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I have a Rock Island '03, serial #298624 with excellent RIA barrel dated 9'18. The rifle still has most of it's blue finish. The stock, however, is a Springfield single bolt with a clear JFC inspector stamp in a box. My issue is bolt ID. It is slightly swept with a punch mark on the bottom root and a "3" on the top of root. The safety has serif letters on both sides. The handle is a bit thicker toward the ball than my Remington "03 (not "03-A3) bolts. What do I have? Thanks in advance.
I would say (if there is no R on the bottom and no markings on the top, probably a Smith-Corona bolt body from WWII.
It's a smooth bolt without the slimming around the safety lug
---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:45 PM ----------
It has the number three on the top of the bolt and nothing but a punch mark on the bottom.
Rick,
One more observation. There is a small vent hole at front of bolt. It is much smaller than on any of my 1903-A3 or Remington 1903 bolts. There is also a small vent hole at the front of the extractor. The extractor is blued.
Thanks in advance.
And there are NO markings on the top or bottom of the bolt handle except the "3"? Safety lug?
I would wonder if the answer to the above is "no", if there is a chance it has been "bent" and might be a case-hardened bolt?
Nothing on safety lug. #3 on top of bolt. Punch mark on bottom of bolt. Small (.09) gas vent on front bottom of bolt body. Small vent on front of extractor.
I suppose it could be a bent case hardened bolt, but it could just as likely be an early double heat treated straight bolt that was bent. Maybe a RIA swept bolt from 1919 or so. The #3 is the mystery. It's definitely an early bolt due to the gas vent on the extractor. That would suggest 1918 or earlier.
Look for markings on the safety lug.
The usual "book" is that if there are no markings on the top/bottom of the bolt handle and on any side of the safety lug, it is a WWII SC bolt.
As m1903rifle says, look carefully on all sides of the safety lug. If there is an NS it is a late Rock Island bolt.
The vent on bolt is too small and the bolt is not turned down in the area of the safety lug as is characteristic of 1903-A3 bolts. It is marked on top of bolt root with a clear 3 and underneath with a punch mark. There is a small vent at front of extractor. none of these features would be found on a WWII Smith Corona bolt. It's the 3 stamp that has me puzzled.
I passed this along to John Beard - we'll see what he says.
Based on your description, your bolt, marked "3" atop the handle, is a Springfield Armory "WL/3" bolt manufactured during the 1920's. The "WL" can sometimes be very lightly stamped, but the "3" was always deeply stamped.
Hope this helps.
J.B.
Thanks, I think that's it.