Remington 1903 closes on field gauge

[Chuckindenver]

whats a fired factory case look like...one thats not been reloaded..

[Calfed]

I'll have to fire one and look it over. I've shot it numerous times, but all of the brass ended up in my brass bucket, mixed in with 1917, Garand and Madsen brass.

I remember looking it over after I fired it and not seeing anything remarkable. Now I have a better idea of what to look for.

[JGaynor]

Does the difference between where the safety lug fits between the action on the bolt bodies (gap) and the original bolt (no gap) mean anything?

Thanks, Steve

Your understanding is correct There should be at least .004" clearance between the safety lug and the receiver bridge. If the safety lug is touching something isn't right and needs to be investigated.

Regards,

Jim

[Chuckindenver]

Your understanding is correct There should be at least .004" clearance between the safety lug and the receiver bridge. If the safety lug is touching something isn't right and needs to be investigated.

Regards,

Jim

i was thinking the same thing, thats why i asked about the brass.
FYI: i no longer toss my brass all the same bucket so to speak,
i learned the hard way when shooting with my dad.
his Remington A3 has a stretched receiver, has since he picked it up back in the 60,s though his brass is ok to be used back in his gun after its reloaded, its a bear to close a bolt when used in one of my rifles..
lost a shot at a nice Buck a few years ago, couldnt get the bolt closed on a second shot,,darnit it was one of his brass cases i ended up with,...
anyway.
with his rifle, iv done the following....
tried a few other bolts, no luck. tried 4 defferent new barrels. no luck.
turned the shoulder back on 2 barrels...no luck.
next would be to turn back the face of the reciever..but he says.
damn thing has shot fine for 46 years, killed lots of critters, brass lasts 5 reloads, and thats fine..
ok..then dont toss your brass in my box!!
so.
now, i keep brass with the guns its shot in.. if i sell a rifle, the brass is offered with the rifle.
if he doesnt want the brass, its scrapped.
what i have found, is that Remington A3,s and 03,s are just surfaced hardened, and like the M1917 can stretch, though rare, it can happen.
i noticed on my dads rifle the locking lug weys, are cut a bit, from being worked and shot.
youll only be able to see that with the barrel removed.
iv seen several 1917,s with the same issue, that would close on a no go, and field.
but when you look at a fired case, they look ok.. if your getting a lot of stretch or cracking a case, id worry, if not....stick with the brass shot in that rifle, and dont mix them up.
if someone shot that rifle a lot, and sounds like they did, id bet this is the issue.

[Calfed]

I found a link to a CMP page that indicated that they recommend Clymer over Forster headspace gauges for military rifles. I went ahead and ordered one from Brownells.

The Clymer's 30.06 field gauge arrived today and the Match 1903 WILL NOT close on the Clymer gauge. Wheeeww.

For information, the Forster Field gauge lists a spec of 2.0577.

The Clymer gauge lists a spec of 2.0587.

Guess I'll stop worrying about it. but I did order some Redding 30.06 neck sizing dies and 100 rounds of Remington 30.06 brass--for accuracy sake, I'll go ahead and neck size for this rifle.

Thanks for the help, guys.

[Calfed]

So I guess the headspace on this chamber/bolt combination is <.001 out per the Forster gauge.

Ignoring the Clymer gauge for the moment, is .001 out of headspace significant?

[emmagee1917]

...but it does mean that after every 100-500 rds you would prob'ly want to check it again.
Chris

[Calfed]

I'll keep my Clymer gauge handy

[Calfed]

I obtained a US Ordnance field gauge. It is marked "1.950", so I'm guessing that it indexes on a different part of the chamber than the Clymer (marked 2.0587) and Forster (marked 2.0577) field gauges.



At any rate, the 1903 does not come close to closing on the US Ordnance gauge. Even more so than the Clymer.

Here are a few pics of the US Odrnance gauge.

[Calfed]

whats a fired factory case look like...one thats not been reloaded..

I took the rifle to the range and fired a few different 30.06 rounds and have kept the brass separate. I can post pics, but what am I looking for?

Thanks, Steve