Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

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Shasta
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Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by Shasta »

I've never been the least bit interested in military rifles until one of the guys in our club started staging Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette matches. After watching a few, I just had to get in on the fun. I bought an 1896 Springfield .30-40 Krag that shoots cast lead bullets very well, and I have enjoyed shooting matches with it despite my not being very good with barrel sights.
Some of the guys have 1903 Springfield rifles with the long Malcolm style scopes, and they shoot them very well. I decided that a scoped rifle might be better for my old eyes. I found a rebuilt 1903-A3 made by Remington, and although it was not the historically correct sniper rifle, it was close enough for me. I then bought a Leatherwood Hi-Lux USMC 8X scope and proceeded off to my gunsmith to have the rifle drilled & tapped for the scope mounts. He had to remove the rear peep sight to clear the scope, then unfortunately botched the rear mount by getting it too far forward, so the rifle's upper hand-guard and retaining ring had to be modified to clear the scope base. It's not real noticeable, and won't affect much. Then when I tried to install the bolt, the bolt handle would not clear the scope. I didn't want to spend more money on this project as I was already into it for more than the rifle is worth, so I cured the clearance problem by filing a notch in the bolt handle. Again, not real noticeable to the untrained eye, and good enough for who it's for.
First trip to the range I had the rifle on at 100 yards in just five shots. The Malcolm scope has very good optics, but the mounts are rather rough and do not seem very consistent as far as returning to a given sight setting. I'm hoping I just need to use them more and they will smooth out. First match will be in late July and I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Here are the required pictures:

An overall view

Image


The rear mount that is a bit too far forward

Image

The notched bolt handle

Image


Shasta
Last edited by Shasta on Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AJMD429
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by AJMD429 »

Now that looks FUN..... 8)
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Shasta
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by Shasta »

Took the newly scoped 1903A3 out today for some informal off-hand practice. I weighed the rifle at 10 lb.-10 oz. but it did not seem that heavy as it balances pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to hit a 4" clay pigeon placed at 110 meters about twice out of every five shots with my cast lead load. If I can do that well on the metallic silhouette Chicken targets I will be a happy camper! :D


Shasta
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JerryB
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by JerryB »

I reckon it must be a joy to shoot a rifle like that. Sgt. York probably would have made good use of one like that.
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Ben_Rumson
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by Ben_Rumson »

You will be a happy camper :D
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by 3leggedturtle »

That's just too cool. Would love to shoot it to. Todd
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earlmck
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Re: Springfield 1903-A3 Vintage Military Sniper Silhouette

Post by earlmck »

That looks like a beautiful setup for the aging eyes :mrgreen: .

I have an 03-A3 that is just barely out of the cosmoline and I haven't shot it much: may have to see what it will do with a pleasant-shooting cast bullet load. I got some new glasses and am able to see the Springfield peep sight fairly well once again. Didn't realize how bad the old eye prescription was treating me, but a scope setup like that would certainly be nice!
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