Fired up the 1903A3 Springfields today.

[shot1]

Last November while on my month long annual deer hunting trip I picked up two 1903A3 Springfields. One was a Smith Corona and the other was a Remington with a two groove barrel. They had been WWII bring backs by the same fellow who was a truck drive on the Red Ball Express. The story was he brought them home and put them in a closet and never touched them again. He died and his son found them in the closet. They had a little surface rust on them but mostly still had cosmo grease on all internal parts. I cleaned them up really well and today I finely got around to going to the range and shooting them. They both will shoot under 2" groups at 100 yards without any load development. The two groove barrel Remington shot the best and had the best trigger. I was using a load that I use in my M1 Garand. 48 grs IMR 4895 and a 155 gr Nosler custom competition BTHP. I can't wait until I have the time to do some load development to see just how good they will shoot. With the load I was using today I could become very deadly with that Remington two groove barrel rifle. 

[Mikey]

Used to use 47.5 gns of that powder under a 180 gn slug for the Garand to mimic the 173 gn Match and Sniper load - try that in your Remmy 03.

[shot1]

I have some 180 gr Sierra Match Kings. I will give that load a try. Thanks.

[greenrivers]

I have used the 165gr. SPBT in both my o6's for many years and it has proven deadly on dear in both a Browning BAR and a Springfield 1903A3 that I have sitting in my safe. It just recently got a Timney trigger and safety from Brownells and has a bad habit of shooting under an inch at a hundred if I do my part. That is using a rest, not my ability.

[parkergunshop]

Springfields I like em.  Just put one together for a friend.
I just got a range report back yesterday on the high number 1918 Springfield 03 action with a 1/1944 Remington barrel I installed in a Bell & Carson stock for the owner.    He shot three consecutive five shot groups at 100 yards measuring between four and five tenths of an inch.
I have worked on several Springfields, they have all shot well under 1 inch groups at 100 yards when scoped and the majority of them close to 1/2 inch or closer like this one.
The old adage is true, the British build a fighting rifle, the Germans a sporting rifle and the Americans a target rifle, when talking about the Enfields, Mausers and Springfields.
 

[scratchmark]

I've got a sporterized remington 1903 that I load for and hunt with. Last year on opening morning , I shot a 6pt, 5 pt, a doe and a coyote all within the first 2hrs. The next morning, my son shot his first doe with the same gun. All deer dropped in their tracks with the same load I've been using since the mid 80s. Imr 3031 at 48grs behind a sierra #2190 150gr bthp matchking.  Everything I read on the match bullets says they should not be used for hunting, yet every deer I've hit over the last 25 years with one has dropped dead. Granted whitetail are  a bit thinner skinned than other biggame.