Awhile back there were some posts on Springfield sporters that got me thinking after years of Mausers I'd like to have one. Picked up this old timer today at the Houston show very cheap. Needs a new stock, the bore is so-so, also has a low number (260K range, barrel says 1910) which I guess means it may need heat treating before I load it hot:

Is that a 06? I need a springfield too. I had a nice sporter one along time ago 20 years. I didnt know much about them back then , but I know it was a nice rifle. It was a 3006 and had a very nice stock on it too. Wish I still had it

Ive got mausers , pre 64 m70s, a rem 720 and 30, I think I "Need" a springfield !

fla3006...



I've been an avid Springfield collector and shooter for a number of years.



Unless some other knowledgable person chimes in, I think you'll find there is no practical way to re-heat treat and correct the problems that existed with the low-number Springfields. The situation is much different than the frequent Mauser issues that are posted here. Please get some reliable information on that critical issue. Here's one of many explanations available on the Internet.



http://www.cruffler.com/trivia-July00.html



BTW.....that long slide Lyman 48 receiver sight is likely worth what the action is. They're a bit rare and pricey.







GV

ive got about 10 spring.sporters i cant pass a good looking one up and many very early sporters built on 6 digit actions were built, in fact i have 2 by sedgley he built most on early actions i think he tried to reheat them .
mike petrov could straighten that argument out i,m sure
the long slide lyman on yours is a 250$ item alone although not to be critical of the rifle it looks like a home gunsmith type of redo which isnt a bad thing ,some are much more elaborate than others champlin arms has a few nice looking ones on his sight right now .
after you buy one you will probably start looking for another, and the thing about them is that no two will be exactly alike your gun was probably redone around the teens
i just picked up a hoffman biult by james howe the gun is beautiful,they are the only american built and probably owned sporting gun that has the same mystique that english sporting guns hold .......boy i love talking about them...........paul

fla3006



That's an interesting looking sporter. The straight bolt handle usually does mean it is a low number, and I too have not heard of any way to reverse the process to make it safe for heavy loads. Here is an interesting article about low numbered Springfields:



http://m1903.com/03rcvrfail/



As Grandview said that receiver sight is worth a whole lot normally, as most were only put on target rifles of some sort as a rule. What sort of front sight does it have. A picture of the entire rifle would be neat if you could show one.



Thanks for posting about it.

Grandview/idared...



Where are the serial # on the springfields?



Ive been looking at springfields in gun and pawn shops. What should I look for to avoid and what should I look for for a da Goodons?



Ive seen some all way too polished up and some that I think HMMMM...



Do all springfields have that unusual bolt reliese . I dont remember that on the one I had . I just remember it was a springfield armory 1903 and kinda like a mauser . I even new less (or nothing} about them . I dont even remember that knob on the fireing pin. 20 years ago. It was a nice rifle and smooth action. It might of had that knob on the firing pin.







Rick

Lots of good info in NRA's reprint "Model 1903 Springfield Rifles". Available from www.NRAstore.com, item # PB 01650, $4.25.

all of the springs i have that are early ,well made sporters have been shot a number of times .
also early ads for sedgley stated that he reheated actions

fla3006 from the looks of that pic the shoulder of the bolt looks like it was altered not the knob and handle just the shoulder am i right or nuts...paul

Forrest,
i LOVE springfields..
I've got them in 257 roberts, 257x300wsm, 300 win, 358 win, and a nearly original 30-06.

As for heat treating, like the 358 is a "short range" round, and pointy bullets will blow up a tube feed gun, I just ask for ONE picture of a "weak" springfield blowing up...

not the UNTREATED ones, that slipped out, btw...

jeffe

DO NOTHING!!!! Look at the front of the floorplate and tell me if it has �NRA and the ordnance bomb? Let�s find out what you have before you start restocking and such. Also tell me if there are letters and numbers on the underside of the barrel. Tell us about the buttplate and an overall picture would be interesting. If you care to share the serial number with me I'll see what I have on rifles near this number. mjpetrov@acsalaska.net



I can�t tell from the picture if this is a restock or someone worked over the original stock. Ludwig Wundhammer (this is not one) made the first five 1903 sporters with a raised panel of wood along the action. This style only lasted for a year or so and was copied for a while then dropped. The first 1903�s were sold to civilians starting about 1908-09 and after a person was arrested because the authorities though he had a stolen rifle, they started marking these sales rifles with the �NRA�. They asked many to be sent back for marking but a lot were not. These NRA rifles were of a match grade and had star gauge barrels (the marking at the muzzle did not start for years after this) and some believe that the long-48�s might have been mounted at the Armory as well. When war broke out they stopped the sales of 1903�s, sometime in 1917. These early sporters can be a collector piece in their own right, even when poorly customized.

hi mike ,was waiting for you to chime in ,too bad i,m tapped out right now after that tele lens i bought ,thanks to you ,haha ,steve barnett has a nice looking 22 hornet on springfield,for 4500$.....paul

Mike took the words out of my mouth. That gun is probably worth more just as it is than any amount of $ will ever make it. You have a piece of history there. The peep sight was standard equipment on the match grade Springfields.

If you want one to sporterize then please consider finding another, what with the low # reciever you would be better served anyway. You could probably sell that one to pay for a high # reciever and have enough left for a new bbl.

I traded a Savage 110 for my Springfield and it was already sporterized. We both felt we got the better end of the deal, but I know he was wrong.

