1903 Remington bolts

[Kragrifle]

I am trying to list characteristics of bolts for the 1903 Remington rifles. Listing characteristics,

Size of vent hole

R marks under bolt handle, which size is correct for early/later/ 03A3 rifles

Extractor characteristics

Three position vs no top indent sleeve

Safety markings

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[k arga]

have you gone to Vi Shooter's 1903 page ?

[1911Ron]

have you gone to Vi Shooter's 1903 page ?

Great page for visual differences, but no measurements which I believe he is looking for.

[John Beard]

You haven't begun to scratch the surface. Remington made tons of design and marking changes in their bolts. It's almost like no two are alike.

J.B.

[Kragrifle]

Hmmm, any absolutes?

[fguffey]

Hmmm, any absolutes?

Don W. came over to check my pile of Bolts, He reported the markings on each bolt to a data base. I had little interest in in the markings. My interest in the bolts had to do with the effect each one had on off setting the length of the chamber. My favorite 03 bolt is the one that shortens the length of the chamber

At the time Don W. had close to 100 bolts; he needed a bolt that would shorten the chamber from the shoulder of the chamber to the bolt face; I offered to check all of his bolts with the understanding I knew he did not have a bolt that would shortend the chamber .0025".

F. Guffey

[John Beard]

Hmmm, any absolutes?

All Remington-made bolts have curved handles. And they're all marked with an "R". Existence of early Remington-made straight-handle bolts is a myth.

J.B.

[fguffey]

Don W. came over to check my pile of Bolts, He reported the markings on each bolt to a data base.

All of my 03 and 03A3 bolts are not Remington, And then there is the bolt handle, I have one bolt with a straight bolt handle. Straight does not mean the bolt handle is straight, it means the bolt handle is not bent back.

F. Guffey

[Kragrifle]

Thanks John

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Straight handle are early pre WW1 Springfield and all original Rock Island rifles.

[John Beard]

Thanks John

Straight handle are early pre WW1 Springfield and all original Rock Island rifles.

Well not exactly true. The last Rock Island bolts were curved handle. And since Remington got Rock Island's tooling, their first bolts were also curved handle just like the last Rock Island bolts.

J.B.

[John Beard]

A partial list of Remington bolt design changes includes

Milled versus stamped extractor collar.

Three different styles of lettering on the safety lock.

Two different finishes on the safety lock

Two different types of safety lock spindles

Weep hole versus no weep hole in safety lock

Five different styles of "R" marking and two different locations

Three different styles of safety lock runways

Two different styles of bolt sleeve milling

Two different mainsprings

Three different styles of striker markings

Vent hole versus no vent hole in extractor claw

And I've just touched on the changes. There's lots more. And that's just the bolt.

J.B.

[JimF]

I’ve always thought the Remington bolts have an “angled toward the rear (straight shank)” configuration, while the SA bolts were “swept” toward the rear (curved shank).

[fguffey]

I have one bolt with a straight bolt handle.

My straight handle bolt came in a Rock Island 1911 period correct rifle.

Don W. was building a Rock Island 1911 rifle. His new creation did not have an absolute/perfectly correct length chamber. His new creation had .0075" clearance between the shoulder of the case and shoulder of the chamber. Don W. had close to 100 bolts, I had 35, I explained to him we could check all of the bolts and then I promised him we did not have a straight handle bolt that would decrease the length of the chamber. And then I told him we did not have a curved handled bolt that would reduce the length of the chamber.

And you will not believe how much trouble he had when determining the length of the chamber. So I asked him, "You have been on the Internet haven't' you". ?

F. Guffey

[Kragrifle]

Remington 1903’s are certainly fascinating! Thanks to all!

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One last question-is a large vent hole OK on a late 1903 Remington?

[John Beard]

Yes.

J.B.

[Kragrifle]

Thank you!