an aperture on the ladder can be used for sighting.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The hardwood stock has a straight grip, nose cap with bayonet lug, stacking loop, barrel band, 2 sling loops, 2 reinforcing pins, and a metal buttplate with hinged door for storage. The stock shows deep scratches on the butt as well as other scratches & compression marks. The LOP measures 12 3/4" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. This stock rates in about Very Good overall condition.
Type of Finish: Parkerized
Finish Originality: Refinished
Bore Condition: The muzzle and grooves are light gray. The rifling is deep. The bore shows erosion at the muzzle and in the grooves. The muzzle shows an M.E. of 1. In this writer's opinion, this bore rates 6.5 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 98% of its metal finish as refinished. The metal shows scuffs and scrapes. The action shows light operational wear. The screw heads show use. Most of the markings are well defined. Overall, this rifle rates in about Very Good Plus condition, as refinished.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. We have cleaned this firearm and performed a mechanic's check but expect many will want to clean the firearm again depending on their standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None
CA LEGALITY: CA Classified C&R: YES. PPT: NO
RIFLE