It will be used for display in my 1944 Chevrolet G506.

I ground down the firing pin so it can’t be fired for any reason. So, after yammering on, what is the purpose of this post? The purpose is to see if any of our members own a low number 1903 and to see if they’re still being fired. Hatcher’s book covers the subject very well. Impact meaning, failed while being fired. In essence, the steel in the receivers was “burnt”, making them very fragile to any type of impact. The failures were attributed to improper heat treatment. 25 or so rifles receivers failed is very unpleasant results. Bottom line, any 1903 with serial numbers in the ranges I listed should not be used, according to authorities from the 1910’s through the 1920’s. It’s a long convoluted story that takes quite a bit to go through and is discussed in Maj Gen Julian Hatcher’s book, “Hatcher’s Notebook”. These rifles, numbered up to 800,000 +/- a few hundred for Springfield and approximately 257,000 for Rock Island have questionable receivers.

For the purpose of my discussion, I’d like to bring up the low vs high serial number Springfield and Rock Island armory 1903’s. It shoots well, is moderately easy to maintain and you can still find parts for them.

The Model 1903 incorporated this change.The 1903 Springfield is probably my all time favorite military rifle. The shorter barrel would allow the same weapon to be used by both infantry and cavalry, removing the necessity of producing two versions of the same weapon. M1903 SPAR6168 Experiments with the M1902 determined that, with some modifications, a 24 inch barrel on the rifle was as effective as the 30 inch barrel. M1902 Carbine SPAR6140 Prototype carbine version of the M1902 rifle. M1902 SPAR6150 Only minor changes were made in the M1901 to produce the version that was approved for production. M1901 SPAR6134 Problems encountered in the M1900 were answered in a new model that incorporated an action very similar to the Mauser and used a rimless cartridge. In the proof of war it was found that the Krag round did not have the velocity or range of the Spanish Mauser rifles and that the Krag's loading system was deficient. M1900 SPAR6133 The M1900 was an experimental model designed to match the performance of European weapons employed in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The new rifle, based on the German Mauser action, became one of the most famous weapons ever produced by a national armory and remained in production for more than a third of a century. During the war the Springfield Armory began developing a new primary arm for the United States Army. Lessons of War War is the ultimate testing ground for weapons, and in the Spanish-American War of 1898-1899 the United States found that the Krag-Jorgensen rifle did not perform as well as the rifle issued to the Spanish soldiers.

Rock island armory 1903 springfield