just clarification; i dont belive in, or recomend use of shims or washers for the purpous of repairing over index.. no matter what the rifle is...
anyway...they approved a lot of things that i wouldnt do to a rifle to make it work, field repair during war time is different then fixing something correctly..
yes, this was done by Remington, i have seen a few 1903,s 1917,s Garands, and a M1icon Carbine with over indexing issues. most were simply fixed like this one was, remove the barrel, clean the threads with a brush and solvent, and install correctly, i also noticed a mark on the recoil plate flat from heavy handed wrench use. another common issue as well.
iv had a couple 1903,s come to me with the complaint it doesnt shoot well, with a new barrel to install, then when i went to remove the old barrel, it just falls loose..new barrel installed correctly without an issue...that brings me back to shims, washers what ever youd like to call them.. one fix iv done on loose or over indexing by hand barrels, is to roll the shoulder, or peen the shoulder. to raise the should up enough to reset the crush..this works very well.
when using shims or washers, you chance a failing headspace. would it work in a pinch with a battle rifle with no replacement parts, to get it running again? yes it would...
would i do it in that situation? damn straight i would..a functioning rifle with long headspace that runs ammo out the end is better then a rifle that wont work.