The Utah Rifle

[Castle Rock]

Man this thread makes me want to pull the M1903 out from the back of safe and load up some 155 TMKs in jt. Does anyone know if these older rifles require a reduced load vs modern load data?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just buy a packet of factories loaded with 150 grain ballistic tips

 

[nm.otter]

Surely there must have been at least a few that got .270 Winchester barrels when sporterized?

 

[ElDiablito]

I cannot, as an American, even fathom changing my behavior because the police are too stupid to know the laws.

Do you think someone too stupid to know an AR pattern rifle doesn't mean semi auto would even know what a port-less barrel is?

Very simple for a warden to verify in the field - pull the trigger twice….

 

[cal30_sniper]

Man this thread makes me want to pull the M1903 out from the back of safe and load up some 155 TMKs in jt. Does anyone know if these older rifles require a reduced load vs modern load data?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I shot my grandfather’s 300 Win Mag 1903-A3 this morning.

Hornady Whitetail ammunition with 150gr bullets at 3250fps with the primers cratering.

 

[rharbaugh]

I shot my grandfather’s 300 Win Mag 1903-A3 this morning.

Hornady Whitetail ammunition with 150gr bullets at 3250fps with the primers cratering.

View attachment 880779

very cool. I dug mine out of the safe and looked up the serial number, 1943 Remington Arms M1903A3. Quick research shows it shouldn't have issues handling modern rounds.

 

[cal30_sniper]

very cool. I dug mine out of the safe and looked up the serial number, 1943 Remington Arms M1903A3. Quick research shows it shouldn't have issues handling modern rounds.
View attachment 880780

dude, that’s as good as it gets. I have a Dec 42 1903-A3 that all I’ve done is get the cosmoline out of and shoot a few times. I don’t think it was ever fired before I got it.

The only ones that had any issues were some early WWI era ones. The A3s are all rock solid.

 

[z987k]

Very simple for a warden to verify in the field - pull the trigger twice….

Agreed. And yet....

 

[RWT]

This makes me want to find another 30/40 Krag.

 

[realunlucky]

This makes me want to find another 30/40 Krag.

My dad's first deer rifle is a bone stock 30/40 Krag. I think i should take it out next year.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[cal30_sniper]

This makes me want to find another 30/40 Krag.

I actually am working something on that as part of all this also. I snagged a Browning repop 1895 in .30-40 that I plan to chop to 20” and have threaded. Working a couple different ideas for a sight setup, but planning to run something light and fast like a 125gr TMK if it shoots them well.

I love my original 1895 in .30 US (.30-40), but the 28” long barrel is a bit unruly to carry in non-takedown mode and I don’t have the heart to treat it too rough at 110yrs old.

 

[packgoatguy]

I'd agree that an ultralight 223 would be a good option for these UT hunts. My brother is down there and will be taking his kids for deer, so a straight pull AR with 77tmk ammo will be high on my list of recommendations. I get about 2750fps with the stand1 77tmk ammo I use in my 16 inch barrel. Stupid accurate considering the low cost of components. Pretty easy to stay under $700 for a straight pull AR15 build, and easy to get under 2.5lbs if you DIY a few things.


Components:

Straight pull side charging upper with half length bolt (like solo300 or DIY)

Portless barrel (like Shaw portless, or get a BCA and plug the port)

Barrel nut (like JAG Composites, or ebay knockoff)

Handguard (DIY, Carbon fiber tube on amazon)

Grip/ti grip screw (like Hogue 15degree or MDT Carbon fiber)

Buffertube stock (like A2 buffertube and farrowtech stock or DIY Carbon Fiber tube)

Lower reciever (like Tennessee Arms Carbon 15 lower)

LPK (like NFA polymer lpk, but replace the grip)

Magazine (like lancer L5)

 

[cal30_sniper]

I'd agree that an ultralight 223 would be a good option for these UT hunts. My brother is down there and will be taking his kids for deer, so a straight pull AR with 77tmk ammo will be high on my list of recommendations. I get about 2750fps with the stand1 77tmk ammo I use in my 16 inch barrel. Stupid accurate considering the low cost of components. Pretty easy to stay under $700 for a straight pull AR15 build, and easy to get under 2.5lbs if you DIY a few things.


