My 1903 Springfield, safe to shoot? What yr was it made?

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exit31

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I have seen that the 1903 has some collector value south of the border. I did a search and some of these rifles are not shootable? Can you, anyone with knowledge of the o3, tell me what yr my rifle was made and if the serial number is a low one or not. Is it safe to shoot? I undertand that low numbers are not to be fired.

I have had this rifle for 30 yrs or so now and I have shot cast bullets in it only. The barrel bore is black, but it shoots well. The hardware is blued and I have a spare barrel for it which is still in manufature's grease.

The rifle is in good NRA condition. The full wood stock has dings and some flake off. It is also almost black. The blueing is in good condition, with some white metal showing trough in some areas, but it is not severe. There are dings and dents on the hardware especially onto the trigger guard and fixed magazine plate.

The Mark on the reciever states U.S. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY MODEL 1903.


Number 1 and 2 or 7 or Z marked under the receiver sites, which is a ladder and peep, triangle, windage and elevation screws ( many places to take a sight picture! on these sites. Two marks seem to have been stamped out or punched over here also. It was done by pros. as it seems the blueing matches the other areas of the rifle.

The stock marks are 7 and 2 and the bolt is marked 7.

The barrel is marked HS and 4-44 just behind the front sight which has a guard. Their is a cat like logo here also or two 0 one on top of the other with a crown on the top 0.

Also, what is the proper bayonet for this rifle? Can I order the original sling for it? And info apprecialted. Value??? Thanks EXIT 31
 
Thanks Squibload, and note I took your advise on serial NO. ! and remouve it. I had not thought of it being a problem, but I guess it could be. Just don't know how... and not certain I what to know. IN any case thank you for the info. Much appreciated. Exit31
 
Springfield made '03's are considered to be "low serial numbers" if the number is under 800,000. They're considered unsafe to shoot with any ammo. It has to do with the method used for heat treating the receivers. The proper bayonet is the 16" bladed, M1905 bayonet. Mucho expensive(over $100US or so) and difficult to find. There's a 10" bladed bayonet cut down for the M-1 Garand that'll fit too. They can run $50US and up.
You should post every mark on it to get more and better info.
You might want to rummage around here. http://m1903.com/
 
The barrel was made by High Standard, April '44, so it is obviously a replacement. Most US service rifles were rebuilt at one time or another, while in US service, or for a military assistance program.
 
sunray said:
Springfield made '03's are considered to be "low serial numbers" if the number is under 800,000. They're considered unsafe to shoot with any ammo. It has to do with the method used for heat treating the receivers.
Click to expand...

For a really good explanation of the heat treating problem, you should pick up a copy of "Hatcher's Notebook" either at your local library or at amazon.ca. Lots of other '03 tips and triva too.
 
tiriaq said:
The barrel was made by High Standard, April '44, so it is obviously a replacement. Most US service rifles were rebuilt at one time or another, while in US service, or for a military assistance program.
Click to expand...

Going by Hatcher's Notebook, I would assume this would mean that it has the good receiver? I believe the bad receivers were supposed to be pulled from service by the armourers. Wouldn't have gotten a new barrel as late as 44, would it?
 
During WWII, low number 03s were rebarreled, and rebolted with nickle steel bolts. Apparently none failed proof. The problem with the receivers was that it was only some of them that were brittle, and there was no effective way of identifying the bad ones. Some 03s failed prior to WWI, so the problem was not limited only to some made in 1917. 03s and then 03A3s were made well into WWII, as were replacement parts. They were standard issue until there were enough M-1s to go around, and then they were relegated to second line service. As far as that goes, M1917 rifles were rebuilt and issued as substitute standard throughout the war.
 
Thanks for the info guys....My rifle dates to 1921. The sling is M1907 and the bayonet is M1905. And it is rebarreled in 44 by High standard. thanks again.
 
The under 800,000 serial number rifles were made exclusively by Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, before and through World War 1. The problem was in the heat treating applied to the steel in the receivers. The treatment made the steel too hard (and hence, brittle). Most of these receivers were culled out by firing with the proof loadings of 75,000 psi. The proof load would remove the brittle receiver (by destroying it). If it survived the proof round, it was perfectly safe with the standard M1 or M2 .30 ball ammo at 50,000 psi. Some of these brittle receivers failed when someone tried to shoot 7.92x57mm Mauser ammo in them (.323 bullet down a .308 bore)!

After WW1, there were plenty of Springfields available and the rifile remained in production at Springfield Armory. The post-WW1 Army was much smaller than its wartime incarnation. Therefore, the War Department and Navy Department was able to remove the 800,000 and below serial number Springfields from service without much difficulty. By the early 1920's Springfield had changed to double heat treating their receivers. By the end of the 1920's they had changed the composition of the receivers to nickle steel and the heat treat problem went away completely. [It should be noted that double heat-treated Springfield actions are the smoothest operating of all.]

Rock Island Armory, Rock Island, Illinois, manufactured Springfield rifles from 1906 through early 1919. RIA rifles were made using the same nickle steel as the late 1920's Springfields. RIA rifles never had the brittleness problems of the 800,000 and below serial number Springfield Armory rifles.

The long and short is: any Springfield in the suspect serial number range that has survived this long is perfectly safe to shoot with ammunition that replicates the M2 .30 Ball loading.
 
sunray said:
Springfield made '03's are considered to be "low serial numbers" if the number is under 800,000. They're considered unsafe to shoot with any ammo. It has to do with the method used for heat treating the receivers. The proper bayonet is the 16" bladed, M1905 bayonet. Mucho expensive(over $100US or so) and difficult to find. There's a 10" bladed bayonet cut down for the M-1 Garand that'll fit too. They can run $50US and up.
You should post every mark on it to get more and better info.
You might want to rummage around here. http://m1903.com/
Click to expand...

I can only state that the U.S. fought World War One with low number Springfields.;)
 
MasterGunner,
Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) used the same single heat treat process as did Springfield Arsenal for its early M1903 rifle production. Therefore RIA rilfe below 275 000 (DO NOT QUOTE ME ON THIS SERIAL NUMBER!) are considered "low number" and should not be used. A double heat treat process solve the "brittle receiver" problem before the change to a nickle alloy steel.

The barrel was made by High Standard. It was most likely put on the receiver by a army(government) arsenal.
 
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