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Going rate of rewelded 1903a3 smith corona in avg shooter condition?

1K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Jungles 
#1 ·
Anyone know what this smith corona at my local shop is worth? They want $800 for it, which seems way to high, it has a giant ugly weld mark on the receiver, the finish is worn, bluing doesnt match at all on most parts, the sights are black/blue and the receiver is almost a worn gray silver, bolt is remington, barrel seems original but has wear, stock is a regular 03a3 stock that is pretty worn, I didn't see any cartouches. I am wondering what is a fair price to offer, is $400 too low?
 
#3 ·
I have a shooter already, and the finishes on the parts are undesirable. So it sounds like something that I would not want at all.

I wouldn't offer $400. Save up a few hundred more, and start looking for a non-reclaimed rifle. Decent ones can be had from $700 to $1,000.
 
#4 ·
Martin is on the right path here,


depending on barrel condition (as in bore) that rifle may,, just may bring 500 or a bit more a a show,
maybe,

however, there are better guns (going by your description) that are also great shooters , for just a bit more
 
#7 · (Edited)
I can not understand how many 'obamabucks' are asked for a rifle 300,000 of witch were sold by the U.S army through the DCM for less than $20.00 delivered. I must admit that I have an 03A3 that had a welded-in barrel and welded cut-off and bolt face. It still had the red 'condemned' tag (DD Form 1577) "Code H / beyond economical repair" from Ft. Stewart, Ga. It came stripped of all parts that could be taken off. It cost almost $300.00 to have it restored to issue condition, so the tag was right!
 
#8 ·
Obama? Don't, please. He had quite a few faults but he did not invent inflation nor did he turn twenty 1943 dollars into 282 dollars in 2017. We all know very well why that 20 dollar DCM rifle is worth more than $20 today, or why you cannot buy a perfect original, factory fresh, restored, or even rusted out 1969 COPO Camaro for $7400 delivered today.
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys, I will actually be swinging by the shop today, I will snap a few pics and post them here to see what you all think. I haven't made them any offers yet, I just took note of the rifle on the rack and the asking price, so it may very well be that they would agree to a much lower price when I point out the issues like the weld. The weld was on the rear of the receiver on the left side, near the safety. If there are more welds under the barrel like some of you are stating, I don't know that, so this would be a good point to raise in negotiations. Maybe like someone else said, it is best left as a parts rifle since safety could be called into question, I'll have a better look today and update the thread. I just wasn't sure how big of a premium the Smith Corona maker has on an 03A3. Many thanks!
 
#11 ·
sounds like you are confusing the magazine cutoff with the safety,

if it is a bead of weld, or a very short 'strip' of weld on the cutoff is most likely has a bead or 3 somewhere on the front of the receiver ring, where the barrel attaches,

neither would be considered a 'reweld' in the parlance of 'rewelded' receivers, (think Garand)


re the price,

in this neck of the woods, a good basic 1903 (and or A3) was around $200 + , back in the 80's
they have steadily crept up, and now a clean basic rifle is 700+, likely +

obvious collectable variants will increase that
 
#12 ·
Alright, here is a picture of the gun in question, hope I do this right with the image....

Gun Wood Air gun Metal


Does this look like it could be safe to fire? You can see the finish doesn't match any of the parts, the receiver is worn in the white, the sights look brand new with bluing, the bolt is Remington, it does come with a sling as you can see, the barrel is stamped "RA 42"
 
#14 ·
What do you think a fair offer might be? Is $350 too low to offer? Bore condition wasn't too special, looked like average wear. Would probably be a decent shooter but not match grade. I wouldn't mind having a representative blaster for taking out and getting dinged up, but only if its safe to shoot, I'm not sure how to tell if these re-activated drill rifles are safe or not, is there any warning signs I should be on the look out for when inspecting it?
 
#18 ·
Well they are not really a shop that deals in C&R type stuff, they are more of a black rifle store. I think their guy went on the auction sites and did a quick search to price them, when I was looking over the rifle I mentioned it looked like a re-activated drill rifle and they had no clue what I was talking about, and they didn't know what the CMP was either. It seems like the consensus is to avoid it...I guess that might be best. I just thought this might have been a chance to score a shooter for a good price, considering most of the problems appear cosmetic...but if the safety or structural integrity is an issue then I don't really have a need for it
 
#16 ·
Please don't buy this gun. The shop is looking for an uneducated buyer. It may not even be safe.

The consensus among the good members who have responded to this thread is that there are far better choices out there. More money? Yes. But this gun will give nothing but regret.
 
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