Tang "plate"? on 1903

[11mm]

27395

I recently bought a CMP rifle from another collector. I believe it to be a Greek return. It had not been modified or even shot since it was purchased from the CMP.
Neither of the other two 1903 rifles I own have the little plate shown in the tang pocket, nor does a spare stock I have. This bit of metal causes the tang to stand proud of the stock. The tube which goes through the wood also sticks out a little on the bottom, causing the trigger guard to protrude slightly more than usual.
I can't find reference to this bit of metal in any of the literature I have. Is this something the Greeks added? The stock is heavily sanded but is solid. The rifle ( 1934 SA receiver, Remington WW2 bolt, 1941 SA barrel) shoots OK, but it looks a little funny with the metal sticking out. I am going to put it in the spare stock to see if it shoots better, but I wondered about the purpose of this piece of metal.

[PhillipM]

It was added by Remington during a post war rebuild to make stocks that had crushed wood serviceable.

http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?38921-Where-can-I-find-tang-shims

[11mm]

It was added by Remington during a post war rebuild to make stocks that had crushed wood serviceable.

http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?38921-Where-can-I-find-tang-shims

Thanks. That certainly looks like what I have. I don't think it was properly installed if it causes the tang to sit up out of the wood and the bushing to extend past the wood on the bottom. Maybe I can pry it out to see what the situation is underneath the shim. I take it that the stock I have was originally from a Remington '03 if Remington installed these, or did they refurbish all types of '03 rifles after the war?

[John Beard]

Thanks. That certainly looks like what I have. I don't think it was properly installed if it causes the tang to sit up out of the wood and the bushing to extend past the wood on the bottom. Maybe I can pry it out to see what the situation is underneath the shim. I take it that the stock I have was originally from a Remington '03 if Remington installed these, or did they refurbish all types of '03 rifles after the war?

The metal shim was used to reset the upward fore end pressure on the barrel to within specified levels. Removing the shim may seriously deteriorate your rifle's accuracy.

During late WWII, Remington was awarded a contract to overhaul rifles for the Army. The shim was installed by Remington during overhaul and does not necessarily mean that you have a Remington stock or rifle.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[11mm]

Thanks J.B. I reinstalled the rifle in a spare (finger groove) 2 bolt stock, but one that is in better condition (not sanded) and does not have shims. It shoots more accurately to the sights now with the same ammunition I was using before, even though the stock I put it in is not quite as pretty a fit in the fore-end/hand guard area as the (Greek) stock I took it out of. There were two shims in the "Greek" stock, one thick, and one 50% thinner. My object was to have a shooter, and it is better now than it was before. It also looks better.

[Rock]

I had one with 2 shims. They created a gap between the bottom of the receiver and the magazine. The follower would get caught in the gap and cause jams. I had to take 1 shim out to restore proper functioning.

[Col. Colt]

This is a little known (or understood) modification part that is not much mentioned or described in the currently available Springfield Literature - and it might help owners/collectors in the future better understand what they have if more information was posted. It might be useful if we could have the measurements of the thickness of the thick and thin shims, for the record - and perhaps even a 1/1 Macro photo with actual dimensions.

This is an area of discussion in Vintage Military Rifle shooting, as shims are not currently allowed as "stock" - even though they were Arsenal applied on the 1903 and the Garand rebuild stocks that were glass bedded on the bottom trigger guard area only, for the same reason - to restore a stock with compressed wood to useable status. So it would be good if any documentation of the legitimacy of this modification was elaborated on and explained for shooters, as well as collectors. CC