Springfield 1903 Bolt Help

100shooter · April 20, 2024, 11:49 AM

Hi,
I have a high numbered 1903 Springfield that has a straight bolt handle, headspaceis good. This was replaced at some point during and arsenal rebuild. I would like to know if early bolts are safe to shoot in high numbered actions?
Thanks!

HiBC · April 21, 2024, 09:27 AM

I'm not the ultimate authority on Springfields. I could be wrong. I believe the bolts that have the bolt handle"swept back" slightly are good.

radom · April 22, 2024, 02:27 AM

My bet is 100 years later it will do OK as it has more rounds tru it than you can afford to shoot now.

**44 AMP** · April 24, 2024, 03:58 PM

Define "straight", please.

There are many bolt actions with "straight" bolt handles which stick out 90 degrees from the rifle. Many Mausers and others were made that way.

The original 1903 Springfield had a "turned down" bolt handle, and is only considered straight in the fact that it was "straight down" and not "swept back" towards the rear of the rifle.

One thing to remember about the Springfields "risk" is that the "bad" heat treat of the low number rifles did not cause the military to remove them from service.

Today, we assess risk quite differently.

jcj54 · April 24, 2024, 04:50 PM

The 1903 had a turned downward bolt handle fron the beginning.
When the double heat treat was introduced Springfield used the procedure on both receivers and bolts. To identify bolts with double heat treat the bent the turned down bolt handles slightly rearward about halfway up from the bolt knob. When looking at the rifle directly from the right side it is clearly visible.
The sweep back was not at all related to scope clearance.
The CMP has declared that straight non-backswept handled bolts are unsafe and must not be used in CMP competition.
That is a debate I will not engage in.

April 20, 2024, 11:49 AM	#1
100shooter Junior Member Join Date: April 20, 2024 Posts: 1	Springfield 1903 Bolt Help Hi, I have a high numbered 1903 Springfield that has a straight bolt handle, headspaceis good. This was replaced at some point during and arsenal rebuild. I would like to know if early bolts are safe to shoot in high numbered actions? Thanks!

April 24, 2024, 03:58 PM	#4
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,897	Define "straight", please. There are many bolt actions with "straight" bolt handles which stick out 90 degrees from the rifle. Many Mausers and others were made that way. The original 1903 Springfield had a "turned down" bolt handle, and is only considered straight in the fact that it was "straight down" and not "swept back" towards the rear of the rifle. One thing to remember about the Springfields "risk" is that the "bad" heat treat of the low number rifles did not cause the military to remove them from service. Today, we assess risk quite differently. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

April 24, 2024, 04:50 PM	#5
jcj54 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2011 Posts: 221	Swept bolt handle The 1903 had a turned downward bolt handle fron the beginning. When the double heat treat was introduced Springfield used the procedure on both receivers and bolts. To identify bolts with double heat treat the bent the turned down bolt handles slightly rearward about halfway up from the bolt knob. When looking at the rifle directly from the right side it is clearly visible. The sweep back was not at all related to scope clearance. The CMP has declared that straight non-backswept handled bolts are unsafe and must not be used in CMP competition. That is a debate I will not engage in.

April 21, 2024, 09:27 AM	#2
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,295	I'm not the ultimate authority on Springfields. I could be wrong. I believe the bolts that have the bolt handle"swept back" slightly are good.

April 22, 2024, 02:27 AM	#3
radom Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2000 Posts: 1,360	My bet is 100 years later it will do OK as it has more rounds tru it than you can afford to shoot now.