Will,
That is a wonderful 1903! I have owned several and still have two of these great rifles. They are a pure joy to carry in the field. You are also lucky that the front scope mount was installed on a boss around the barrel..........most were dovetailed into the front receiver ring. Speed states in his Mauser book that the engineers said this did not substantially weaken the front ring; however, I dislike the look of it very much and prefer the mount system on your rifle. Ringmounts are out there, just may be a little hard to find a good set. Of all the MS series, the 1903 is by far my pick. I love the mild old round that shoots through everything and generally kills as well or better than some of the real hard kickers. Yours deserves to be lovingly carried into the field as that is what it was made for....failing to do so is much like training a good bird dog and locking him in the kennel for life.

John