I read an article years ago about a guy that destroyed Springfield actions with a ball peen hammer. One or two raps and they shattered. Later I read another more sensible article that reasoned if they were loaded with standard presures they were OK. My Springfield Guru-now deceased- was of the later persuasion.
Also,there was no hard and fast line on the numbers as to "good and bad". The numbers and ranges overlapped. I wouldn't pass up a nice sporter(like I did a few years ago) because it was not in the "good" group. Just be sensible about loads.That was a NICE Sedgely for $400.

Hi Paul, buyer beware, my records show that Hornet has a pitted bore.

fla3006. DONT! 1, Shoot it. 2, have someone tell you he can and have it recarburised and the temper drawn back.

The problem was not heating too hot for the forging operation, which was not all that much, but putting it under the hammer too cold. The Armory had electic pyrometer controlled furnaces and a crew of experienced forge men who were not about to use those new fangled guess meters. They went by the color of the bar and the sparks coming off it as it left the hearth. On dull days this eyeball method could be short by 100 degrees or more. Cold iron blacksmiths and those who don't charge enough for their work were assumed to have a certain ticket to hell back in those days so it wasn't that they were not competent or careful. Dirty windows and dull days did these receivers and bolts in before hardening.Springfield had a decent met lab for in coming steel. Hot rolling it then as now tends to cause inclusions to lengthen in lineal fashion through the bar. The heat used was proper for forging at the steel mills. Slag inclusions were not uncommon and these can often be seen as odd lines following the direction of steel movement during forging. It is most evident in hot blued parts polished in the famous Weatherby mirror shine. If the floor plate is from the time period of the receiver this might be visible. When the parts were carburised the carbon could and would follow any seams which would act as a wedge, separating the sides of the seam even more. When the steel molecules decide they no longer wish live along side their mates the receiver lets go. Problem is there is no sure way to determine when that might be.

Sedgely heat treat method was an open air anneal. You can often see the scale on anything below the stock line. The anneal temperature was low enough that you could sometimes get a Rockwell reading higher than cold drawn low carbon ( 1018-20) steel.

You might check in to the jouster CSP site and look under M1903 forum site. There are always questions by newbies about the low number Springfields. More than 12 times per year.

In the last decade or so not many people will say it�s OK to shoot these low-number 1903�s the chance of a lawsuit are just too great. For over fifty years the NRA (With Hatcher as one of the technical Editors) and others all gave the same information in regard to shooting low-numbered 1903 Springfields. That was, use good brass, check the headspace and do not load over service pressure.



I personally think they are very dangerous, especially if they have been drilled and tapped for Lyman 48 sights, the long slide being the worst. I have heard that some have blown-up while sitting in the gun rack if you have ammunition in the same room with them. You must do everything possible to save yourself and family from these. Many people, when faced with this danger send them to Alaska. I can supply the address in Alaska for the Low-Number-1903 disposal facility.

mike,
kittery trading post in maine had taken one in trade it was a sedgley they refuse to resell it because of the liability ,it looked like 100K rounds went through it, go figure.

thanks for the heads up on the hornet ,at least i can think of something else now, does look like original cond. though

mike show them a pic of your george gibbs springfield,i think there ready...............paul

I personally think they are very dangerous, especially if they have been drilled and tapped for Lyman 48 sights, the long slide being the worst.

As an added service I offer to trade a Lyman 48 that has a more reasonable length slide, or better still a Lyman 57, for those dangerous long slide models. I do prefer that you include the front sight if it happens to be a corresponding Lyman 17, because they really should both be replaced at the same time to completely reverse this dangerous situation. It's best to rid yourself of all the inserts to these 17s at the same time. Feel free to PM me if you find yourself in need of this service.

Gentlemen, thanks for all the interesting responses. My rifle doesn't have any NRA markings that I can see, I don't think it is anything special, just a neat old gun. I won't try to heat treat, will just try to find a replacement stock and shoot as-is (with low pressure loads of course).



Someone above was right, I'll probably be on the lookout for others now. I know where there's another sporter at a local gunshop, high number nickel steel, no receiver sight, ratty bore, very nicely figured walnut stock, but it is $325.

the best feature of the springfield 03 rifle was the fact that it did not require much metalsmithing

the action fed the 30.06 perfectly
bolt handles are nice as is
bottom metal looked good no work needed there
tap a lyman sight on and your in business
that is why many were done by home gunsmiths


it is the only military rifle that remains stock in metal configuration and just by being restocked would bring in big money...........paul

The 03 had various theoretical and actual design deficiencies compared to the 1898 Mauser but I think it made a better sporting rifle, mainly because of the relationship in position and shape of the trigger and bolt handle. Bolt manipulation/rapid fire with the 03 is easier, even if we are talking about the bent bolt later 98s.

A Springfield triggerguard makes a nice addition to this Oberndorf 98 Mauser to my way of thinking, although from what my gunsmith is starting to charge me for this alteration it may be one of the last ones I do.

If that is a Springfield Armory low-number action, I am not aware that it can be made safe for high-pressure ammo by any sort of heat-treating. I would NOT recommend "loading it hot" under any circumstances! If you have to shoot it,use low-pressure cast bullet loads!

Here's 2 nearly identical groups I shot today with my old rifle, 50 yards, 45gn 4895, 150gn FMJ, about 2700fps. Not too bad given open sights, rusty bore and my failing eyesight: