The American section has been quiet for a while, so I thought I'd post one of my favorite rifles, even though it's not new to me. I won this beauty from an auction 71 years to the month after its manufacture date. It was clean when I got it and I have never taken it apart and photographed it until yesterday.
The OG on the stock says it went through Ogden Arsenal for refurbishment. It was probably a light refurbishment. The barrel is original to the receiver as shown by the indexing mark and the serial number range, which is consistent with the April 1943 barrel date. "R" for Remington is found on everything from the FSB to the buttplate except the bolt sleeve which has a "G", a Smith Corona subcontractor. Also, the front sight protector has an S for Sedgeley, a subcontractor, but I don't think that's incorrect and would be easily remedied if it were. The D on the blade signifies that it is the second tallest blade (A to E). It's a mix of olive green and greenish-black parkerized and blued components, so I don't know if that is an indication of it being "restored" to correct or if color variation was normal on different parts. The Keystone subcontractor made scant stock has probably been "cleaned up" but, if so, it was lightly done. The stock has a nice matte oil finish with relatively few dings and the OG mark is crisp but looks like it was struck at an angle.
It has a three lug, cock on open design like the Gewehr 98 Mauser action it was based on (look up Mauser patent infringement case). Similarly, the safety lever should be placed in the vertical position (no detent) before removing from the receiver and unscrewing the firing pin assembly. Unlike the Gew98/K98k family, if you forget to put the safety in the correct position or accidentally release the cocked spring it is easy to recock before reassembly of the bolt by pulling back on the knurled cocking piece while rotating. This is the only WWII bolt action rifle that retains a magazine cutoff. This cutoff is just a three position cam that also serves as the bolt release in the middle position. ON means the magazine is ON, hence you can load from the magazine. OFF means you have to load one at a time while the magazine may be full of as many as five rounds.
It differs from its M1903 parent with respect to the sights (and hence handguards) and some stamped parts for ease of manufacture, like the one-pieced trigger guard/mag well. The rear sight is the major functional difference, as both its position on the rifle and operation are different. It is a peep sight but has a cheap stamped slider with 13 detents from 200 to 800 yards. The rear sight is windage adjustable by means of a knurled knob with coarse detents and markings on the back to return to neutral.
This rifle is one of my favorite shooters. I favor peep sights and it has a relatively narrow (0.05") front blade that I also like. The bore has an ME less than "1" and the rifling is sharp, so basically a nearly new barrel. The trigger pull is a consistent 3.5 lbs (average of 7 measurements), which is rather light for a military trigger, and it has a very clean break!
Well, that's about all that I know about this rifle, corrections and other information are welcome (apologies for the wordy post but it's rainy here and I have time on my hands). Enjoy the pics!
12/21/15, edited the description of the stock (scant, not C, thanks Martin08) and the parts to reflect the latest information.
LEFT
RIGHT
SERIAL NUMBER AND BARREL
MAGAZINE CUTOFF
BYPASS MAGAZINE
BOLT RELEASE POSITION
LOAD FROM MAGAZINE
SIGHTS
Home
Search
SKS Guide
Russian
Chinese
Romanian
Yugo
Albanian
North Korean
Donations
Login
Register