How many 1903 lovers out there?

[ZigZagZeke]

I love my 1903.

 

[MountainBear]

Had a few of those over the years as well!

But please, this is the bolt action rifle section, don't confuse us!

 

[etrain16]

I'm sure this is well known to you seasoned 1903 enthusiasts, but to folks like me who have never owned own or are just learning about them, I found this interesting piece in this month's American Rifleman about the "Pederson Device". I've never heard of these before. Has anyone here had a chance to see or shoot one of these rare devices? Opinions on them? Good, bad or indifferent?

Interesting article if you get a chance to read it: Never In Anger: The Pedersen Device

 

[MountainBear]

I have seen them in a few museums. I have fondled some of the accessories but have never had an actual device in my hands, nor have I had the chance to fondle any of the .30-18 Pederson ammo.

I have a Mark I rifle, but it isn't original. I haven't really paid attention to the different internal pieces, but my mark I has an aftermarket trigger anyway.

In terms of military effectiveness, it essentially makes the 1903 a sub machine gun. Interesting in concept, but not terribly effective given what we have now.

It is cool looking and I'm not sure why they were all destroyed, but the ones that escaped the scrap heap are either in museums or are prohibitively expensive.

Wish I had one. I would love to shoot one someday. If I had the plans, I'd be tempted to try to machine one myself...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

While I didn't see any 03's in Bosnia and Mogadishu I saw plenty of Mausers being used.

Those Pederson's are a neat idea , if buying a "dream 03" it would either be a 03 Carbine like MountainBear is thinking of making or just a nice pre-war match rifle with a Lyman 48 rear sight.

Brophy's book sometimes shows up at some used bookshops I go to , should I keep my eyes open for you MountainBear?
Andy

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I definitely like them, especially original military! Sadly, never owned one.

 

[USMC-03]

During The second Go around in the sand box, there was a very large cash of small arms that we got to view, I would guess there were several hundreds of 03's in amoungst the rest of the arms they had, and they all looked well used, but serviceable still!!! We also heard of several in A-Stan that were found!

I read a story some time ago of a jarhead early on in Afghanistan who drudged up an '03 and a couple hundred rounds of .30 caliber; he cleaned it up, sighted it in and was pretty pleased how well the old warhorse shot. Command put the foot down when he tried to take it on patrol...


Here is my M1903A1 match rifle. The original rear sight has been removed and stock handguard replaced by an 03A3 style. It has a Redfield rear aperture target sight and a Dockendorff front tube sight with cross hair. I've had it out at the 1,000 yard line several times and it performs well; always fun to shoot...

 

[MountainBear]

The fact that there are almost 50 posts in a thread about the venerable old Springfield rifle gives me hope for this forum and humanity in general.

 

[MountainBear]

Sent my 03a4 bolt off to be modified. I imagine I could probably have done the job, but I need to find a cheap (relative term) bolt body to experiment with. In the mean time, 4-8 weeks from now, my 03a4gery should be a shooter. Happy days. Then on to the other short rifle projects.

 

[MountainBear]

As I sat and stared at my 1903's tonight, I realized that at the moment I am enjoying the more military style guns more right now. My favorite is still my 1903 Mark I target rifle, which is technically sporterized, but even it has a full length stock and handguard. It would probably shoot better in a sporter stock with the barrel floated. But it needed to be a full stock.
So I will likely either start looking at some of my sporters to either restore or at least restomod (to steal a car term). If that isn't possible, I'll likely off a few, like my Ackley Improved with the Griffin and Howe. I still need to find an original"ish" 1903 for the collection. And I may need to build a 1941 marine corps sniper to go with my 03a4gery. With those and my current shorty builds, I would likely have to start looking to factory sporters to build next.

On another note, I got confirmation my bolt arrived at the bolt man today and my handguard arrived and was semi-fit this evening. Next up is some barrel work as I have two barrels that need to be set back a thread. Both are for restomod projects and were already altered barrels and receivers. No butchering of originals happens in my shop.

I'm pretty sure RVTech would tell me just to pick a rifle and shoot the heck out of it, which is sound advice, but in this case I think I'll go with variety is the spice of life.

 

[Brian Vedack]

I would love to have one. Not enough cash yet.

 

[ron]

I agree with you MountainBear on the love of the 1903. Interesting side
note on the 1903 Mark 1 triggers.
Original 1903 Mark 1's have different trigger parts. I have found all
Mark 1's that I have examined have standard 1903 triggers. Including
the 1903 Mark 1 I purchased from the CMP. My buddy has a Mark 1
that he was able to put together with original Mark 1 trigger parts.
OMG I can understand why few Mark 1's have original trigger parts. Increase
trigger pull by almost 3 times! One long heavy gritty trigger.
I theorize when the Mark 1's were arsenal reconditioned most of the original
Mark 1 trigger parts were replaced.
1903 Springfield Mark I -many questions - CMP Forums

 

[USMC-03]

And I may need to build a 1941 marine corps sniper to go with my 03a4gery.

This is my plan for the 1903A1 so I can use it for vintage sniper matches. I already know it's a good shooter, all I need to come up with is the funds for an 8x Unertl and the mounting blocks, the rest is fairly easy.

To pick a nit if I may, the correct designation by the Marine Corps during the war was M1903A1 Sniper, referring to them as 1941 is a post war collector's invention. Most were made from converted target rifles, the earliest with Winchester A5 scopes.

Ok, now I'm stretching my memory; better go get my reference books to make sure I'm being accurate here...

 

[MountainBear]

Nit pick away. Always good to learn proper nomenclature. I was never a jarhead and never a sniper, so I can only use what I know, which is to say what I've heard said and read. Thank you for the correction!

I would, in that case, like to build a WWII era 1903a1 sniper with the 8x Unertl. I beleive someone is making reproduction scopes. Probably leatherwood or someone like that. I could never afford an original either!

 

[MountainBear]

<broken link removed>

Here's the reproduction that came to mind. Not cheap, but cheaper than an original.

 

[USMC-03]

I've read these reproductions are pretty good but most people change out the screws, can't recall if it for a higher quality material or going from metric to standard threads, something on that order.

I checked and Winchester A5 scopes from WW1 were used on target 1903A1 rifles in the South Pacific very early in WW2 along with the Lyman A5 before the Unertl could make its way through the ordinance chain. There were even some Winchester 70 rifles carried in the Solomon campaign with both target and hunting scopes.

 

[MountainBear]

scope blocks

And here's a site for reproduction scope blocks. As far as I can tell, modifying the handguard seems to be everyone's sticking point.

Swapping parts on repro anything seems par for the course. They always seem to have some great qualities and some that need tweaking.

 

[USMC-03]

Here's an image of my custom 1903 hunting rifle; it's a really well made sporter with Lyman sights and bedded action. I got lucky years ago in a trade...

 

[Totalled]

Got this pre-I594 for $200.

 

[MountainBear]

Drilled and tapped for a side mount as well?