Got a chance to get to the range today. All be it, it was Eagle’s 25yd range. The rifle performed well enough. Didn’t have to adjust the scope. The action and bolt is alittle rough but it just needs to be worked more. I have no complaints thus far. Now I just need to tune up some 30-06 rounds to go with it. I shot 8rnds of PPU Garand ammo. I had intentions of shooting more, but the other surplus ammo I had has bad primers, so no bang for them.
My point of aim was roughly the green area.

I have to be honest, there is no way i would be happy or call it a success to shoot those kind of groups at 25 yds with a scoped rifle. Something is not right, or is there more to the story?

I’d clean the barrel, and see how pitted it is.

Lot of corrosive ammo from back then. With that said if it shot like that with cheap ammo, I might grab a box of ammo from Dallas reloads and see how it does, bet the 150gr AB shot well

If it’s spraying lead like that at 25 yards, something is loose. Scope base, scope itself is bad, etc.

Hell, most .22 pistols with crap ammo and iron sights will do better than that at 25.

I'd see how it likes some regular factory hunting ammo, like Federal Fusion 165 grains. PPU ammo gets good accuracy in some loadings but others not so much.

That is NOT a good shooting rifle as it stands now. Adjustments/troubleshooting is required.

Well thank you for all the feedback. First this was a function firing not so much with accuracy. It is not a precision rifle by no means so I’m not looking for sub MOA accuracy. 2nd, there was 2 4rnd volleys. The red circle was holding the rifle, the blue circle was using a rest. More over the ammo wasn’t custom made to the rifle. That will come later. This was my first time shooting this gun, again it was a function test. My next step to shoot at 100yrds on a sled to see what it does at that range.

I had an 03-A3 that wouldn't group better than 4" at 100yds. That's one of the few firearms that I have sold that I've never regretted.

open site or scope? those groups are pretty good for factory ammo in that rifle. Id be happy with that especially if your shooting open sites.

Shot with a scope. Reproduction time period scope. 2.5x

Cool rifle! 03 Springfields are still shot at Camp Perry. They have their own division because they are more accurate than the auto loading long guns.

Is the 2nd set of two targets also at 25 yards ? If so it looks like the guns is not shooting well . You may need to check the bedding or try handloads . What looks to be about a 2 inch 25 yard group is going to be about 10 to 16 inches at 100 . 1903 and a3's where shooting 1 to 1.5 inch 5-shot groups at 100 yards in our clubs as issued military rifle matches with iron sights . A few groups at 100 will tell .

No, they are not.

Op, those groups are not too bad considering.


I know those Scopes have quite a bit of subtention, and are only two and a half power. If you want to really test it for accuracy you need to get something with a large black dot and shoot at the base of the dot not the center, that's basically what the people do at camp Perry and such. The subtention will make it hard to hold the same spot in the center every time. Also the black dot on light colored paper better contrast and allow you to hold better with the optics you have than the orange and white dot


If you're ever planning on shooting it at any of the CMP events, be careful about doing any bedding and such because that would move you out the vintage sniper or whatever that class is called. That gun was built for that class, and there's very little you can do to them. So check the rule book before you start making adjustments

If those are 25 yard groups you are right , they are not too bad , they are really bad . A rifle that shoots 10 to 16 inch 100 yard groups is not really usable . By the bedding I mean is the action set in the stock correctly as it looks like a repro stock .

I’ve had several of those old 30-06’s. My go to deer rifle is a 1917 Eddystone 30-06 that I got in 1968. Has a custom stock and is scoped. I finally shot out the barrel and had it replaced. Still trying to get it broken in and zeroed. Not real impressed.

But, I have a lot more options in my safe.

The smaller group is around an inch at 25. The other group was shot off hand, according to the poster. An inch at 25 is going to equate to around 4 or 5 in at 100 not 10 to 16. That was with random PPU Garand ammo, so 150 grain ball, so probably not super accurate. A little more shooting and getting familiar with the rifle, and some decent ammo and it's probably going to hover around 2 in or a little better at 100 pretty easily. 2 moa is the 10 Ring on NRA targets,the x is 1 moa.

