sphingta Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 I have a 1903 springfield and its low numbered. Its seems to be done nicely and shoots well. After shooting it i thought about the recievers and actually looked at the serial numder and found out the cutoff number for sprinfield armory is about 800,000. Mines in the the mid 300,000's. I htought about the fact thats its been shot for probably the lat 95 years and its probably not going to have a problem. I figured if i just shot light cast loads in it it would be a nice shooter since its got a nice lyman reciever sight on it. Any one have any informed opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Uncle Shatterframe Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 I've heard that all those old Spfld.s were dangerous and should never be fired.......I've heard that for fifty years and more.....I've shot quite a few, and seen a lot of them in use......what I have never seen is ANY instance of a Spfld. receiver failing, Rock Island, Springfield.......what ever, never seen a busted action in a photograph, never read a creditable report.........as long as the shooter does NOT exceed factory ammunition pressures........it should keep on working and be as safe as any other military rifle.....maybe more so in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimro Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 I've heard stories about gunsmiths hitting the reciever with a plastic mallet and watching them shatter. So hit the reciever with a plastic mallet, if it doesn't shatter you should be good to go Just kidding, the issue was that those recievers were heat treated by "highly calibrated eyeball" similar to how some of the Santa Barbara mauser actions were heat treated. Could be you got one that was done properly. No way to tell how many barrels it's had in the last 95 years, but if it's the original barrel it probably wasn't shot too often. I'd feel safer if it had a replacement barrel on it, that way it survived shooting out at least the original barrel, and had an inspection before the new barrel was put on. Jimro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I've heard that all those old Spfld.s were dangerous and should never be fired.......I've heard that for fifty years and more.....I've shot quite a few, and seen a lot of them in use......what I have never seen is ANY instance of a Spfld. receiver failing, Rock Island, Springfield.......what ever, never seen a busted action in a photograph, never read a creditable report.........as long as the shooter does NOT exceed factory ammunition pressures........it should keep on working and be as safe as any other military rifle.....maybe more so in some cases. You should try reading more. Hatcher's notebook has both accounts and pictures. A good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Someone posted a wonderful link to a site with statistics on the low-numbered '03s a while back. An aquaintance is an avid '03 collector... His argument is that a small number blew. Army pulled from service those deemed unworthy. The remainder served sucessfully through countless rounds of ammunition and two world wars. "Just 'cause a couple were bad doesn't mean that they all were bad". I think low-numbered '03s make great cast-bullet rifles or mild-load rifles as-is. Mausers are cheap, fixable, and there are no questions about their safety. A fellow could get two or three nice Mauser receivers in exchange for a low-numbered Springfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphingta Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 i read a few articles but the opinions vary widely with nobody in the midlle. Some guys think your retarded to shoot them and other think your crazy to waste them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgie Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Any action can give up with reloading mistakes. I have two Sporterized Springfields no I did not do it, and they are just fine with handloads. http://www.huntamerica.com/wwwthreads/show...0&page=0#644420 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilurey Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Is your '03 still in unaltered military stock (excluding peep sight)? What model Lyman peep sight is mounted? True, these are not as strong as Mauser actions although the strongest action by far in the Jap type 38 Arisaka. I buy a Springfield about every 10 years or so, play with it then resell it, as I'm of the older generation heavily brainwashed into believing that God created the '03 late in the 6th day and this resulted in His taking the seventh day off to go to the range. M98 Mauser (German, Czech, FN) is simpler, safer (stronger), and far easier to get replacement parts, aftermarket barrels, triggers, safeties, accessories, stocks, ect. The Springfied receiver is lumpy, has that goiter like third lug, and is difficult to scope unless you have a neck like a swan or strap a western saddle on top of the stock comb. But, let me tell you about the one I'm working on...... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chatellerault Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 I have a SA that was made in 1907 and has a replacement 1919 avis barrel on it. Still going strong on factory loads even after 99 years of existance. I am also with bilurey, what type of stock is it in? give a little more detail about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 You're going to get a lot of conflicting opinions. I follow the theory of the so-called glass bolt and I admit to being prejudice because I have an early model and have shot it thousands of times. I replaced my early chrome plated bolt with a WW2 03A3 bolt. I also had the receiver magna-fluxed apx 25-30 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDole Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Everything you want to know about reciever failures. http://m1903.com/03rcvrfail/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 That link should go to the great archive, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphingta Posted June 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2006 finally took some pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc0332 Posted June 24, 2006 Report Share Posted June 24, 2006 That is a classy looking rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilurey Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 Yes really nice looking classic pre-war style. Interesting way of covering up the rear sight wedge pin hole and rear sight cut for base. Also, very nice polish work and rust blue. If you decide to scope it use a Griffin&Howe mount or ghosts of beloved pre-war stocking geniuses will haunt you forever. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphingta Posted June 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 I don't think i would ever scope it. I like peep sights to much. I'm actually in the process of taking scopes off of my marlin 336 and ruger 44 carbine. Williams fp's seem to work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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