My new '03, I hope it will b e a cast bullet shooter

[Brother_Love]

I recently picked up this custom '03 at a local pawn shop. I purchased it hoping that it would be a good cast bullet shooter. In fact, I hope it will be good enough to shoot cast exclusively. I have a Lyman 311284, a NOE 165 gr RD RF, Lyman 31141 and a 311413. I plan to get the check base removed from the 311413.

I will start loading with 2400 and maybe try a little Unique too. I want to keep all loads in the 1600-1800 fps bracket. Right now, It has a vintage Weaver 6x scope and it may stay on it. I was told by the man who had owned it that it was built by the Williams Gun Sight Co., of course I have no documentation of that.

I am pretty proud of this old rifle. If I could change one thing it would be to have it in it's original form. I am still looking for a stock 03 or 0313 shooter too.

 

[Rick]

Welcome to the forum Brother Love. That's is some fine looking wood on that rifle. Kind of a shame that it ended up in a pawn shop but it's your gain.

 

[quicksylver]

Ok.....she's a beauty....6x will get you to where you need to go...I have shot the same size grpups with 6,8,20,12,15,16,20 and 25 x ...settings or fixed scopes....

Get a good trigger...make sure the screws are thight...get all the popper out ...take a deep breath and let them fly..

Tell us more about it ..03, 03a3..two groove, 4 groove...barrel date ..and condition..?

 

[JWFilips]

That is one nice looking rifle. That was a very lucky find. Congatulations
Keep us posted on how it shoots.

 

[smokeywolf]

Rare to see a well done sporterized or customized classic military rifle. You certainly got one of those rare ones. Congratulations on the find and welcome to the Art & Science of Bullet Casting.

 

[Ben]

I recently picked up this custom '03 at a local pawn shop. I purchased it hoping that it would be a good cast bullet shooter. In fact, I hope it will be good enough to shoot cast exclusively. I have a Lyman 311284, a NOE 165 gr RD RF, Lyman 31141 and a 311413. I plan to get the check base removed from the 311413.

I will start loading with 2400 and maybe try a little Unique too. I want to keep all loads in the 1600-1800 fps bracket. Right now, It has a vintage Weaver 6x scope and it may stay on it. I was told by the man who had owned it that it was built by the Williams Gun Sight Co., of course I have no documentation of that.

I am pretty proud of this old rifle. If I could change one thing it would be to have it in it's original form. I am still looking for a stock 03 or 0313 shooter too.
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You have very nice taste ! !
My compliments.

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Nice! Keep us posted!

Paul

 

[Intheshop]

That's a fine looking rig.Straight 6's are hard to beat here(mnts of Va) on medium range cast rifles.

 

[KHornet]

Just my opinion, but if I had my druthers on fixed scopes for the majority of hunting large game situations,
I would go with a 4x, with cross hair and post. The majority of big game in this country is taken at less than
100 yds. Even double that, a 4x is definitely adequate.

 

[Brother_Love]

I would love to have a 4 or a 2-7 but it won't work for me. If you look closely at the Williams mount you see that the rings are both far forward of what a standard Leupold mount would be. If you mount a scope with a shorter tube the eye relief is a real problem, at least for me. If I change the mount it means 2 more d/t holes and I don't want to do that. Unless I find a different solution the 6x will have to be it.

 

[quicksylver]

B.L. ....A question or two ;
Do you know how the mounting holes for the Williams mount and a Redfield mount line up ?
The reason I ask is because I have a Redfield mount on one of my '03's and the rings appear to be in a completely different location.
If they are the same the Redfield mounts can be had for cheap..

Out of curiosity would this work ?

 

[Brother_Love]

B.L. ....A question or two ;
Do you know how the mounting holes for the Williams mount and a Redfield mount line up ?
The reason I ask is because I have a Redfield mount on one of my '03's and the rings appear to be in a completely different location.
If they are the same the Redfield mounts can be had for cheap..

Out of curiosity would this work ?

Thanks for the suggestion but the Redfield mount will not match the holes either. I hate to d/t more holes but that may be my only option.

When I received the rifle it had a 2-7x Redfield scope. I could use it if I crawled up the stock but it was very uncomfortable to shoot.

 

[300BLK]

'03 and '03A3 sporters had been relatively inexpensive, but seem to be going up. That one has a nicely checkered stock, and the Weaver 6x looks pretty classy to me. Regarding eye relief, how does the stock suit you for length of pull? I find it easier to shoot a short LOP vs one that is too long, so you could consider shortening the LOP.

Can you tell if the receiver is marked Springfield Armory, Rock Island Arsenal, or Remington? I can see the "Hatcher hole", so its either a later '03 or one that had been re-arsenaled. 2, 4, or 6 groove?