I bet with a little effort it all works out.

Okay, again to be clear. This firing was not an accuracy test. It was a functioning test. This is an 03A4 reproduction rifle built on an A3 receiver from 1942, not a high-end target rifle. I have not adjusted the scope as I plan to make custom loads for this rifle. The ammo I shot was designed for a Garand so not expecting much out of it. The red circle was from a standing position, the blue circle was on a rest. There are four holes in the blue circle, 3 of which are touching. I know the rifle is shooting low; however, these scopes are known to do that and most likely will require a shim on the front mount. There will be no modifications beyond a shim on this gun as I want it to be time period correct for what it is. I don't really understand why everyone on here is so dang negative. This is supposed to be a place for people to enjoy talking about hunting, shooting, and guns. But you guys sometimes act like y'all are so miserable. I first posted because I enjoy older military weapons and wanted to show it off. I thought there might be others who also enjoy them, not super critics with nothing better to do.
No, I will not be shooting in any competitions with this gun; however, I will shoot this gun. I may or may not hunt with it, pending on load development and improving its accuracy.
And yes, the gun shot and hit paper. So, I am happy with it. Accuracy will be improved with more time and effort.
Happy Thanksgiving!

If you know ballistics you would know bullets do not travel in a linier path . 1 at 25 is not 4 at 100 . Normally it is 3x each time the distance doubles from 25 to 200 yards . That is based on my 30 years of nationally ranked bench rest shooting , running matches at my range , my ballistics lab , and accuracy testing of over 1000 rifles . Also there were no 5 shot groups . So 1 at 25 is 3 at 50 and 9 at 100 . Yes, that is how it works . So that means his rifle is doing from 4 to 9 time worse than what our club shooters were doing with 1903's with iron sights . So there is something wrong .

Well, you seem to have way more experience than me on this subject, however I am not completely inexperienced at this stuff and my experience contradicts yours. If I shoot a riffle and get a couple inch group at 50, I'm generally going to get three to four at 100. I don't believe I ever shot a rifle and got two inches at 50 and six at 100. So I'm not 100% going to to believe that that is definitely how it works every time,though I am not going to completely discount what you say.

But, even going with your extreme, in my opinion, dispersion, that would still end up being only a 6 inch group at 100 and not a 10 to 16. One at 25, using your example, would equal three at 50, and six at 100. Still a very workable rifle if fed the ammo it liked. So even if we assume your dispersion, a 6-in group at 100 could be and ammo issue to get the gun down to 2 in at 100.


Once again we haven't even discussed a possible loose scope, a new rifle that the shooter is unfamiliar with, the low power of the scope, the subtention of the scope, etc. We are simply looking at a guys rounds off of bench right quick to see if the gun shot period, not if it shot excellent. In other words drawing a tremendous amount of conclusions from this example would be jumping the gun at best.

I think you're blaster is going to do fine, but if you decide to throw it in the trash based on a couple of other posters post, I'll gladly give you your money back 🤣🤣

What? This is the wildest thing I've read lately.

“If you know ballistics you would know bullets do not travel in a linier path . 1 at 25 is not 4 at 100 . Normally it is 3x each time the distance doubles from 25 to 200 yards . That is based on my 30 years of nationally ranked bench rest shooting , running matches at my range , my ballistics lab , and accuracy testing of over 1000 rifles . Also there were no 5 shot groups . So 1 at 25 is 3 at 50 and 9 at 100 . Yes, that is how it works . So that means his rifle is doing from 4 to 9 time worse than what our club shooters were doing with 1903's with iron sights . So there is something wrong .”

Please explain what makes the bullet curve as you suggest and why it is 3x and not 4 or 5 or even more.

Well, regardless of the criticisms you're getting on here, sounds like you found a good deal on a fun shooter.

