Not a rimfire question but a question directed to the RFC Community. I have found a lot of collective wisdom and knowledge on this board and have also noted that there are a lot of members of my generation, the generation following the "Greatest Generation" being, we the children, nieces and nephews of WWII veterans. I have just come into possession of a Remington 03-A3 in unaltered condition. According to the serial number it was manufactured in June or July of 1943. (BTW, the summer of my birth) This rifle belonged to an uncle who was a veteran of several Pacific campaigns. He was in some of the worst of it but absolutely never talked about it and I knew not to ask. What information I have is based on just a snippet here and there that my father knew combined with my later researching of after battle reports and documents where he and/or his military unit were mentioned. I grew up in the presence of this rifle, which in the 40's and 50's my uncle used for hunting in its unaltered form.
Now to my question which I have researched to the end of the Internet without a drawing a firm conclusion. Family legend has it that this rifle had been his weapon (or one of them since his MOS was as a heavy machine gunner) and that he had brought this rifle home from the War. Ninety-five percent of what I have read says this is not possible. However, I have read a couple of accounts to the effect that late in the War when enough Garands were finally available and they were being issued to soldiers equipped with the 03's soldiers were told to do whatever they wanted with the 03's.
My non-conclusion is colored a bit by stories told by my father who was in a different branch of the service but told of the enormous stockpiles of equipment of all sorts that he was involved with destroying or hauling out to sea and dumping overboard. I can imagine a superior telling an enlisted man to do whatever he wanted with such a rifle.
I have quite a bit more I could say but I have written way too much. I need to be clear that I am not talking about "liberated" battlefield pieces. Guess I never did ask a question but I would appreciate any thoughts, opinions or similar experiences.
Last edited by beachguy43; 03-17-2019 at 07:32 AM.
I think it's highly unlikely, but you never know. You might try asking that question in the Surplusrifleforum.com
They have some pretty knowledgeable guys there - some of whom are real historians.
I have a G.I. configuration 03A3 that I got from CMP. Great rifle, and the action is smooth as glass. Either way it goes, you have an excellent rifle and an equally excellent story. Don't ever be tempted to alter it in any way. lt's much more valuable the way it is.
I collect surplus military weapons and have never heard of a US soldier being allowed to keep his US issued weapon. Captured weapons is another story. You could get commanding officer permission to bring back hand guns and rifles and many such weapons today come with this documentation which, as you can imagine, makes the weapon much more valuable. In addition many US soldiers snuck back captured weapons without permission. Hence the famous "duffel cut" on some Mausers and Arisakas where the GI had to cut the stock to get it to fit in his duffel bag when returning to the states. It's always possible that some exception was made to allow a heroic soldier or a commander to keep a side weapon, but I have never heard of such a case. The best source to confirm what the rules were and the possibility that a soldier was allowed to keep a weapon might be the folks at the CMP or a call to the NRA or Springfield Armory Museums
I had a friend many years ago who served in Europe in WWII. He brought back a rifle taken apart and packed with his stuff. Never had a problem. If anyone else knew about it, nothing was said. Some areas had very little time or energy to worry about accountability. In the Pacific, the Army's M-1 rifles were appropriated by the Marines who had Springfields and wanted more firepower.
In addition many US soldiers snuck back captured weapons without permission. Hence the famous "duffel cut" on some Mausers and Arisakas where the GI had to cut the stock to get it to fit in his duffel bag when returning to the states.
There are several accounts from WWII GIs that indicate the rifles' stocks were actually cut down to fit in the standard box size that was allowed to be sent home from overseas; relatively few being packed in duffel bags.
I have seen a few rifles in my life that were actually used in frontal areas of combat situations. None were actually mistreated but had evidence of scrapes, bumps, gouges, and some metal was abraided or nicked by something during strenuous use. Something to look for in a battle rifle. These were wood and steel rifles not the present day issue. Might be something to look at.
I have heard the story many times of bring backs both enemy and U.S. Property.,I grew up in the military,and while it would never be admitted officially,the sheer amount of arms piled up after cleaning a battlefield would throw accountability out the window for enough time to grab a rifle ,most were appropriated by rear echelon troops who had the time and place to stash something,battlefield troops might have time to look and trade for a better weapon like trading an 03a3 for an M1 or maybe for a less beat rifle than they had but they had no room to stash a extra rifle,extra ammo maybe not a rifle,as far as enemy weapons ,my father told me of being free to pick from piles of German stuff and finding a spot to shoot for fun,he stated about shooting hundreds of rounds out into the River.he was Signal Corps so not constantly front line troops,he did photography and observer work. I knew a friend whos father was a Green Beret,and he showed me weapons brought back from Vietnam-Nam ,and there was much more accountability in that war,interestingly one was a German Mauser,with the stock wrapped with wire and soldered which I later came to know was done to bolster it up for shooting rifle grenades,I have seen SMLE 's done similarity for the same purpose.
Reminds me of the scene from "We Were Soliders" where Col. Moore asks Sgt. Plumley "Maybe you ought to get yourself an M-16" and Sgt. Plumley replies "If it gets to the point I need one, there will plenty of them lying on the ground."
In more modern times we had a guy sneak several AK's back as well as some anti-aircraft rounds. It is not worth it, he did not keep his mouth shut and was caught deservedly so. He did it by hiding them up in the frame rails of some equipment. Once they took him away I lost track of what happened as I left for another duty station.
A close friend volunteered for a combat photographer slot in Vietnam circa late '69. He got that combat photographer slot as his duty assignment. When we got together in country in mid '70 to catch up and share our experiences I asked him what type of a firearm he carried with him into combat situations. I was surprised when he said, "None." He went on to point out that within the first 5 seconds of a fire fight there were always weapons aplenty to choose from. At the time that was a quite sobering revelation for me.
In more modern times we had a guy sneak several AK's back as well as some anti-aircraft rounds. It is not worth it, he did not keep his mouth shut and was caught deservedly so. He did it by hiding them up in the frame rails of some equipment. Once they took him away I lost track of what happened as I left for another duty station.
Exactly why there are many bring back enemy pistols and rifles and not so many US issued arms brought back from combat. Get caught with an enemy's pistol or rifle without proper authorization and you'd get a slap on the wrist and/or confiscation, while a US issued firearm would get you a dishonorable discharge and/or a stretch in Leavenworth
The serial number on the receiver is the date it was manufactured and put in a parts bin, assembled at a later date. Barrel date and receiver number may vary considerably.
By-the-way, mine is a Remington. All parts are stamped with an "R".
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