Getting surplus arms ready for hunting

[Larryjk]

Skeet, I refer people to "Hatcher's Notebook' on the low numbered Springfield subject. The Army assigned him the task of investigating the blown up rifles. He found the actions were probably destroyed by unsafe practices of the shooters;ie, leaving cleaning patches in the bore, greasing the chamber, etc,etc. As I said, the ones I have on hand have been sent to a reputable firm for re-heat treating before rebarreling to anything. I usually do that with any Mauser action I have any questions on. I made a .338 magnum for my son-in-law on an Argentine 1909 action and I had it re-heat treated before I put the barrel on it. I always perform the modifications to actions before I have them treated; drill and tap, alter bolt handles, face the receiver, lap the lugs, etc. Some are repeated after the treatment in case any warping occured during the process. Stoning the rails,etc. are always left until after the process. I have shot a low numbered Springfield I have in military dress with surplus ball ammo and have not been concerned about it's safe.ty

[Gil Martin]

The link below covers the low number Springfield topic very well. Note that the U.S. Army continued to use low number Springfields, but issued rifles with high number receivers to new recruits. The U.S. Marines continued to use low number Springfields during WWII. We gave thousands of low number Springfields to the Free French in WWII. There were about one million low number Springfields made and some are still in use today. Hope this provides some clarity. All the best...
Gil

m1903.com/03rcvrfail/