Low serial number Springfield

[Chuckindenver]

no attack at all Jim.
pick up a copy of Hatchers notebook...its an eye opener.
i too shoot my low number RIA, however as a gunsmith, i dont receomend anyone shoot a low number 1903. even the ones that have been reproofed during rebuild.

[Cordite]

Gents, I had no intent to start any arguments. This topic has obviously been aired before. Bottom line here is I was looking for information about shooting the low-numbered SA 1903, and I have been given it, freely and with great detail. While I understand that some will choose to shoot theirs, some won't, and I do believe that a gunsmith, of all people, would be close to negligent if he knew about the issue and then told people to go ahead and shoot. I love these weapons but I also love all my parts and for me, it's not worth taking a chance. That's all.

Let's not get our danders up. Please.

Regards,

Mike

[Michael Petrov]

In this litigation crazy world we live in not many folks are going to say it's alright to shoot a low-numbered rifle.

Hatcher is a start but no where near the final word IMO. If you wish to educate yourself about them start by learning why all the 1917's blew up. Next read what the man who did the actual hands-on investigation at Springfield (it was not Hatcher) had to say.

A couple years ago I undertake several test of five (5) low-number rifles, both SA and RI, using Arsenal AP cut in back so the cases failed as well as a couple of 8mm Mausers for good measure. I posted the info and got more hate mail than President Obama. I removed my test information and pictures and have no plan to redo them.

[Chuckindenver]

Attachment 14461i personally know of 1917,s that had over sized chambers, in the last year, iv seen 3 that had failed..though all were sporterized hunting rifles. all had the original barrels, and were shot with factory loads,
however, all the receivers were fine..most blew the floorplate down, broke the stocks, and blew the extractors off. i repaired one, and saved the headspace...
i had to set the shoukder back 2 turns to get the headspace back, notice the line from the over sized chamber.

[Michael Petrov]

At the same time many of the low-number rifles were letting go so was the 1917. I've never found the total but would not be surprised if it surpassed the 1903's. I'm out of here, before the lynch mob arrives.

[Calif-Steve]

When I was a kid growing up in Honolulu I used to shop at the "Wigwam" Store. They had piles of $9.99 rifles. They had a gunsmith there who would buy Low Numbers for $29.99 mail order. He would convert them to .308 Norma Mag and sell them to local Hawaiians. I saw many of them in the store and at the rifle range. Yes, I said Low Number '03's. I have never heard of one failing, but you just never know about them.

[Chuckindenver]

great picture...if you look close, the receiver did what was supposed to do, peal away...not shatter...id bet someone forced that bolt up..the 17 is made to lock the bolt down in a failure,
any rifle can fail, even the new made modern rifles have failures....its all in how they handle them.
leave a dirt clod in the muzzle. grease up a bullet..leave a cleaning patch in the bore...things will happen..
load 40 grains of pistol powder see what happens...

[Johnny Peppers]

Did anyone ever do the stats on how many receivers failed in combat in WW1? It would seem that probably most of the '03s used by the AEF were low numbered. And wasn't wartime ammo a factor as well?

When Hatcher kept records of the 1903 failures he only recorded those that he could document. As far as I know there were no records kept of rifle failures in France during WWI. If you go through Springfield Research Service records you will see accounts of receiver failures of early rifles before Hatcher started keeping records.
As chuck mentioned, any receiver can fail, but it was the single heat treatment 1903's that failed catastrophically when they did, turning into a hand grenade.
It is certainly up to each individual to decide whether or not to shoot their low number Springfield.