Blicero is a bad influence aka Blicero what did I get?

[running-man]

Dammit Blicero.  Did I need one of these?

Ok krautboy, what did I get?  S/N is 1.011 million so the websites I've seen say 1918, and likely doesn't have the brittle receiver issues that the sub 800k guns do.  Re-barreled June, 1942 is about the extent that I know.  Looks like a swept bolt handle, so that's a good sign safety-wise too as i've read the brittle bolts were straight and not swept.  Parkerized, receiver had a bit of pitting but not too bad.  Bore is pristine, with a mirror shine.

Sorry about the crappy photos, it's 10 PM and the old wood floor is all I've got at night.  The price was right, and it will be nice to have a bolt gun companion for my Garand.  What say you?

[Dannyboy53]

OH YEAH, an '03...that's sweet running-man, really nice!    And they are awesome shooters if you intend to fire that one. I had an '03A3 (Smith-Corona) and got a hold of 100 rds of surplus ammo date stamped 1943, wow that was a hoot.

Good catch running-man, congratulations. That should make the old Garand smile standing next to each other!

[MEBears]

Very nice! An 03 is definitely on the must have list. I'm sure your Garand will enjoy the company.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Thats in pretty good shape for an old wood floor.   

Whats the significance of the 'brooklyn' stamp?   Looks like a real keeper RM...  Very nice

[running-man]

I have no idea about the Brooklyn stamp, nothing in my quick noob 1903 net searches found anything, it's neat though.  The stock appears to be a Remington replacement based on the "R" in the cutoff recess.  The boxed D.A.L. seems to have quite a few opinions attached to it from an unknown inspector to "Daniel A. Leary".  Dates are a bit variable too: S/N 761,758 - 1,548,62 (1918-end of production), or possibly 1919-1930.  I could find nothing on the boxed L.S. on the right side.

Boxed P appears to be over top of an older circle P that's been worn/sanded away to almost being unrecognizable. 

It's certainly no collector's piece, but the guy I bought it from said it's a fine shooter.  We'll see how it performs! 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Not a collector my ars...  Any 03 in original configuration is. 

[Phosphorus32]

Nice.  When this '03 was rebarreled/refurbed we were just 6 months into US involvement in the war, circa: Battle of Midway.  This baby undoubtedly has some history.  The light sanding may have faded some of the history but not erased it.  I bet it'll be a very good shooter.

Not a collector my ars...  Any 03 in original configuration is. 

What's up with LC talking about ARs on this thread   

[Blicero]

I'm still swooning over the notion of you buying something new for yourself. Atta baby!

I can't really share much info. Straight stock, multiple rework, ww2 park & barrel job. Have you ever fiddled with one of those slings? If not and you want to have some fun and feel like a real rocket surgeon in the process, take it off the rifle, forget about it for a few days, then reinstall it.

I'm replaying that Forrest Gump bit in my head. "There's Tex, from Brooklyn, and Brooklyn...well nobody rightfully knows where he come from..." or however it goes.

[running-man]

It doesn't happen very often, but I'm really glad I picked this one up!   

Sight picture on this bad boy is simply awesome.  Even with my bad eyes, I can focus well on the thin front blade.   They simply don't build anything like this anymore. I'm always in awe with how much the quality of things have changed in the past 100 years!  It's a solid gun with a very smooth action.  My $400 was well spent, even for a multiple rebuild, rebarreled mixmaster like this one. I'll let the C&R snobs dish out the $1 to 3k needed for something that has the perfect stock with all the proper stamps in all the perfect places.  I'll go so far as to say this one is going to give my Swedish m96 a good run for its money.

So, I guess a 1917 is something I'll need in the future eh?

[Dannyboy53]

They are a heckuva joy to shoot running-man, you will find it difficult to leave the range! You have another piece of rock solid American history and a kick-butt rifle whether some parts match or not. I think that's irrelevant when all that work has been done by an arsenal and not some bubba.

[Blicero]

Yeah he killed it on this one. Great score.
A 1917 is in order, yessir. Then you can decide for yourself if we took the right course in choosing the 03. I know where I stand 

[running-man]

I know where I stand 

Yeah, yeah.  You wish everyone had K98s we know! 

[Dannyboy53]

I would like to get one. Saw one in the gun shop where we hung out in Heber Springs last fall for $800. It was in good condition, a purdy thang, but I know nothing else about those rifles. It only sat there about a week or ten days.

I left finger prints all over it though!

[Phosphorus32]

Uh, $400!?  You scored on that beauty  The whole "all correct, matched patina, blah, blah" thing is fine for those with lotsa time and lotsa cash.

[running-man]

Guy originally was asking $700.  In typical cheapskate RM fashion, I hmm'd and hawed for a while. I then bought some of his reloading stuff (he's moving out of town and was liquidating everything), and told him I'd think about it.  As I'm leaving he tells me $600 would work. A few days later the guy calls me up and tells me he has some manuals for some of the presses and a couple misc shell holders we forgot, so I head over and pick them up and look over the gun again. This time he offers it to me for 5 bills.  I tell him that I'll see if I can scrounge up the $$ in the next few months. A few weeks later he calls me up again, tells me he just sold the house (that was fast!), really needs to move it, and that's where the $400 came from.  Now RM is cheap and maybe a little slow, but by that time I couldn't give him the money fast enough!