1903A4 safett question

[pelago]

I have assembled a 1903A4 (repro)

Remington 1903A3 receiver
still in cosmo R 1944 barrel
correct scope base and rings (redfield jr dated 44)
original "C" stock (replacement)
Lyman Alaskan WWII vintage

rifle is assembled, bolt bent and it holds sub minute group at 100, real close using hornady A Max left over from perry

here is the question, i can not find any reference to shortening the safety , all the pictures and diagrams really do not show the safety and if it adjusted to be somewhat shorter, unless there were different ht rings?? i sure can not find out

comments

ps, was quite fun to build, next thing to do is parkerize it

[Johnny in Texas]

Safety is standard it hits M73B1 scope but locks up the sriker

I was surprised when I realized it. Where is your redfield jr mount dated and can you post picture?

[jgaynor]

The safety was never shortened. Regarding the M73B1(or 330C) the manual addresses the fact that the safety will bear on the side of the scope tube. With a Lyman Alaskan if the scope is mounted with the turrets ahead of the forward ring the safety lever may clear the eyepiece lens as per the attached photo from a 1943 TM.

Regards,

Jim

[pelago]

ahhhhhhh ha!!!

i knew there was a reason i liked this place, this will also improve the eye relief when using sling
but damn it sure shots good

3/4MOA at hundred with hornady ammo

[pelago]

i bought i years ago and the date was stil on the cardboard box that the base and rings came in. is it stamped on the metal no, it was on the box. let me rephrase, i fully believe that it is accurate and from forties

pictures posted on a sep thread

[Match223]

Good looking 03A4gery, I built mine from a Remington 1903, my team finished 7th in the Vintage Sniper Match at Creedmoor in May. The group is 5 shots of Hornaday CMP ammo with a called flyer out to the left @ 100 yards.
It has the original 4 groove barrel, the rifle was a sporterized (Drilled & Tapped) $250.00 truck gun when I bought it.

[pelago]

did you have any issues with the scope and the base (redfield base) at the rear of the mount the curved part of the adjustable focus meeting the base, mine touches and i feel that i might have to relieve the base a little.

my safety clears okay, but it is a bit tight where scope and base meed, since this was the made up gun in the forties, i bet many armorers had to remove some metal at the the rear part of the base some

i shot a moissan nagant and really did okay with it, but it is hard for two people to shoot with the same scope

[Match223]

You have to relieve the rear of the base behind the rear ring , I had to have the front of the 03 base shortened to make room for the handguard ring so I had them mill it down at the same time. You can see the difference in the pic's, I also had them relieve the right side of the mount so the sn was visable (except the last # under the handguard ring).

You will appriciate the 03A4gery in prone and it is easy for multiple shooters since it is similar to shooting your favorite hunting rifle.
Is your lyman a post reticle or crosshair, Mine is a post.

[pelago]

i agree, and yours looks great. i bet when the need for snipers came out and using materials at hand required ingenuity with the redfield base and the lyman scope, and i bet that the developed scope had the adjustable part made smaller diameter just for that purpose..

did you mill off the dovetail left on the 03A3??

i will pull the scope off and get clever with some machinery i have available...

another question, did you or do you use a cheek pad with your rifle, i needed one for themoissan the scope is so freakin high i needed iot

when i am in prone i have steady contact with the stock, but with this lash up i need some more meat where i put my cheek

i have only shot mine once and was just plaing around but so far so good

and i like your reference to 03A4gery works for me!!

[Match223]

I shot it just like it is, I started with a sporterized Remington 1903 that is why the bridge looks different. There is no advantage to using an 03 over an 03A3, actually there is less metal in the bridge to thread so it is definately weaker back there. I had the rifle laying around and I didn't want to ruin a good 03A3 to shoot a test match.

Gary

[pelago]

mine had been kind of gorped up also, the barrel had rust and pitts in it, and it had been drilled for (thank goodness) the correct base

i had the new barrel, still in cosmoline, i had the scope base (in a box with a receipt from the forties, and box marked in the forties) also had the stock, just had to get correct scope, i looked at the m73B1 and the M84 and found them really pricey, but i knew that the alaskan was used first (at least so i have been told) because it was available and the need required a scope

my plan is to shoot it next spring at butner

[Johnny in Texas]

The first USGI scope mount was flat it the rear from the side view later there was a angle or slope to allow for the scope eyepiece bell. The large radius in the bolt handle fits the radius of the M84 scope w/rubber eyeguard installed. The M84 or something like it must have been on the drawing board in late '42. Also make the surplus A4's very easy to sporterize by cutting the stock and adding a nice '50's era Redfield or Kollmorgen scope and have a great hunting rifle for little money.

[jgaynor]

Both the Lyman Alaskan (M73) and the WEaver 330C (M73B1) were approved for the A4. The scopes bases were relieved mainly for the larger eyepiece lens of the Alaskan. The radical bolt handle mod was probably done for the same reason.
In some of the early manuals the back end of the Redfield base looks straight but on all the actual production rifles I have seen with a GI Redfield base the base has the bevel.

Regards,

Jim

[pelago]

i wonder if redfield bases were milled that way or if the army removed the metal, my base was in a brown cardboard box, printing pretty faded and it had some dates on it, hand written with some signatures, i no longer have the box, probably dumb thing but i misplaced it or lost it or ?? i believe it is from forties,

I relieved the rear end of the base with a dremel tool, and then polished it and blued it, and it looks right and the bell of the scope clears the base with little issue, quite a bit of forward and back adj is avail for different eyeballs.

i am happy with it

I dont believe that this was built as a sniper rifle like we know snipers today, but built as a extreme accurate rifle for the war, in as much as the snipers we think of today were just not around in 42,43, so forth.

but it must have done its job, like to see more about it in history, anyone have any reference books or articles???

[Johnny in Texas]

There were only about 150 of the m73 scopes

The Lyman Alaskan scopes that were marked TELESCOPE M73 were cross hair reticule scopes
marked Lyman Alaskan as well as TELESCOPE M73 and in s/n range 49XX to 5300 not inclusive.The bevel is slight but the corners are sharp with the Lyman Alaskan was not in use in on A4's except for the 150 M73 marked scopes and most of those were remarked M81 and would have ended up on M1C's . The 330C /M73B1 was the official scope and the only scope in the supply chain until the 1903A4 production had ended in Jan. '44. I have never seen an Alaskan pictured in a TM for use on the A4 only the 330C/M73B1 and the M84.