M1903 not feeding cartridges

[Remo]

Help,
I have a M1903 that is not loading the second, third or fourth rounds. It extracts fine. I suspect a weak spring. I disassembled and cleaned everything and check the spring seating and all the usual culprits. Put it all back together and still the same. What it is doing is not getting the base of the round high enough for the bolt to pick up the round. I'm thinking new spring but thought I would ask the group. Thanks

Information

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[StratA]

Help,
I have a M1903 that is not loading the second, third or fourth rounds. It extracts fine. I suspect a weak spring. I disassembled and cleaned everything and check the spring seating and all the usual culprits. Put it all back together and still the same. What it is doing is not getting the base of the round high enough for the bolt to pick up the round. I'm thinking new spring but thought I would ask the group. Thanks

Apologies if this sounds obvious...there's a magazine "tab" on the left side of the receiver (I know that isn't the correct name) that serves as a disconnect. Flipped down, it only allows single shot function.

You probably know that but I figure start with the obvious.

[martin08]

The lever is called the Cut-Off.

It sounds just like it is in single shot mode.

[ssgross]

Check the fit between magazine and receiver? If the gap is too big, or the magazine wall is bent, sometimes the follower snags, then goes down slightly out of alignment, causing extra friction between the follower and the magazine wall. On one of my 1903's with NOS stocks that was rushed during fitting, I have to carefully insert and level each round to avoid similar feeding issues. I haven't gotten around to improve the fitting on it yet.

[Remo]

Thanks for the input. Looks after like after a close inspection and good light the mag wall is bent a bit.
Eyes are getting old

[Sunray]

Springs do not lose temper from being used.
Like martin08 says, it's likely the mag cut off.

[browningautorifle]

Like martin08 says, it's likely the mag cut off.

Read harder, he already found the problem.

Looks after like after a close inspection and good light the mag wall is bent a bit.

[sloporsche]

what was/is the purpose of the magazine cut off lever ?

[browningautorifle]

the magazine cut off lever

Conserve ammo in the magazine until rapid fire was needed. Until then it was single shots.

[Daan Kemp]

This was when those in charge knew for a fact that common soldiers will waste ammunition, therefore they had to be restricted to single shots only, until such time an officer ordered them to use the magazines. Of course such thinking dated to the time when single shot military rifles and volley firing were the norm. It took time and a big war to change the thinking, but once the production model is fixed it is often too expensive to change, or the thinking hasn't and the expectation of the next war would need only single shots.

With the Lee Enfield it was quite simple to stop the machining for the cut-off.