1903 springfield broken bolt handle!

[shrewd]

My roommate acquired, several months ago, a sporterized 1903 springfield with a nice stock and an old leopold scope. its a fantastic shooter, even if it does kick like a mule. i dont know which variation of the 1903 it is.


anywho, a few weeks ago we were shooting and believe it or not, the bolt handle broke off. it was working perfectly and i wanted to shoot it myself, so, upon chambering the last of three shots, the handle just snapped off. i was able to open her up and retrieve the unfired round to my relief, but, the question is, now what?

ive seen bolts for sale online and such but i know you can disassemble the bolt so i'm wondering can just that part be replaced? does my roomie need to buy a new bolt assembly? or just a new bolt with handle? any and all advice is welcome

 

[1KPerDay]

Any pics? Was the bolt handle vertical or swept back slightly? If it was scoped the bolt handle may have been heated/bent to clear it, which may have been done improperly, causing brittleness.

Also what's the make and serial number? (you can XX out the last couple digits). Very early springfields are generally considered unsafe to fire.

IF the receiver is in the 'safe' range, you can buy a new bolt body and use the guts from your current bolt in it. You will need to have headspace checked/verified by someone with proper headspace gauges before shooting it.

 

[shrewd]

im unsure of the serial, i recall it being mostly obscured by the close fitting scope, which my roommate never touched.

i dont believe the blot was angled backward, thought it was bent/arched. not knowing anything at 1903s i/we just assumed that was the normal bolt shape i guess. that would make sense as i've never heard of a bolt handle breaking

 

[Slamfire]

I suspect the bolt handle on your bud’s rifle was altered by a poor bending or welding job.

This is the bolt handle on a RIA nickel steel bolt. It has not been bent for scope clearance.

Original un modfied 03 bolt handles are quite robust.

If the rifle has a bolt handle modified for scope clearance then your bud will need to find a gunsmith to weld the thing back together. If is an original 03 bolt, find another. Have someone check the headspace and bud will be good to go.

 

[ball3006]

Just have a gunsmith weld it back on and reblue it........chris3