doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Rifle built by Seymour Griffin

I'm afraid that doesn't really hold water. Each year there are 100+ year old guns that blow up. Some are carelessness in loading by their owners. But others are unexplained, and usually attributed to the age of the action, and the metal finally saying enough. Every low serial number '03 that ever blew up didn't do so when it was first sporterized. There's enough recorded cases over the decades since they've been pointed out as potential problems to show that this can still happen over 100 years later.

I think I'll have to agree with Vall on this one...

On my low # Springfields, they are used for Cast bullet guns, they are shot, act like rifles, and all is well. Pressures are kept low and they are fun to shoot.
There are plenty of other rifles out there for shooting full up jacketed rounds.
Mike

Brent and Vall, me too.
Gary and Brent can correct if I am wrong, but I think that Brent was shooting a low powered round and with cast bullets when his blew up. There is a whole thread about it on this forum back when Brent's experience occurred.

Remember I and you have driven thousands of times without any issues of accident until you are killed in an accident! Accidents are unknown events but can be avoided by risk management and not doing stupid things.

Vall,
Yes, and my brother blew up a Mod 700, I don't think it was 100 years old. Look again at my comment, I specified moderate loads.
Mike

Is there a reply to my comment about using Marble's inserts? I don't know much about them, but some shooters used them in the dark ages.

Sorry I do not see any connection between Marble's inserts and this discussion om 1903 rifle actions?

Marbles inserts allowed the use of 32 S&W cartridges in 30-06 rifles.
There is a good discussion with pictures here

chamber inserts

That is correct. Of course, everyone on the internet who has heard about this even 25th hand can say with conviction that it was something else entirely. I also heard that one gun magazine writer, who knows me personally but never contacted me about it, got a good article out of it too.

If I could do it over, I would refit that action and save the old one. However, there was nothing about the old one that had been part of the sporterization process (in other words, no gunsmithing artistry or craftsmanship would be lost by its being replaced). But life is not like golf; we don't get do-overs in life.

Brent, I wasn't aware that an article was published about your experience, I would like to see it. Anyway as you already know, after I purchased the remains of RIA # 220892. (Steve Meunier 1903) from you l sent the barrel and action to a highly experienced metallurgist in the field of metal failure. He has spearheaded an intensive study on the subject and has secured a "state of the art" metallurgy lab with award winning status for metal testing and evaluation. Current tests have been nearly a year in process and nearing completion.