4040CCLLAASSSSIICC MMIILLIITTAARRYY RRIIFFLLEESS:: TThhee UU..SS.. RRiifle, Caliber .30, M1903A4, Snipers

By John MarshallAs World War II developed, it was evident to

our armed forces that a need existed for a precisionsniper weapon, capable of taking out high-valuetargets at extended ranges. Pressed into servicehurriedly in early 1943 as a scoped near twin ofthe .30-06 M1903A3 rifle, the M1903A4 was ourprimary sniper rifle throughout World War II, andserved as an alternate standard sniper issueweapon into the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It wasnot without its faults, but, for the most part, it didthe job demanded of it and today ranks high as aWWII collectible classic.

The story of how this rifle came to be reallybegins with the development of the bolt-actionModel 1903A3 rifle by Remington, which had pre-viously produced M1903 and M1903 (Modified)rifles on revived Rock Island Arsenal machinery. Anumber of manufacturing shortcuts were intro-duced for the 03A3, including an inexpensivereceiver-mounted adjustable peep sight, andstamped instead of milled furniture. For example,the trigger guard/floorplate/magazine assembly wasa stamped and welded unit and the barrel bands,band springs, buttplate and upper band/bayonetstud were all stamped parts. The stock lacked thefinger grooves of the parent M1903 rifle. Barrelslater in the war had two rifling grooves instead offour, but this apparently did not affect accuracymuch if at all. This cheaper-to-manufacture riflewas standardized in May 1942, and was subse-quently produced not only by Remington, but alsoby the Smith-Corona Typewriter Company.

We had no sniper rifles available early in thewar, as the WWI-era M1903/Warner & Swasey-scoped rifles had been removed from inventory inthe 1920s. The Army’s Ordnance Department con-sidered scoping M1 Garand rifles to create a sniperversion, but that would take too long given theengineering challenges involved. So in January of1943, the War Department approached Remingtonto produce 20,000 M1903 rifles for conversion tosniper weapons. Remington by then had aban-

doned the M1903, and was producing onlyM1903A3s. Fearing a diversion from this task, thecompany suggested the use of their Model 720bolt-action rifle as a sniper piece, as they alreadyhad 4,000 of these on hand. The Ordnance Depart-ment rejected this proposal in favor of modifyingthe M1903A3 for sniper work.

Specifications were drawn up for the new sniperrifle, and it was standardized as the U.S. Rifle, Cal-iber .30, M1903A4, Snipers. Using the M1903A3rifle as its basis, the new rifle was modified in anumber of ways. The receiver-mounted rear sightwas tossed, and the receiver ring was drilled andtapped for the Redfield Junior scope mount. Thebolt handle was forged with a concave curve toclear the scope, and the full-pistol-grip stock had aclearance cut for the bolt handle. There was nofront sight, although the milling cuts for mounting afront sight remained. So that the designation of therifle could be seen with the scope mountsattached, the extreme left side of the receiver ringwas marked “U.S./REMINGTON/03-A3,” and theextreme right side was marked with the serial num-ber. The “03-A3” marking was supposedly appliedso that the rifle could be converted back to stan-dard A3 configuration if necessary by removing thescope mounts, attaching the standard rear peepsight and affixing a front sight. Barrels were select-ed from regular A3 production, but they were spe-cially chosen for characteristics that might positive-ly affect accuracy. It’s estimated that only the first6,000 or 7,000 barrels had four grooves. Later pro-duction used the two-groove version. Initially,stocks were full-pistol-grip Springfield Armory“type C” stocks modified by Remington with thebolt handle notch and the inletting for the A3 bar-rel guard ring. Later “C” stocks were provided bythe Keystone Company and others. Some of thesewere in the “scant” pistol grip configuration oftenreferred to as the “wart hog” stocks. Price increase

for the A4 over the A3 was a whopping $1.90 perrifle. Remember that these were 1943 dollars, ofcourse. Also, Remington was not responsible forprocuring either the stocks or the scopes, as thesewere provided by the Ordnance Department.

Remington began A4 production in February1943, but there were initial problems in securingsatisfactory scope sights. The Infantry Board hadchosen two scopes as best suited. These were theLyman “Alaskan” and the W.R. Weaver 330C.Lyman scopes were assigned the nomenclatureM73, and the Weaver scopes M73B1. Unfortunate-ly, Lyman was unable to supply scopes in anythinglike the quantities desired, so the 2.5x Weaverswere used, often taken right off Weaver’s shelves inEl Paso. Few, if any, Lyman scopes actually sawservice. Some Weaver 330M8 scopes were deliv-ered and used; these had rounded open screw-slotadjustment turrets rather than the finger knobs ofthe 330C. Most of the 330M8 scopes had post reti-cles rather than crosshairs. Later knob-type scopeswere marked as M73B1s, and some, very rare,were made by Frankford Arsenal. Some scopes hadserial numbers engraved on them with an electricpencil. These numbers bore no relationship to theserial numbers on the rifles. Most scopes were pro-vided with leather lens covers connected by aleather strap. The rifle illustrated, manufactured inAugust 1943, has one of the early Weaver scopeswith screw-slot adjustments and a “stalagmite” postreticle. It is a late first-production rifle with a serialnumber in the 3421500 range, and has a four-groove barrel, which remains in excellent shape.

Only Remington produced the M1903A4. Therewere three serial number blocks assigned for thenew sniper rifle. These were 3407088-3427087,4000001-401500, and 4992001-5784000. A “Z”prefix was added to A4 serial numbers that were inthe second range, if the serial number was dupli-cated by an A3 rifle that could also be in this block

of numbers. Remington continued to produce theM1903A4 through June of 1944, and delivered atotal of 23,365 rifles to the U.S. armed forces. Mostwere provided to overseas combat units quickly.

Right away, as the rifles were employed, bothsoldiers and Marines criticized the Weaver scopeas not being rugged enough for service. In fairness,the scope was designed for weekend deer hunting,not for the rough and tumble world of combat. Inthe Pacific theatre in particular, the scope wouldadmit moisture, and water in the scope was a con-stant problem. In Europe, one G.I. threw away theWeaver and had the Ordnance guys braze on aRussian sniper scope. He reportedly had goodresults with it. Although supplanted by the newersemiautomatic M1C and M1D sniper rifles, the A4ssaw service in the Korean War, often fitted withnewer M81 and M82 scopes. M84 scopes were uti-lized from the mid-1950s on. The M1C and theM1D rifles then were standard, but the 03A4 wasstill in service as late as the Vietnam War. A techni-cal manual for it and the M84 scope was publishedin 1970, and some were in military inventory aslate as the mid-1970s.

Many 03A4 rifles were sold (without scopes) tocivilians through the Director of Civilian Marks-manship after being released from service. Scopesfor these rifles were and are quite scarce, and col-lectors scrambled to find them. A 1903A4 receiveris nearly impossible to fake due to the placementof the markings on the receiver ring. Still, somemodern reproductions have been cobbled up usingM1903A3s as the basis. Today, an as-issuedM1903A4 is a hot collectible and quite valuable.

While the M1903A4 was clearly not a primechoice for a sniper weapon at the time of itsdeployment, it gave a good account of itself inbattle when nothing else was available, and todayit’s considered a classic infantry weapon of theSecond World War.

“The 03A4 was still in service as late as the Vietnam War. A

technical manual for it and the M84 scope was published in 1970 and some were in inventory as late as the mid-1970s.”

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