I am new to this forum and am also new to actually understanding the terminology and history of firearms until about two months ago, so if I put something wrong on here, politely tell me.
I recently found my grandfather's Springfield M1903. It has a Rock Island serial number much lower than the "safe to shoot" cutoff. I am aware of the low serial number warnings about how the receivers are too brittle and may shatter. I am sick of reading all kinds of threads about this problem because every thread that I found always gave me the problem and never the solution. This may be because there isn't one, but I'd just like to devote this thread to any possible solutions
I am wondering if anyone knows of a way to test if the receiver is safe? The gun is not in very good collector condition, so I'm even open to suggestions of hitting it with a hammer? Is there any very low grade ammunition I could safely shoot in this rifle? This rifle may also have been refitted later with a better receiver. Is there a way for me to tell if the receiver is original? If so, would it then be safe to fire if it has a new receiver?
Thanks for any response that pertains to my question
I recently found my grandfather's Springfield M1903. It has a Rock Island serial number much lower than the "safe to shoot" cutoff. I am aware of the low serial number warnings about how the receivers are too brittle and may shatter. I am sick of reading all kinds of threads about this problem because every thread that I found always gave me the problem and never the solution. This may be because there isn't one, but I'd just like to devote this thread to any possible solutions
I am wondering if anyone knows of a way to test if the receiver is safe? The gun is not in very good collector condition, so I'm even open to suggestions of hitting it with a hammer? Is there any very low grade ammunition I could safely shoot in this rifle? This rifle may also have been refitted later with a better receiver. Is there a way for me to tell if the receiver is original? If so, would it then be safe to fire if it has a new receiver?
Thanks for any response that pertains to my question