The bullet rotates in a circle [ orbit ] around the forward path because of its spin . That is why groups are round , they hit the paper in a different part of their orbit . In nation benchrest matches the 200 yard groups are 3x as large as the 100 yard , that is why they factor the 200 yard groups to compare to the 100 yards . So if the best group shooters in the country can not do better than 3x , I doubt other do . That is why MOA is a meaningless term for groups . It is only accurate for optics as light DOES travel in a linear path . The ratio does change at different distances . When the bullet settles down from the spin , it becomes more stable and the orbit gets smaller . That is why the 3x does not apply for 300 + yards . Also the ratio is different to some extent depending on many factors like bullet type , velocity , twist rate and others . And for the guys saying " I never heard of such things " , a lot of people that shoot do not understand ballistics . My statement is a general rule based on the accuracy testing of 1000's of rifles , mainly military but scoped sporters and benchrest rifles as well . I know some people with factory rifles , factory ammo , a mildot scope , shooting off of a bipod with no wind flags will out shoot my bench rest rifle with a custom match action , match barrel , hand made match bullets loaded in select cases matched to a no clearance chamber , fired from a $1 k rest with multiple wind flags . I was always glad when they did not show up at a match I was shooting in . Back to the OP . First I never shoot a rifle at 25 yards as you learn nothing as the bullets all go through the same hole , 25 yards is for handguns . Every rifle I did shoot at 50 yards [ not many as again it is a waste of time ] did shoot at least 3x at 100 yards . But this is with good ammo . I never said his rifle was junk , just there was a problem . Ammo , stock , barrel or even shooter . Any of which are correctable .

I would be ashamed to be called anything close to a champion if I couldn't even hold a group to 3x it's size at 100yd vs 50yd.

This is wild to me, and is the strangest extension of the "bullets oscillate around their forward path of travel and you might see wonky accuracy results" tree of ballistics.

“When the bullet settles down from the spin , it becomes more stable…”

Really?

This is why I make it a point not to argue with flat earthers .

Please state your source claiming that "The bullet rotates in a circle [ orbit ] around the forward path because of its spin."

diablodog, you’ve made some statements that go against everything I’ve learned about bullet behavior. I simply would like you to back them up. Surely someone with your extensive background can do that.

I respectfully disagree sir.

Yeah, that's total

Everyone ignore what Diablog wrote. He's F.O.S. and making up nonsense as bad as Dan does.

And if you take the bolt apart messing with it, it might take a PHD to put it back together…. Ol’ Roger at pigeon road in the Ville, gave me the good ol’dad speach when I brought it in parts when I was in college.

The lock time on those bolts is the longest out there, longer than any hammer I’ve shot. Beautiful piece of history though.

It’s been some years ago but I witnessed a young man shoot 98 out of 100 @ 1,000 yards with iron sights and a Springfield’03. 52/100 were in the 12” “X”. It made a lasting impression on me.

Interesting. I'm pretty sure in service rifle, even out to a thousand yards, an M16 type gun holds the record in every event. I'm not sure if event is quite the correct term, basically what I'm trying to get at is that every distance and shooting position M16 type rifles have dominated

M16 is not very accurate at 1,000 yards unless highly customized and with hand loads. M14/M1A on the other hand is.

I should have said m16/ar10 type rifle. I was keeping it in the service rifle category, and those guns have set the records I believe in every event. M16 type rifles own service rifle which is shot out to 600 yd, and they have been known to shoot pretty good out to a thousand, though it is harder. The AR-10 type rifles in 65 creedmoor I believe now are the record holders for service rifle at a thousand.

Basically my point was the semi-auto AR style rifles do tend to be more accurate than the 03 Springfield. And I love 03 springfields

Back to the 03-A4 rifle. Very nice reproduction.

I had all the parts to do this, just never got time to get a receiver as I was searching for an A4 receiver in the drill rifle pile.

Still love to shoot the original M1903's and even the 03-A3's.

A few rounds out to test function and you are being kicked out of the thousand yard club! Hah! Nice rifle.

I like it a lot. Really like that I got it for $300.



I know right! Thank you.