M1903A1 USMC sniper rifle pics

[Johnny in Texas]

I collect U.S. sniper stuff from WWII to present this is my USMC '03 sniper it is used and is not typical in that it has the original stock and has a Remington cut-off and an early Remington 1903A3 trigger housing.

The bolt is serialized to the rifle and blued over and it has a reverse safety. The scope and case were purchased after I found the rifle and the M48 with tripod and case were also found here and there. some pics are out of focus sorry about that.

The rifle was sold out of an estate by the owners wife the buyer could not find a cheap USMC scope for it so he sold it to me. It has what I believe to be the wifes husband ssn inscribed on it. I am curious just how he got it. Maybe NRA sales? Any way this rifle was floating around for many years without the scope.

It was my lucky day I never thought I would own one of these and had been looking for 20+ years and had seen several but all turned out to be NM '03's that had been made into snipers by a guy up in NY. Several '03 collectors have seen it and pics and assured me it is a real USMC sniper.

[Johnny in Texas]

more pics

more pics.

[Johnny in Texas]

more pics

A few more details

[SMOKEY]

Thanks for the pics

[JohnMOhio]

Thanks for sharing Johnny. I know it feels great after 20 years of searching.

[rayg]

A beauty Johnny, Ray

[pelago]

congrats on the endeavor and the find
neat stuff back then, and accurate as heck

i always wondered how the effect was on the japanese and the germans, the disruption of morale had to be a effective tool used by commanders

and on the other side i bet many of these guys were wasted by inappropriate usage

[Johnny in Texas]

I would guess this rifle has seen a lot of action the bolt finish is worn at the contact points the trigger guard and the bands are brown with patina. It shoots M2Ball like it is Match grade ammo. The stock still has a 6 o'clock up pressure from the USMC armorer that built it. It is a great shooter! When I have had it at a fews Gun Show, Marines just want to know if they can hold it. I always tell them help them selves , it has a great feel to it. They light up when they get the scope caps off and pick a target on the wall.

[Tony-in-NH]

I have personally seen this rifle. There is no doubt in my mind what so ever that it is legit. It is a real beauty.

[Johnny P]

Became friends with a USMC WWII vet that worked part time in a local hardware store. In conversation he told me that he was in the sniper program, but did not make it all the way through. In questioning him about what rifles were being used in training I showed him several pictures and he pointed out the 1903 with both the A5 Winchester and Lyman Unertl as being used in training.