What to fire in a LN receiver

[swampyankee]

As the saying goes "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". I was going along happily for 30 years shooting my beloved 1903's until I was enlightened with the knowledge that my treasured guns could blow up in my face. I still shoot them but I'm no longer comfortable doing it, So the question, what can I shoot in it? I do not want to convert with a .22 sleave. I have heard some guys are using a pistol caliber insert or just shoot lead or load way down. There has to be something? Any suggestions?

[13Echo]

If the rifle hasn't blown up after a hundred years service it isn't likely too with standard loads. Many of them served through WWi and again in WWII and if a Marine or GI couldn't break them they are likely actually safe. Michael Petrov had several that had been redone by the great smiths of the 20s and 30s and he had no qualms about full power loads, but, again, never tried to hot rod the rifles. That said many, probably most, of the Low Number receivers are very brittle and prudence would dictate treating them gingerly. I use mine with cast bullets only and I don't hot rod. The High Number double heat treated and nickle steel actions are safe with any reasonable load.

Jerry Liles

[dave]

Most that did blow were because of other reasons, according to Hatcher. Most people seem to mock Hatcher but I think he knew what he was about!

[swampyankee]

In one of the gun rags I was reading Mike Venturino was shooting 30-06 training ammo, I've never seen it, has anybody else. It appears to be safe.
As I said I still shoot mine but now I have that little voice in my head telling me not too. I hate the internet, ignorance is bliss.

[chuckindenver]

this one 700,k serial failed 2 days ago. with a published hand load. cast bullet..
keep shootin..

[swampyankee]

How did it fail? Ruptured case, double charge or just pulling trigger on normal load?

[gnoahhh]

Published cast bullet load? Who published it? Do we know for a fact that the case didn't hold a double or triple charge of powder? (Hard to tell once the powder has been burned, no?) Was the bullet from the previous shot lodged in the barrel? Are there witnesses who can vouch for the QC during the whole process from the loading bench to the firing line? A pic of a wrecked LN receiver is truly disturbing, but until I'm satisfied as to the provenance of the circumstances that caused it, I'll withhold judgement on this one.

IMO the LN rifles have a pretty low margin of error and an egregious act (shooter error) that wouldn't unduly strain a more modern action could indeed rupture it.

Just as in incidents of crazy people going on killing sprees, are we going to rush to judgement and blame the gun and not the shooter?

[13Echo]

Need a better picture, a picture of the case and the bolt and what load was supposed to have been used.

[chuckindenver]

have plenty of SHT failures, that have happened in the last 5 years... dont sugar coat the deal...
dont care if you shoot them.
just know the facts and dangers..

SHt 1903s dont survive a simple common case head failure.

[chuckindenver]

another..