My C&R 2 day binder

[redsandman6]

Monday I placed two orders one was with sarco for a 1903a3 and the other was with sog for a type 53. yesterday I got the type 53. and today the 03a3 showed up. I sent most of the afternoon cleaning the type 53. thankfully the 03a3 has no cosmoline on it.

the t53 is from 1956. none of the numbers match. I haven't decided if I want to refinish her like some of the others have or just leave it alone.

the 03a3 is a Remington. sarco has rebuilt it with new parts. she has a new rear sight, trigger guard, magazine cutoff lever and probably a new barrel. the serial number has it march of 1943.

is the 03a3 more forgiving than the m1 garand as regards to factory ammo?

 

[Malblast]

nice finds. I think SOG must have a mixed batch of t53. I got mine yesterday from them. really good condition 1953 date all matching except the bolt. would love to get and 03 to add to the collection.

 

[smokedog]

Nice the 03 is next on my list.

 

[Melnic]

Your T53 looks better in that pic than mine did.
Check out how mine went after machodoc's method (see post 7)
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=102953
It was much less work than a refinish and still looks authentic.

 

[freddie]

great pickup - looks great

 

[Screwtop.243]

Awesome! I think they look great right on the kitchen table. I've got an
03-A3 (remmy) on the way myself and hope funds will permit an M1 before fall as well.

I'm interested to hear how the A3-03 is with factory ammo, as I've got 2 boxes of factory fodder and intend to use it to break mine in. My guess is that it will be fine with factory ammo. Congrats on the new acquisitions!

 

[redsandman6]

Your T53 looks better in that pic than mine did.
Check out how mine went after machodoc's method (see post 7)
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=102953
It was much less work than a refinish and still looks authentic.

the picture was take after I cleaned it. I just used soap and water on a sponge like this one

http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/por...Scratch-Scrub-Sponge?N=4337+3294631707&rt=rud

I spent more time on the action than the stock. I am still undecided if I want to go any farther. I have read machodoc write up, if I do anything I will probably just use the BLO to seal it.

m1 garand or carbine is next for me. hopefully sometime this year

 

[Melnic]

Great, then I'd start shooting it first if I were you
At the end of my thread I mentioned that I spent $60 on an M44 stock, refinished the stock and put it on. I would not do it over again. I'd have just left it the way it was if I hand not already bought the stock. It was not worth the time and $$ to refinish the spare stock given I'm darn shure everything in that T53 is original and how it was in service.

 

[Mooseman]

Nice finds

 

[redsandman6]

Great, then I'd start shooting it first if I were you
At the end of my thread I mentioned that I spent $60 on an M44 stock, refinished the stock and put it on. I would not do it over again. I'd have just left it the way it was if I hand not already bought the stock. It was not worth the time and $$ to refinish the spare stock given I'm darn shure everything in that T53 is original and how it was in service.

if the weather is good. I will be going tomorrow morning. I had to work today. I wanted to go to the mds fun shoot. but it didn't work out.

 

[Chaunsey]

the 1903 will fire any .30-06 just fine.


the reason the garand needs milspec ammo is because it has a fixed gas system.

most other semi autos of the era were not very popular because they had adjustable gas systems, which meant that they could be adjusted for different ammo, which sounds good, but in practice, in war time it often just lead to more headaches. this is part of why the svt-40 was not very popular with the soviet troops, but for the more proffesional, firearms savvy german troops, they loved them, and many captured svt-40s saw service with german soldiers on the eastern front.

the garand did not have this issue, because it has a fixed gas system, meaning the system is designed to operate at exactly the specs of the ammo it is issued with.

this was great logistically in war when the army issued almost only just one type of .30-06, the m2 ball ammo, but for us 60+ years later with surplus drying up, its not as convenient, because there is lots of commercial ammo out there, that for many years was sold mostly for hunters and such, and if its too weak, the gun will not cycle right, if its too strong you end up bending the op rod.

the 1903 is bolt action, so it doesnt have this issue, as long as its the right caliber it should be just fine in the 1903.

its also worth noting, you can buy an adjustable gas plug for the garand, which allows you to tune your gas system to whatever ammo you wish which kinda solves the problem.

more modern autoloaders like the AK and AR have been made with far more forgiving and simple gas systems, and so we neither have to adjust gas, nor worry about our ammo types, within reason.