Components:

Straight pull side charging upper with half length bolt (like solo300 or DIY)

Portless barrel (like Shaw portless, or get a BCA and plug the port)

Barrel nut (like JAG Composites, or ebay knockoff)

Handguard (DIY, Carbon fiber tube on amazon)

Grip/ti grip screw (like Hogue 15degree or MDT Carbon fiber)

Buffertube stock (like A2 buffertube and farrowtech stock or DIY Carbon Fiber tube)

Lower reciever (like Tennessee Arms Carbon 15 lower)

LPK (like NFA polymer lpk, but replace the grip)

Magazine (like lancer L5)

I've messed with mine some more over the weekend, specifically running a lot of hunter drills. I am running into issues with the bolt sticking when it gets hot, and requiring a little mortaring action to get the bolt open. This is with factory 6.5 Grendel ammo which isn't exceptionally hot, but probably more stressful on the bolt than your standard .223 load.

It's a real pain when you need to get that second shot off from the prone and the bolt doesn't come back on the first slap of the side charger. If I can't sort that, it may actually move this setup out of the running for me.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Proof of concept demonstration for the upgraded sights on the T3x. I like it so far. This is a cheap 11mm aluminum dovetail rail I found online, but it allowed me to determine that I like this setup enough to continue.

I’ll likely come up with a CAD file to get a steel 11mm dovetail machined that sits flat against the receiver and uses the factory scope mounting holes to bolt down. Then I’ll get my front sight height dialed in and have the clamp on Williams muzzleloader front sight adapter made.

 

[Touchdown88]

I'll probably bust out the double rife and pith helmet.

 

[SchwarzStock]

The only ones you have to be careful on in the 1903 world are the rifles that had heat treat issues. Those serial numbers are pretty well documented.

Many of these were converted to 300 Win Mag over the years. I have another rifle of my grandfathers that was just that, a 1903 with a 300 Win Mag reamer run in the chamber.

Those 03 conversions for 300 Win Mag are/were not very well thought out. They usually have feeding problems due to the having to modify the feed lips machined into the receiver and the magazine box prevents loading long bullets with charges required to propel them. The barreling work was straight forward but requires cutting square threads and opening the bolt face to accommodate the head/rim size of the magnum. I built several 300's (WM and Norma) on 1914 and 1917 Enfield actions while attending the gunsmithing program at Utah Tech in the mid 1970's. The Springfield was not considered a viable receiver for the 300's.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Those 03 conversions for 300 Win Mag are/were not very well thought out. They usually have feeding problems due to the having to modify the feed lips machined into the receiver and the magazine box prevents loading long bullets with charges required to propel them. The barreling work was straight forward but requires cutting square threads and opening the bolt face to accommodate the head/rim size of the magnum. I built several 300's (WM and Norma) on 1914 and 1917 Enfield actions while attending the gunsmithing program at Utah Tech in the mid 1970's. The Springfield was not considered a viable receiver for the 300's.

Mag length is 3.385, plenty for SAAMI 300 and then some. It’s wearing the original barrel just rechambered, so no issue with oddball thread cutting.

Feeds like butter all the way through a full mag.

 

[BREAKCONTACT]

To stoke further this discussion, I just got the Williams airgun sight with the dovetail, and by my rough measurements, it's not a direct fit for a tikka dovetail, I can't be sure since I don't own one, but it does look like you could register the fixed side of the dovetail to the tikkas rail and drill it for some combination of the rear mounting screws for the base of a tikka and attach it that way and just run in the set screws on the other side. The height from where it would be touching the top of the rail to the approximate centerline of the aperature is around 0.32" ish based off of some rough caliper measurements.

 

[MallardSX2]

Proof of concept demonstration for the upgraded sights on the T3x. I like it so far. This is a cheap 11mm aluminum dovetail rail I found online, but it allowed me to determine that I like this setup enough to continue.

I’ll likely come up with a CAD file to get a steel 11mm dovetail machined that sits flat against the receiver and uses the factory scope mounting holes to bolt down. Then I’ll get my front sight height dialed in and have the clamp on Williams muzzleloader front sight adapter made.

View attachment 882483
View attachment 882484

That thing sound like a tuning fork when the gun goes off? lol