Gunsmithing "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

[Wannashootit]

Recently read about Gibbs rifle, and their very nice 1903-A3 reproductions built from de-milled receivers.

I'm assuming one needs a min. 07 FFL to make the receiver operable since they are no longer considered firearms? Are the receivers used by Gibbs from PH issued new SN's, or were they already numbered?

I was looking at 1903-A3 drill rifles, and was thinking it might be a cool project to do as Gibbs has done and utilize the action.

I have an 03 FFL, but that ain't gonna do it, will it...?

 

[Kells81]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

My FIL has one that was sold off by the VFW a few years back. The barrel is drilled/pinned/welded so you cannot chamber a round. On top of that the barrel is tacked to the receiver and the bolt is tacked closed.

Not sure about the other questions but I don't see the need for a FFL as long as your doing it for yourself. There might be a pretty grey area here though that I am unaware of. I would look at it the same as building an AR or AK from scratch except this is not from scratch.

 

[propeine]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

As long as it is for yourself it is legal. You can build from scratch, from demill, from kits, from forgings etc as long as it is done entirely by you or under your direct supervision and can only be for you. You cannot sell it nor build it with the intention of giving it away. This is the case as long as it is a "legal weapon" ie you can't build an sbr without a stamp, can't build a machine gun except from a demilled pre 1986 w/ a stamp(and you should really check on that because i'm not even positive thats legal), nothing rifled over 1/2" bore without a sporting exemption etc etc. Check out the legal section at homegunsmith.com for more details.

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

Very interesting.

Did not know that this could be legal.

I'll check out the info at the site you provided. Thanks.

I always wondered why anyone would buy one of the de-milled kits I see online all the time, I thought an FFL would have been required (Yes, I understand about SBR's, MG's , or destructive devices not being covered).

 

[propeine]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

You would be amazed some of the stuff the guys there are building from scratch let alone demilled stuff and raw forgings. I spent the money for the membership and it was worth it in every way. Plans to build a 1911 from scratch with welded panels, ruger 10/22's and all kinds of custom one receivers. I didn't realize it was legal either until maybe 3 months ago. There are some definite caveats and if you have ANY questions, you can call the ATF tech branch and they should be able to help before you get yourself in trouble.

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

Would there be any way to know if the actions on these drill rifles would have been de-milled the same as the PH actions that Gibbs uses? I guess what I'm asking is was there a "standard" identical procedure used to de-mill all of these?

From what I've read, the PH actions were not too bad to "clean up" (I know the barrels are useless). Anyone know of anyone that's brought a 1903-A3 drill rifle back to life? $150 for an action-even if it needs some work at the bench- doesn't seem bad. Thoughts?

 

[Gene Poole]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

I don't know about 1903-A3's, but all the Garand parade rifles I've seen were demilled to the point of being completely useless for anything but possibly the stock. They used a cutting torch to cut a slot in the underside of the barrel about 8-10 inches down from the breech, then arc welded the bolt to the receiver/barrel, then dragged an arc across all the moving parts of the trigger group. thousands of these filled the drill halls of Great Lakes NTC. A crying shame to treat such a classic rifle thus.

 

[gunnergirl81]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

The older method demil's described above are no longer considered non-guns. To buy an 03A3 thats got a plugged barrel tacked to the front rec ring it has to be transferred to an FFL (C&R is eligible). The new standard for an 03A3 demil is for the front reciever ring to have a section removed or torch cut all the way through.

You can re-activate the older style ones easily, we've done many. Just watch for cracks at the magazine cut-off, and avoid ones with a heavy weld at the barrel/rec.

And no, you don't need an 07 to make your own gun. Technically speaking though the rifle was an "active" firearm the whole time.

 

[gunnergirl81]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

Here is a link to the 03A3 we built for the father in law. He shoots handloads through it and its a sub MOA shooter all day when he holds up his end.

03A3 thread

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: "Re-activating" a de-milled 1903-A3 drill rifle?

Kenda,
Thanks for the link. Beautiful job!


and..
nice avatar, too..