US Model 1903 Receiver Bridge

Ambrose

February 03, 2013 06:07

My mind wandered this morning, as it often does while I was outside doing my chores and I got to thinking about these rifles. I have seen lots of sporters built on 1903 actions and have several in my collection but I have never seen one with the thin section at the top of the bridge removed and got to wondering why. It serves little purpose, the clip slot is ahead of that area, it cannot add much strength backing up the safety lug in case of locking lug failure. Most of these conversions were done when side scope mounts were popular so scope mounting would not be affected nor iron sights, either. Sporters based on the 1917 action often have extensive modification to the bridge: Of course, modififying the 1917 is necessary for most sporting rifle uses. Has anyone ever seen a 1903 so modified?

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  nmyers

  February 03, 2013 06:59

  No, never seen it removed.
  
  I would expect it to require a machinist to remove; the steel is pretty hard, I think you might have a tough time using a hack saw or a sawz-all.
  
  And, where would you mount the rear sight if you decided to convert it to an 03A3?
  
  Safety-wise, I'm guessing that, in the case of catastrophic failure, that bridge would keep the bolt from hitting you smack in the middle of your forehead.
  
  If it ain't broke....
  
  Neal

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  asphalt cowboy

  February 03, 2013 09:00

  I've never seen such an alteration either. I personally wouldn't trust a split bridge to arrest the safety lug in event of a failure.
  
  quote:Originally posted by nmyers
  I would expect it to require a machinist to remove; the steel is pretty hard, I think you might have a tough time using a hack saw or a sawz-all.
  
  
  Removal, should someone want it, would be done the same as clip seat removal on a Mauser. It's best to grind them with a fixture and milling machine using a cup stone on an arbor.
  http://tinyurl.com/as68fsc

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