Ironlip
04-07-2014, 08:36
I recently obtained an outstanding 1903A4. It's got all the bells and whistles I've been looking for with nothing I detect as any hint of rebuild...except for one thing.
The bolt body is clearly blued but the extractor collar and extractor are clearly Parkerized.
The serial number is 3420932 and the barrel date is August '43. I've got two questions:
1. Before I go replacing the extractor and collar, is there any serious belief by those in the know that Remington was Parkerizing extractors and extractor collars by the time this rifle was assembled ?
2. My late (4057169 Bbl 9 - 43) 03A3 which appears to be totally unmodified has a blued extractor and a blued collar. The collar has a circled R on it rather than the plain R I've seen on other collars. My earlier seemingly unmodified 03A3 (3729870 Bbl 4-43) has only a plain R. Does anyone have data on whether Remington went from a plain R to a circled R on the collar as a complete change and if so when? Or, did plain R's and circled R's appear concurrently? And if so, when did that start? For what it's worth, the Parkerized collar is circle R marked, but it's indistinct, suggesting it was blasted and refinished to me, though I suppose it could have been marked before its original finishing.
All input appreciated.
The bolt body is clearly blued but the extractor collar and extractor are clearly Parkerized.
The serial number is 3420932 and the barrel date is August '43. I've got two questions:
1. Before I go replacing the extractor and collar, is there any serious belief by those in the know that Remington was Parkerizing extractors and extractor collars by the time this rifle was assembled ?
2. My late (4057169 Bbl 9 - 43) 03A3 which appears to be totally unmodified has a blued extractor and a blued collar. The collar has a circled R on it rather than the plain R I've seen on other collars. My earlier seemingly unmodified 03A3 (3729870 Bbl 4-43) has only a plain R. Does anyone have data on whether Remington went from a plain R to a circled R on the collar as a complete change and if so when? Or, did plain R's and circled R's appear concurrently? And if so, when did that start? For what it's worth, the Parkerized collar is circle R marked, but it's indistinct, suggesting it was blasted and refinished to me, though I suppose it could have been marked before its original finishing.
All input appreciated.