[missourigirl81]

My husband and I are looking into getting a 1903 but don't know the differences / benefits, etc. between the 1903 and the 1903A3. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[JimBob]

LOL That is a very large subject area.For some pictures and basic information on the differences Vi Shooter's M1903 Page For many shooters the M1903A3 is a better choice because of the sights.They are closer to the eye and easily adjusted.Also the A3 will normally be cheaper pricewise.M1903s are fast becoming an expensive collectors item the more so if it has a shootable bore.

[SightNSqueeze]

The U.S. Model 1903 service rifle was made from 1903 to about 1929/30 by the government owned Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. There were some intermittent and isolated problems with brittle receivers in Springfield Armory serial numbers up to 800,000 and Rock Island Arsenal serial numbers up to about 285,000 which ended with 1918 production. Some people are hesitant to shoot them. Personally, I am O.K. with them and I shoot them without flinching with my Wiley-X safety glasses that I had in Iraq. Others will tell you differently. Both companies continued '03 production until the above 1929/30 date with Rock Island Arsenal trailing off much earlier than Springfield Armory.

In 1939 due to the signs of a war in Europe, Remington Arms commenced production of the '03 service rifle with an eye on foreign contracts. These were probably the most modern and toughest 03s made. When the U.S. became involved in World War II in late 1941, all Remington Arms production was aimed at filling U.S. stockpiles. From 1942 to 1944, Remington Arms and L.C. Smith-Corona initiated a number of changes to speed up production without affecting performance such as stamped trigger guards, floor plates, followers, stock caps, butt plates, barrel bands, etc. The 2,750 yard rear sight on top of the barrel was eliminated and a more realistic 800 yard click adjustable peep sight was mounted over the rear of the receiver. By 1944, there were about 1 million '03A3s built for emergency war reserve to augment M1 Garand inventories until M1 production could catch up in the last year of the war. Total '03 production was in the 1.5 million range.

[missourigirl81]

Thanks for the info guys.

[Oxford]

BTW, a question I had about my just then acquired 03A3 was what brought me to G&G for the first time. Interesting how that one question led to the next 13,000+ posts.

[Dookiebutt]

Assuming you have two shootable rifles, I like the sights a little better on the 03A3. The M1903 is just a sleek, sexy rifle though. It's a hard choice.