how weak is a springfield?

AEF fought a World War with "low number Springfields
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nope they shipped some guys over to fight a couple battles, after they had sold everything they could sell to the hun and were afraid if they did not get boots on the ground they would not be able to collect on debts.

Maybe the world would benefit form a bit more of this type of protectionism and fortress america approach to foriegn relations.

22-45 lets make a 22 hornet out of it.
 
You had best look at that again. While America was neutral for most of the war, Any sales of military equipment were to The allies, NOT the germans. While the germans supposedly were free to buy goods, we knew damm well they couldn't get over here to do so.
You might also want to check on that "sporting" .303 ammo that was on the Luistania.
And while I am at it, for the time America was in the war, our casualty rate was the same as the commonwealth for the same time period.:mad:
 
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Trusting a springfield.

John Sukey said:
You had best look at that again. While America was neutral for most of the war, Any sales of military equipment were to The allies, NOT the germans. While the germans supposedly were free to buy goods, we knew damm well they couldn't get over here to do so.
You might also want to check on that "sporting" .303 ammo that was on the Luistania.
And while I am at it, for the time America was in the war, our casualty rate was the same as the commonwealth for the same time period.:mad:
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When we consider how much negative press the Lee Enfield has had in the USA, it is a small thing for us to openly discuss the quality and safety of a small number US military rifles.
 
Its not exactly a small number - its the first million '03s.
It would be worth researching the opinion of the tech. staff at the NRA, find out what authorites like Bruce Canfield have to say.
 
nothing worng with them, and they can take bigger rounds. i have one rebuilt to .358 Norma Magnum. the case will fail before the action does. i actually like them better then a mauser
 
Ww1

John Sukey said:
You had best look at that again. While America was neutral for most of the war, Any sales of military equipment were to The allies, NOT the germans. While the germans supposedly were free to buy goods, we knew damm well they couldn't get over here to do so.
You might also want to check on that "sporting" .303 ammo that was on the Luistania.
And while I am at it, for the time America was in the war, our casualty rate was the same as the commonwealth for the same time period.:mad:
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I don't usually like to get into politics and such, but the US was selling goods to both sides until 1917. The freight U-Boat "Deutchland" and one other U-Boat , too, I believe, slipped past the blockade and loaded up with cargo for the Fatherland. The U-Boat crews were greeted as heroes in the US. Now, we should get back to discussing the technical aspects of the '03, and avoid re-fighting the Great War.
 
Kevin:
What was the serial number of the one you made into a 358 norma mag? Was it a low numbered one from the springfield armory?

I had a eddystone p14 rechambered to 311 win mag,(300 win mag with a p 14 303 barrel) some warned me that it might be too brittle, but it has worked fine for me also. It is very accurate, I doubt if any rifle off the shelf is any better than using .311 bullets out of that military barrel.
 
I've got a 5 digit R.I.A. receiver that will eventually be restored to a correct rifle. Since my basement flooded out last year it's in a long list of projects though! I doubt that when its finished I will shoot it very much, but I will shoot it, maybe the first couple of shots might be from the end of a very long string!:D
I would never advocate to anyone to shoot one of these low number guns. There is no doubt the heat treatment process was messed up on these receivers. How many and how badly, is anyone's guess, we only know in what serial number ranges for both manufactures. At best it is a calculated risk. That is why I would not personally build a hunting rifle for my nephew with that receiver. This will be a rifle he will use for years to come & if it is brittle as someone once stated to me (somewhere here on CGN) it's not a matter of if, but when. The risk I take is my own, but make no mistake, I would never intentionally risk the health of others. I thought about this some more from my last post & think the best advice I could give you is that if it were for yourself; do the research & then decide. But for someone else build on another receiver.
 
I have decided based on the info here not to send my nephew off into the bush with it.
Just by looking at it, I know it worked well enough long enough after being put in the pretty bishop stock to break it, but I do like this nephew, and there are of course lots of other excellent choices for him.

It does not matter if the risk is large or small, if the risk is known then it is good enough reason to find another. Bubba has made lots of good sporters, I will get him one of them.
 
If you did want to build on an 03 platform hold on to all the pieces you have and start to look for a higher number receiver. You do find them from time to time. The last one I found came from Epps, but gun shows are an excellent place to inquire. If not, pm the bunch of us & I'm sure one of us sharks will take it off your hands. Might even keep your fingers!
 
hmmm on inspection it's a higher numbered (1205###) Rock Island, so in your case with a low number it's hard to say. shame it's an unknown,i love these actions, but i'm one of those evil people that build them for sporters(only ones that have already been hacked up) even beat to #### bubbas cost too much these days though....
 
I haven't forgot...Still got that sporterized stock you were interested in. PM me when you get a chance if your still interested in it and maybe we can workout a trade for some of that hardware you must be stripping off those rifles you saboteur! Oh well gotta get some sleep, work tomorrow.
 
i'll keep that in mind, depends how the spring gunshow pickings are,i'd like to build one in .280 or 7x57...

as for the low number action, i wonder if you could use it to build something that is a very low pressure round, seems to me i saw pics of an early springfield sporter done up as single shot target rifle, it was .22 hornet or .219 donaldson wasp, something gentle. wonder if you could use it for something like that
 
How would I know if this rifle was on of the ones rebuilt?

tiriaq said:
As far as being the "quality of a Mauser" goes, some of the best features of the '98 were deleted when the 1903 was designed.
Your rifle is one of the so called low number Springfields, if it was made at Springfield Armory. There has been MUCH discussion about whether these low number rifles should be used at all. One school of thought is that they should not be fired. Period. The receiver is case hardened mild steel. Some did fail in use. Most of the failures involved rifles made in 1917, when the receivers were left brittle. During WW2, many low numbered rifles were rebuilt with new barrels and nickle steel bolts. None failed proof. If you choose to do some research, you will find lots of information about these rifles.
A double heat treated or nickle steel '03 is every bit as strong as a good '98 Mauser - although from a design standpoint it will not handle gas from a failed cartridge case as well. '98 Mausers are variable, depending on when and where they were made. Some Mausers are suitable for some conversions, some are not. High number Springfields have been converted to most every cartridge that can be made to feed through the action.
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Hi, I am wondering if there is a stamp somewhere indicating that it was one of the ones rebuilt with a better bolt etc. I am thinking of keeping it until I can find a high number action..I could buy one without a bolt if I knew it was the upgraded one.
 
Might be possible to identify one by the barrel date, and the bolt. Nothing was done to the receiver, they were just rebuilt with new parts to minimum headspace and proof tested.
Springfields are not particularly common in Canada. I wanted to make an 03A4 clone, took a long time to find a bubba'd 03A3 Remington.
 
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