Smith .30-06

[ca_fireman19]

Does anybody know what a "Smith Corona .30-06" is? What would one in "mint" condition be worth?

[ucrt]

.

M1 Garand. Value depends on condition, matching parts, etc. <==Wrong!! :no:

[buzby]

I believe it would be a 1903a3 bolt action built by the smith-corona typewriter co, WWII era. I have a Remington built model that I paid $650 for about 5 yrs ago. They can approach $1k in mint condition

[ucrt]

I believe it would be a 1903a3 bolt action built by the smith-corona typewriter co, WWII era. I have a Remington built model that I paid $650 for about 5 yrs ago. They can approach $1k in mint condition

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You're right!! :thank_you2:
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[ca_fireman19]

Thank you. Now I need to find out what a "sporterized" model would cost...I am told it's in "mint condition" and the pictures which I will post show it to be in 8 or 9 out of 10. Any ideas?

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/ladder_19/cbcd9e65.jpg
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/ladder_19/064f61b0.jpg
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/ladder_19/f377e4c0.jpg
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/ladder_19/25d6634e.jpg
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/ladder_19/b3032d86.jpg

[austinN4]

Any ideas?It looks pretty nice in the photos, but I don't have a clue what it would be worth. Try looking up 1903a3 on Gunbroker.com in the bolt action section and see what people are asking for them.

[ca_fireman19]

Can this receiver/ action be put into a MacMillan stock and made into a precision/sniper rifle?

[MistWolf]

Being sporterized actually harms the value of your 03-A3. The bluing looks good with some depth but judging from the photos, the metal wasn't properly polished as the corners are a bit rounded and there are small flats along the top of the receiver. It also looks like the stampings have been polished out a bit deep, especially at the "Smith-Corona" but that could be the light.

The stock is walnut and looks to be a Fajen and contoured nicely but the edges show hint of rounding from being sanded in one or two spots. Grain is a bit plain and nicely figured. The stock is of the Monte Carlo style with a raised cheek piece. It's more rounded and less extreme than the swoopy, hard edged California style popularized by Roy Weatherby with his line of magnum rifles.

It could be made into a sniper type rifle with a bit of work. It needs to be drilled & tapped for scope mounts, have the bolt bent and the safety modified. You should also check the condition of the barrel and shoot it to see how accurate it is. The heavy striker ensures reliable ignition even with the most stubborn of primers but has a long locking time. I don't know if McMillan offers a drop in stock or if you'd have to have one inletted for the action & barrel.

Your rifle would probably move quickly if offered for $350. If you're very patient, it might bring $450. It looks like a good, solid rifle that will give it's owner many years of service before being handed down to a grandchild

[ralph]

I'd have to agree with Mist Wolf, it's probably worth $350-400..It's a shame it was sporterized,As Smith-Corona's in orginial condition are getting hard to find. But, one has to remember in the post WWII era (50's-60's) These rifles were sold as surplus and sold cheaply, ($15-20)and no one ever thought they'd be worth much of anything. Mauser's and '03's '03A3's were probably the best candidates for sporterizing, The actions are strong, very reliable and very durable, The '03's and '03A3's were already in a American hunting caliber. So, this made it easier to do. 8mm was'nt at the time, real popular here in the U.S. for a number of reasons,such as, ammo was usually surplus, and hunting ammo was pretty much non existant unless you reloaded, and even then components were difficult to find. so, sportertizing a Mauser usually called for a barrel change, and this offered you a wide range of calibers the Mauser action could easily handle. I'm lucky..I've got a '03 and a '03A3 both picked off the rack at the CMP's north store. (I live 3hrs south of there) Both are in excellant shape, I gave $400, each for them, They are accurate rifles, I'll never get rid of them..

[ralph]

Can this receiver/ action be put into a MacMillan stock and made into a precision/sniper rifle?

It's possible, but it would also be very expensive to do, to get it up to speed, And, this would take more that just dropping it into a stock. Frankly, seeing as there are better rifles all ready to go for this purpose, I'd say no..One thing to look at, is the barrel on that rifle, it's possible that it could have a 2 groove barrel, This was done to speed up production during WWII, from what I'm, told accuracy really dosen't suffer either, Also look at the end of the barrel by the front sight, assuming the barrel wasn't shortened, and that it is the orginial barrel, It'll have the initials of the manfacturer, the flaming bomb stamp, and below that the date the barrel was made. The barrel manfacturer's initials should match the receiver's If for example the barrel initials were "JA" this would be "Johnson Automatics" (The same folks who made the Johnson semi auto rifle) and possibly a replacement barrel installed during a rebuild.