Santa Fe M1903A3-a caution on shooting

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There is considerable data out there on the Santa Fe/National Ordnance M1903A3 clones which feature a cast, rather than forged, receiver. Most opinion is not to shoot these because of documented failures due to improperly heat treatment.

I recently purchased one of these as a non-shooter parts source. S/N is 5001400. On the basis of my examination the "do not shoot" warning is a wise one. This rifle is in very nice condition showing very little signs of wear or shooting. Apparently the original owner did shoot it a bit. On checking headspace I determined that it was in excess of the field gauge with the Remington 03A3 bolt that it came with. I have not yet removed the barrel, but when I get around to it, I expect to find some setback of the bolt lug seats due to improper heat treatment. Just for fun I may run a headspace check with a selection of new/un-worn bolts.

I bought this piece as a parts source, and it is a good one with a mix of all-GI parts incl an as new Rem 2-44 barrel and a very nice Smith-Corona stock. Interestingly, it has a M1903 upper band (need to drive off the 03A3 front sight band to get if off) and trigger guard unit in place of the correct stamped 03A3 parts. The rest of it is a mix of 03 and 03A3 parts. The cast receiver features a straight pin in place of the proper sear retaining pin ( no seat for the head of the pin in the receiver) and there is no clip slot fore of the rear sight.

Information

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