I received one of the Gibbs 1903A4 replicas just more out of curiosity then anything. I have numerous original Garands, carbines, and 1903’s but not a 03A4 because like everyone else the cost is way too much to obtain.
The rifle comes in a hard case with a leather sling and rifle dust cover.
This particular rifle was built on a Remington 1903A3 receiver. No attempt was made to remark the receiver by Gibbs in an attempt to try and fool someone.
The bolt appears new and is a marked Remington. The re-forging of the bolt handle is good but nothing like an original A4.
All the other metal parts are original military that have been either re-blued, re-parked or appear original un-issued. The worst condition part was the butt plate. It had been re-parked but showed years of service.
I have not taken it fully apart but most of the markings on the parts that I can see indicate Remington manufacture. The stock is a walnut stained Beachwood. Very nice but not walnut.
The barrel is a new four grove made for Gibbs (unknown from where) that is marked with Gibbs logo near the dovetails for the front sight. Headspace was right on. I checked the chamber and barrel with a bore scope and found no surprises.
The scope base is a Redfield type base that is parked and is marked with Gibbs information. Base and rings could have been made by Redfield for Gibbs, I have no idea.
Scope is a copy and is also marked with the Gibbs information. This particular scope is thin wire throughout. I have seen some with a Duplex style reticle, so I’m not sure which one is common or if this is a crap shoot from Gibbs. Clarity of the scope for what it is seems to be fairly good, don’t expect Nightforce clarity from this little thing. The true test will be when I shoot it this weekend.
When the rifle was received the scope was just attached and no torque had been applied to the screws. I pulled the scope off and found the base wasn’t torqued to the receiver either. I pulled the base off just to check the drill job and found this to be very well done. Screw holes are 8-40. A couple of problems I did find were the scope base screws and no shims for the base. The rear screw was too short and would not hold torque. Since this is a reproduction I went ahead and replaced the base screws with correct length using torx head screws.
On original A4 it was common to shim the front of the base to make up the difference in the height of the front receiver ring and the rear sight dovetail. Without shimming the front of the base you will get base flex when you torque down the front screw. Shims need to be added to this base to make it fit correctly. Again this common with A4’s and shims should have been included with the Gibbs rifle.
I will post some pics later and follow up with a range report this weekend.
The rifle comes in a hard case with a leather sling and rifle dust cover.
This particular rifle was built on a Remington 1903A3 receiver. No attempt was made to remark the receiver by Gibbs in an attempt to try and fool someone.
The bolt appears new and is a marked Remington. The re-forging of the bolt handle is good but nothing like an original A4.
All the other metal parts are original military that have been either re-blued, re-parked or appear original un-issued. The worst condition part was the butt plate. It had been re-parked but showed years of service.
I have not taken it fully apart but most of the markings on the parts that I can see indicate Remington manufacture. The stock is a walnut stained Beachwood. Very nice but not walnut.
The barrel is a new four grove made for Gibbs (unknown from where) that is marked with Gibbs logo near the dovetails for the front sight. Headspace was right on. I checked the chamber and barrel with a bore scope and found no surprises.
The scope base is a Redfield type base that is parked and is marked with Gibbs information. Base and rings could have been made by Redfield for Gibbs, I have no idea.
Scope is a copy and is also marked with the Gibbs information. This particular scope is thin wire throughout. I have seen some with a Duplex style reticle, so I’m not sure which one is common or if this is a crap shoot from Gibbs. Clarity of the scope for what it is seems to be fairly good, don’t expect Nightforce clarity from this little thing. The true test will be when I shoot it this weekend.
When the rifle was received the scope was just attached and no torque had been applied to the screws. I pulled the scope off and found the base wasn’t torqued to the receiver either. I pulled the base off just to check the drill job and found this to be very well done. Screw holes are 8-40. A couple of problems I did find were the scope base screws and no shims for the base. The rear screw was too short and would not hold torque. Since this is a reproduction I went ahead and replaced the base screws with correct length using torx head screws.
On original A4 it was common to shim the front of the base to make up the difference in the height of the front receiver ring and the rear sight dovetail. Without shimming the front of the base you will get base flex when you torque down the front screw. Shims need to be added to this base to make it fit correctly. Again this common with A4’s and shims should have been included with the Gibbs rifle.
I will post some pics later and follow up with a range report this weekend.
