1903 Mark I Shoots High

[1903nm]

I finallly shot this old 1903 I bought in 1975. It looks like it was straight out of rebuild having MW less than 0 and a scant stock. Wanting to shoot it this year in a local Garand/Springfield match, I went to the range and found it shot 9" high at 100 yards. Before taking to a good old local gunsmith who might just trim the bottom of the USMC slide some, I thought I would ask if I should look at the screw tightness of the two in the floorplate or possibly inspect the front end of the stock for fit or too much pressure. Seeing that I have never taken this rifle apart and want to get good ideas of what to look for before jumping to a solution, I thought I would ask someone here who has seen similar issues. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Fred]

Are you shooting 100 yards with the sight leaf in the down position?

[Johnny P]

As Fred mentioned, with the leaf in the down position the sight is in the "battle" position, and seems like it is not dead on until 547 yards. With the sight leaf up the yardage is suppose to be close to zero.

[1903nm]

I am shooting 100 yards with the leaf in the up position. I have never used an 03 with the battle sights.

[Dave in NGA]

Before you get carried away changing the rear sight you might want to purchase an A3 sight blade (they are taller) and change the front sight. It's a quick and cheap fix.

[1903nm]

It has a tall USMC front sight that is .10 wide. With my vision the narrow front sights look bent.

[Johnny P]

Dicking with the rear sight puts all your sight settings off. The problem is with the front sight.

[Fred]

Are you shooting ammo that replicates the original military load?

[Allen Humphrey]

Give this a read if you are not familiar with the sights on the rifle. However, I'll presume you are.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3vgQuY3vA0FMlVOcmE3NS1Lbkk/edit?usp=sharing

Is the stock fit good? i.e. 5 to 8 lbs of force on the tip of the stock pushing the barrel up. If everything else looks good then maybe a taller front sight is all that is needed.

Good Luck!

[Mike D]

Sounds like you have USMC front and rear sights. I think your front sight is about as tall as it gets. Maybe you could try a normal slide and drill it out to what ever size hole you like. They sit lower in the ladder than a USMC, are cheap, and readily available. Just a thought.

Mike

[Tom Trevor]

Why shoot at pistol distances get the target out to 500 meters and the sights work just fine.

[TDP0311]

Did your rifle come with the USMC sights? Or are these the repro ones on there as a fix to the standard sight blade?

[1903nm]

Thanks everyone! First the sights are not repro's at all. Actually I learned something about these vintage rifles and sights. I checked with an expert that told me that SA made regular slides, higher slides like the one on my rifle, and some a point or so to the right. Mystery solved. Thanks again everyone.

[emmagee1917]

So , your rifle has original USGI Marine Corp high / thick front sight and the Marine rear with the single large peep , correct ?
I have never heard of different hight / offset peep slides for this combination. Are there any markings on these to tell them apart ?
Thanks , Chris

[1903nm]

There are no markings on the slide at all. Interesting history though.