03 Springfield 1917 Flaming Bomb R-I Arsenal

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Don Shively

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A good friend gave me a beautiful 1917 '03 Springfield. He said his grandfather was given a CRATE of them and told to "get rid of them" by his Marine Sgt. Well, of course the man tossed the crate into his Model A pickup and took them home. He handed them out to family members and they spent generations taking deer and elk in Northern CA with these beautiful rifles. I was given the honor of getting the last one in the crate, kept by the grandfather himself. Wow. Then, I researched the serial number. 278098. Hmmmm. Right smack dab in the middle of the group that had a metalury issue. Rats. I took it to a gun show where it was examined. The bore was said to be "right in the middle of its life" and in perfect shape. In other words, it had been shot regularly over a period of years. My friend said his uncle used it often when he was a small boy and nothing should be wrong with it. Soooo, after 5 years in my gun safe, I'm taking it to an indoor range (don't wish to drive two hours to Barstow so I can tie it to a tire and set it off with a piece of string while cowering behind the pickup). I'll wear a Norton face shield and ear protectors, put one round in the thing and keep my head well to the side. We shall see. Anyone out there know if hunting ammo is a "hotter" load when compared to military?:
 
1903

This is the shotgun forum, is it not?

About the low number.....the barrel might be in the middle of its life but the barrels were not the problem. The receivers were and are the issue. Some of them were found to be improperly heat treated and too brittle to be safe......not all of them......but there is no way to tell whether the one you have is OK or not.

I'll wear a Norton face shield and ear protectors, put one round in the thing and keep my head well to the side. We shall see.
Click to expand...
If you think that any of that will protect you from a receiver shattering when damaged by a high pressure cartridge, you need to rethink that. And.....what about your hands?

Pete
 
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