Front Sight ?

[Rickwv]

Are the front sight bands interchangable between the 03 and the 03a3 barrels?
Thanks
RickWV

[dave]

Probably are but certainly not correct!! 03 sight base and blade would not work on an A3 band.

[John Beard]

Are the front sight bands interchangable between the 03 and the 03a3 barrels?
Thanks
RickWV

Seasons' Greetings!

The bands have the same inside diameter and are interchangeable from that perspective. But the pinning to the barrel is different and will require very careful drilling or filing. I also believe the M1903 front sight may not be as tall as the M'03-A3 front sight.

Hope this helps. Happy Holidays!

J.B.

[Rickwv]

Thanks Guys
I traded some old rims for a really beat up 03a3 barrel and reciever with a busted stock and was brain storming about using a dove tail 03 front site band on it. I have not done a bunch of research yet as to putting a Lyman or Williams type front site on it and the 03 front sight band with it's dove tail got my brain going. First I will have my gunsmith tell me if I have a paper weight or a shooter, I know the barrel has to go. THANKS

Happy Holidays
Rick

[Bob S]

Seasons' Greetings!

... the M1903 front sight may not be as tall as the M'03-A3 front sight.

Hope this helps. Happy Holidays!

J.B.

It's not, both the overall height and the height of the blade. The blades are not interchangeable, either, without some work:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/0303A3frontsights.jpg
'03 blade on the right (you can just make out the ".400" height stamped on it); "A" height 03A3 blade on the left. If you filed a bit off of the bottom of the 03A3 blade, you can get it to fit the '03 moveable base. Doing so would lower the battlesight range from approximately 550 yards (or 547 yards, according to some College Boy calculations) to a more realistic ~200-250 yards. This was important in 1965 if you had some crusty old shooter as a match director who made you shoot your rapid fire targets using the battle sight if you showed up with an '03 "because that's the way we did it at Perry".

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Bob S]

Thanks Guys
was brain storming about using a dove tail 03 front site band on it. I have not done a bunch of research yet as to putting a Lyman or Williams type front site on it and the 03 front sight band with it's dove tail got my brain going.
Happy Holidays
Rick

Both Lyman and Redfield made globe type sights that will fit the dovetail of the '03 fixed base. It was common to used the 03 fixed base with either the special Lyman (17AXB) or Redfield 60 series globe sight on an 03A3 back in the 60's when building a Poor Man's Match rifle, like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/Classic%2003A3%20MR/Classic03A3MR.jpg

As John said, you will have to file a notch in the 03A3 front sight key to coincide with the position of the pin of the 03 base.

Redfield also made a special base to fit the '03 fixed base dovetail, with a standard "target" dovetail for any detachable target front sight. This base and the special globe sights that fit the '03 are getting hard to find, since they have not been made since the 1960's.

The other alternative is have someone mill standard 3/8" dovetail in the 03A3 front sight base; then you could use a "standard" Lyman front sight (17A, or 20MJT) that are still made today and easy to find. This is a 20MJT in a modified 03A3 front sight base:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/Classic%2003A3%20MR/target_front_sight_2.jpg

Good luck with your project!

[Rickwv]

OUTSTANDING!!! That is exactly the info I was looking for. Hopefully that saved a couple of brain cells!

Thank You!!
Rick

[Rickwv]

Bob S.

I was doing reaserch and looking for Lyman and Williams front sights and lo and behold I found a article about somebody using a LIPSKI front sight with copper pipe as a bushing to tighten on. Life is good! And anybody using copper pipe in his front sight has got to be ok with me, and brownells has all I need and if my nieghbors pipes freeze again I won't even have to go to LOWES. OUTSTANDING AGAIN!!!

Thanks Again
Rick

[Randy A]

Rick, there's plenty of the original ones around, I think I have a quart can full of each kind. If you need a new A3 barrel, same there too, NOS ones abound. So what you going to do with it, restore or sporter?

[Rickwv]

Hey Randy, I think this will be a sporter,I have one 03 Remington that has a "R" on everything except 1 part and another 03 I restored and a couple of "stock" 03a3"s. If you have the front sight band for a 03a3 that will allow me to use a Lyman or Williams Globe front sight let me know what you want for it and we will go from there. And I will use a Criterion Barrel if I was going to restore I think I would go 2 groove.

Thanks
Rick

[Bob S]

Bob S.

I was doing reaserch and looking for Lyman and Williams front sights and lo and behold I found a article about somebody using a LIPSKI front sight with copper pipe as a bushing to tighten on.
Thanks Again
Rick

Yeah, that would be me. :-) The detachable sight in the pic is a Parker-Hale.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/03A3LipskibaseP-Hsight.jpg

[Crashyoung]

I would really clean the barrel before I condemn it.
My 100 year old 03 barrel had crud blocking it sooo bad,
I couldn't see thru it.

After cleaning, (and cleaning, and cleaning), I could see
the free bore/throat area was very good, but the muzzle
had pitting.

I have an idea it will shoot very nicely!

[ClaudeH]

Yeah, that would be me. :-) The detachable sight in the pic is a Parker-Hale.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/03A3LipskibaseP-Hsight.jpg

Please tell us more about how you fitted that, Bob!

[Bob S]

It's an 03A3 barrel, so remove the front sight key. The Lipski base that I used is for 3/4" diameter barrel, so you have to bush the 03A3 barrel up to that diameter so the base will clamp on. Make split bushings from two 3/4" lengths of 5/8" NPS copper water pipe, cut longitudinally with a hack saw. Put one bushing on the front sight seat of the barrel; pry the second bushing open a bit and slide it over the first bushing. Slide the Lipski base over the bushings and tighten. Easy Button.

Here's a picture of the business end. If you look closely, you can see the two pieces pipe.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/BobS1/Springfield%2003s/03A3Lipskibasefront.jpg

I have had to do this a couple of times in The Real World when putting Right Sight bases on European target rifles, since the European barrels are not turned to a standard diameter for "our" standard clamp-on sight bases: once with a Furter 7.5x55 CISM rifle, once with a Grunig & Elmiger CISM rifle. In those cases, I could use steel shim stock, since the diameters were not that far off. This is just an extension of that idea; cheap, quick, easy, and it's stood the test of time.

Have fun with your project!

[Randy A]

Hey Randy, I think this will be a sporter,I have one 03 Remington that has a "R" on everything except 1 part and another 03 I restored and a couple of "stock" 03a3"s. If you have the front sight band for a 03a3 that will allow me to use a Lyman or Williams Globe front sight let me know what you want for it and we will go from there. And I will use a Criterion Barrel if I was going to restore I think I would go 2 groove.

Thanks
Rick

Give me a day or two, I think I know where a front sight is, seems it might have been a Lyman. I haven't seen it for a while, also, what R part you missing, I do have a few R 1903 parts.

[Rickwv]

Hey Randy
Thanks for looking, no rush. I'm missing a milled "R" lower band. Otherwise she is stamped "R" on everything.
Thanks Again
Rick

[Randy A]

Hey Randy
Thanks for looking, no rush. I'm missing a milled "R" lower band. Otherwise she is stamped "R" on everything.
Thanks Again
Rick

Found both items, PM sent.