# Reusing Springfield 03 barrels& other components



## olcop (May 21, 2015)

Inquiring if an 03 barrel and bolt can be used on a custom rifle project.
I'm generally aware of the stories about the low serial number 03 receivers, but don't know if the barrel and the bolt would be usable on a custom build using modern ammunition, or if the threads are the same if they are safe.
Thanks for any help and info.
olcop


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## GunnSmokeer (May 23, 2015)

If you're talking about a 1903 Springfield that was built more than 100 years ago, and used almost exclusively with corrosive ammo up until the 1960s, I doubt the bore is good enough to justify putting into a new rifle project.

You can get brand new Criterion-made barrels for $189 from the CMP over in Anniston, AL.   Douglass, Hart, Kreiger, and all those other barrel makers can set you up with a new 1903 Springfield barrel in .30-06 and probably any other caliber you might want.

I don't know about using the bolt.  Where would you get the action / receiver?  I've never heard of buying just the receiver without it coming with a bolt made specifically for it.


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## olcop (May 23, 2015)

*03 components*

The barrel is pristine, and the entire rifle was recently reblued to become a wall hanger, I'd have my smith make the final decision, of course.
Just don't know if the barrels on the lo serial #'s are safe to shoot with modern ammunition.
As far as bare receivers go, there at numerous companies out there that offer any and all parts for a firearm, Sarco, in Pa. is probably the biggest
(and best, in my opinion)-----google them up, just looking at their ads is interesting, or buy a Shotgun News, Sarco runs a 6 or 8 page ad every issue.
I appreciate your advice, but, when I post a question on the forum, rest assured that I have tried to find a definitive answer in researching every other source I can find.
olcop


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## jglenn (May 23, 2015)

old barrels are fine. the receivers were the problem


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## olcop (May 23, 2015)

*03 barrels*



jglenn said:


> old barrels are fine. the receivers were the problem


Thank you sir!!  This is is the only definitive answer I have received after posting on 3 different forums, while I respect everyone's opinion, I really appreciate a straight answer to a legit question, rather than a why do you want to do that?, and all the variations thereof.
olcop


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## godogs57 (May 23, 2015)

And many of the O3's were sure 'nuff tack drivers. I am fortunate to have one, made in 1918. Do not discount the potential accuracy of that barrel you have.....


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## jglenn (May 24, 2015)

heck I learned to shoot a rifle on a old 03 springer that had a 2 groove barrel. shot well enough to kill a few deer.

I hated that rifle.. kicked the Cr** out of me...LOL


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## Clifton Hicks (Sep 16, 2015)

As was said earlier, the barrels are fine, and even the number of defective receivers are few. The Defense Dept. also did a study after WW2 to count how many receivers had failed and how many injuries had resulted. The numbers were actually quite few and they found _no_serious_injuries_ linked to the failed receivers. They even found that many of the low serial receivers were used in service for decades with no issues.

As for modern ammo; if you have a good barrel and the serial numbers are over the failure range you can fire any round through there that you want. I owned a 1903A1 for years (actually my first high power rifle) and shot hundreds and hundreds of rounds through it; everything from 1960s surplus on up to hot hunting loads.

I hope you have/will go through with this project. You won't regret having an 03 rifle.


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## JeffinPTC (Dec 6, 2015)

OlCop
Since you mentioned reusing both the barrel and bolt,   Here's what the CMP says about the Receiver AND BOLT:

M1903*
WARNING ON “LOW-NUMBER” SPRINGFIELDS

M1903 rifles made before February 1918 utilized receivers and bolts which were single heat-treated by a method that rendered some of them brittle and liable to fracture when fired, exposing the shooter to a risk of serious injury.  It proved impossible to determine, without destructive testing, which receivers and bolts were so affected and therefore potentially dangerous.

To solve this problem, the Ordnance Department commenced double heat treatment of receivers and bolts.  This was commenced at Springfield Armory at approximately serial number 800,000 and at Rock Island Arsenal at exactly serial number 285,507.  All Springfields made after this change are commonly called “high number” rifles.  Those Springfields made before this change are commonly called “low-number” rifles.

In view of the safety risk the Ordnance Department withdrew from active service all “low-number” Springfields.  During WWII, however, the urgent need for rifles resulted in the rebuilding and reissuing of many “low-number” as well as “high-number” Springfields.  The bolts from such rifles were often mixed during rebuilding, and did not necessarily remain with the original receiver.

Generally speaking, “low number” bolts can be distinguished from “high-number” bolts by the angle at which the bolt handle is bent down.  All “low number” bolts have the bolt handle bent straight down, perpendicular to the axis of the bolt body.  High number bolts have “swept-back” (or slightly rearward curved) bolt handles.

A few straight-bent bolts are of the double heat-treat type, but these are not easily identified, and until positively proved otherwise ANY straight-bent bolt should be assumed to be “low number”.  All original swept-back bolts are definitely “high number”.  In addition, any bolt marked “N.S.” (for nickel steel) can be safely regarded as “high number” if obtained directly from CMP (beware of re-marked fakes).

CMP DOES NOT RECOMMEND FIRING ANY SPRINGFIELD RIFLE WITH A ”LOW NUMBER” RECEIVER.  SUCH RIFLES SHOULD BE REGARDED AS COLLECTOR’S ITEMS, NOT “SHOOTERS”.

CMP ALSO DOES NOT RECOMMEND FIRING ANY SPRINGFIELD RIFLE, REGARDLESS OF SERIAL NUMBER, WITH A SINGLE HEAT-TREATED “LOW NUMBER” BOLT.  SUCH BOLTS, WHILE HISTORICALLY CORRECT FOR DISPLAY WITH A RIFLE OF WWI OR EARLIER VINTAGE, MAY BE DANGEROUS TO USE FOR SHOOTING.

THE UNITED STATES ARMY GENERALLY DID NOT SERIALIZE BOLTS.  DO NOT RELY ON ANY SERIAL NUMBER APPEARING ON A BOLT TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH BOLT IS “HIGH NUMBER” OR “LOW NUMBER”.

https://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/rifle_sales/m1903-m1903a3/


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