two groove? Military barrel

[milboltnut]

Are the lands really wide? And the grooves really faint? I believe it's a 1903 rec/barrel.


And if any of you are familiar with after market barrels I'd appreciate any input. Do Shilen barrels make two grooves too? I read they did at one time.

[musketjon]

Yes they are wide and shallow. The groove depth is only about .006" deep--that's about the thickness of two sheets of lined writing paper.
Jon

[chuckindenver]

2 groove would be a 1903A3 barrel.
all 1903 barrels are 4 groove

[dave]

I believe Smith-Corona made some 03A3 barrels/rifles with 4 groove. I had one, (once upon a time).

[milboltnut]

so only Remington made 2 groove barrels?

[dave]

Original 03 rifles made by Rem. were 4 groove, went to two groove with the A3. But the A3 was a sort of gradual thing, I think. S-C made A3's only, SOME with 4 groove barrels, (most were 2 groove) 4 groove maybe were acquired left over production from someone else. Get a book, I'm too lazy to check thru mine! S-C 4 groove are very scarce, if not rare! Some time I will look up my original DCM papers on the S-C.

[milboltnut]

Ok cool thanks Dave... Which book should I get?

[Punch the Clown]

Original 03 rifles made by Rem. were 4 groove, went to two groove with the A3. But the A3 was a sort of gradual thing, I think. S-C made A3's only, SOME with 4 groove barrels, (most were 2 groove) 4 groove maybe were acquired left over production from someone else. Get a book, I'm too lazy to check thru mine! S-C 4 groove are very scarce, if not rare! Some time I will look up my original DCM papers on the S-C.

I thought most SC's were 4 groove with some rare 6 grooves?

[p246]

Smith Corona used some commercial 6 groove barrels to get production started with a waiver from big brother.

[Rick the Librarian]

Supposedly SC made a FEW 2-grooved barrels but none have ever turned up to my knowledge. Remington made four-groove barrels until about mid-1943 (although there was apparently considerable overlap in production.

[Cosine26]

My SC 03A3 came with a four groove barrel. I ordered a spare barrel through the DCM a few years ago and it is a four groove barrel. It cost me $0.99. Yep a long time ago!
FWIW

[milboltnut]

My big dilemma was figuring out if shilen makes 2 groove barrels.. they never did. And they only did/do button rifling, so that excludes my sporter having a one of their barrels, it's a Remington A3 barrel. Thanks for all the input.

[Rick the Librarian]

"shilen"?

[dave]

I thought most SC's were 4 groove with some rare 6 grooves?

Ok, now you have me thinking, I did think 6 groove but figured that was too fantasic! Hold on I will search my records and be back. Its been over 50years!
I was correct as to one I had. It is serial 3,698,788, DCM, 4-12-61, $14.50. It is a 4 groove. You may be correct on your thoughts, Its just been too long for me to remember.

[dave]

Ok cool thanks Dave... Which book should I get?
The books I have are very old, much has been learned since and new books have been written. There is a guy who writes articles for Amer. Rifleman on US military rifles, name slips me now but someone will come up with it. He wrote the latest 03 book I believe. Check that one out.

[milboltnut]

"shilen"?

Shilen aftermarket barrels.

[milboltnut]

Ok, now you have me thinking, I did think 6 groove but figured that was too fantasic! Hold on I will search my records and be back. Its been over 50years!
I was correct as to one I had. It is serial 3,698,788, DCM, 4-12-61, $14.50. It is a 4 groove. You may be correct on your thoughts, Its just been too long for me to remember.


this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Springfield-Service-Rifle/dp/1931464154/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6TNPDENT7M679P57JSYT

[Darreld Walton]

so only Remington made 2 groove barrels?

Not so. There are a very few Smith Corona marked 2 groove barrels. I bought one, in the wrap, with the unique SC marks on the wrapper, as well as the barrel, several years back from an old retired gunsmith in Cheyenne, Wyo. It now resides in the collection of a fella who used to post on here long ago, and last I heard, it lives in Maryland now. When I bought the thing, I had intentions of cutting off the threads, setting it back, and re-threading to make a .308 Winchester on a Model 98 Mauser! I mentioned it to John Beard in a private message, he contacted a couple of other hard-core collectors, and after I got their replies and phone calls, immediately put the brakes on, ended up sending it to one of those collectors for examination, and the concensus was that it was the "Real Deal". After that little flurry, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen reported/verified SC marked, High Standard produced, two groove barrels. (the last I heard, there is nothing on record that verifies that anyone BUT High Standard made Smith Corona's barrels) Somewhere, I've got high resolution digital photos of every mark I could find on that barrel, as well as the wrapper, but that disc is somewhere still buried in the bowels of an unopened box still in storage from the last move.
There are some guys that believe those SC two grooves were made by Savage for SC, but I believe there must be some confusion, as Savage made two groove barrels for the No.4 MkI SMLE "lend lease" guns, as well as replacement barrels and other parts that seem to have made their way to Canada (Longbranch) and to England.
The actuality is that one could encounter six groove, four groove, and two groove Smith Corona barrels mounted to Smith Corona rifles. While a lot of reported SC rifles wore RA two grooves, my memory says that there were no Remington rifles reported with SC barrels of any configuration but some Remington 1903's with SA barrels.......Was that confusing enough?

[milboltnut]

no, not confusing at all... LOL

Thanks for the input.. appreciated.

Great education here on JSP.. I think I'm convinced that my RI 03 sporter has a RA A3 barrel. I assume that military barrels have deep machine marks that wouldn't be polished out by a gunsmith.. the barrel on this rifle looks like an after market barrel, but the bore indicates RA A3/SC A3 barrel.

[Darreld Walton]

A good machinist can remove all of the marks by turning and polishing. A3 barrels were the least expensive to acquire, and probably the most often installed on M98's, and cartridge conversions on many other rifles, at least until some fella's started 'restoring' some of their 03's and A3's. I've seen them mounted to Winchester, Marlin, and Savage lever guns to replace bad bores on original barrels of 'working' rifles. I've seen them fitted as slide in adapters for 20 gauge single shot break open shotguns, mostly to 32-20, 32 ACP, and 30 carbine. Even saw one cobbled up by a guy too cheap to buy a new barrel for his TC single shot pistol! (He at least had the good sense to "proof fire" the contraption, tied to a tire with a long cord, and when it went off, the oxy-acetylene weld broke completely off, and the barrel went skyward!)
Be confused no more, and enjoy your rifle!!!

[milboltnut]

how accurate can it shoot.. ?

[dave]

this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Springfield-Service-Rifle/dp/1931464154/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6TNPDENT7M679P57JSYT

That's the one 'Canfield'. Heard good things about it but I no longer buy 03's, so don't have it.