Originally Posted by HalfaDouble
That is about the lowest number Rock Island I've ever seen. One can only hope that it was heat treated on a cloudy day. Someone put a lot of work into an 03 that could let go at the next shot. I suppose the stock is worth that much.
Actually thanks to a member of this forum, who purchased the remnants of a low number 1903 that blew up, and sent it to a metallurgist who studied it with methods unavailable to Hatcher at the time, we have a much better idea of the causes of these failures.