What to do with an 03 Springfield.

[SJB358]

Thanks for weighing in all. I done some reading last evening and apparently the 35 whelen on a springfield action was high up on the list for Elmer Keith. So that combination has a long history. The 338-06 is also interesting for sure!

Ya, it's a classic sporter just the way it sits, but you intend to re-barrel, and don't want to keep it a 30-06 so I think one of the two, a 338-06 or a 35 Whelen would keep it classic, be a simple conversion needing nothing more than a new barrel, and would give a real bump-up in bullet diameter for things like bear & elk.

Nice rifle, and seems it's about to get nicer!

Regards, Guy

I am with Guy and the others, the 35 Whelen is a really classic deal in a Springfield. I don't get to wrapped around bullets as there are literally more available than I would feel like testing. Chances are you will find 1 or 2 you really like and shoot it. With todays powders, 2600 with a 250 and 2700 with a 225 cover just about everything and let me tell you, if elk and bear are on your hunt list, they make good holes and really break stuff down pretty quick. I am a huge fan of the 35 caliber cartridges and have a decent bunch of them. I also hunt a bunch with my 338 Win and can't tell much difference between either as far as wound channels or capabilities.

In your case it may be enough to set the barrel back a thread and do an Ackley. Could clear up your chamber issue. JES charges about 250 the last time I did one and it might be a way to experiment with it before you jump whole hog into a rebarrel. I am not typically an Ackley guy, but in your case it might be a good option since it might clean up your chamber and breath some new life into the rifle, plus give you some time with the cartridge to see if you really like it.

 

[ShadeTree]

Thanks for weighing in all. I done some reading last evening and apparently the 35 whelen on a springfield action was high up on the list for Elmer Keith. So that combination has a long history. The 338-06 is also interesting for sure!

Ya, it's a classic sporter just the way it sits, but you intend to re-barrel, and don't want to keep it a 30-06 so I think one of the two, a 338-06 or a 35 Whelen would keep it classic, be a simple conversion needing nothing more than a new barrel, and would give a real bump-up in bullet diameter for things like bear & elk.

Nice rifle, and seems it's about to get nicer!

Regards, Guy

I am with Guy and the others, the 35 Whelen is a really classic deal in a Springfield. I don't get to wrapped around bullets as there are literally more available than I would feel like testing. Chances are you will find 1 or 2 you really like and shoot it. With todays powders, 2600 with a 250 and 2700 with a 225 cover just about everything and let me tell you, if elk and bear are on your hunt list, they make good holes and really break stuff down pretty quick. I am a huge fan of the 35 caliber cartridges and have a decent bunch of them. I also hunt a bunch with my 338 Win and can't tell much difference between either as far as wound channels or capabilities.

In your case it may be enough to set the barrel back a thread and do an Ackley. Could clear up your chamber issue. JES charges about 250 the last time I did one and it might be a way to experiment with it before you jump whole hog into a rebarrel. I am not typically an Ackley guy, but in your case it might be a good option since it might clean up your chamber and breath some new life into the rifle, plus give you some time with the cartridge to see if you really like it.

Scotty thank you for your suggestions. Along with other experienced posters on this site, I value your input and knowledge. I will certainly file your suggestion away for serious consideration.

I'm currently in the middle of some experimentation with the 03. The chamber is rough which could be contributing to chewing up brass prematurely. I had already polished it some but I went at it again with a little more fervor thinking I don't have a lot to lose at this point. I can still see some rough areas with a small LED light I use, but it looks improved some more. If I owned a bore scope that I could see it close up, I would probably be horrified. Lol.

Also I usually FL resize. I came up with a way to measure the case from the head to the shoulder on cases fired in this rifle so I can set my die to measurably minimally size the case trying to ensure a snug fit in the chamber reducing any stretch while still closing without resistance. So far I've gone through 2 loadings and firings in the gun with a couple of new cases and the results of improved case life are showing promise. If I can get 4-6 reloading's out of it without being on the line of catastrophic case failure, I can live with that for now. More experimenting is needed, but we will see.

 

[SJB358]

ST, I was going to mention that. Making a false shoulder on new cases will just fireform those cases to that rifle while all but eliminating case stretch. I typically do the same thing with brand new cases anyway to minimize that initial stretch. It is nothing to expand the necks up one diameter, then size them down to have a light crush fit. Even on rifles with a good chamber, brass is all over the map so I do this with quite a few cartridges to minimize that sloppy fit. .006 is a decent amount of extra, but it isn't much to correct. The brass will last a long time.

 

[BretN]

You could try a Lee collet die or other neck sizings die. That would also ensure the brass closely fits the chamber. Eventually, you'll have to FL size to push the shoulder back. I've been happy with my Lee collet dies.

 

[ShadeTree]

The collet die would likely be a quicker option than what I'm doing. I'm doing nothing new really, but I'm measuring off the shoulder using a 40 S&W case with the inside neck chamfered decent. A good size to go over the neck and sit up against the slope of the 06 shoulder. Using that gives me a total length measurement based off the shoulder to check with calibers before and after sizing.

Also stripped the bolt of cocking piece, firing pin and spring, so it had no internal tension. Kept slightly adjusting the die down from an initial backed off setting, with the same case each time and the expander ball removed, until the bolt closes on that case with just a hint of tension at the last 1/8" or so of closing using 1 finger on the bolt. When I get to that I size the rest of the cases at that die setting. Measurement is showing I'm not bumping the shoulders below the fired length, or if I am it's less than .001.

Scotty, that's good information to have and makes sense to save stretching on the initial firing. Another arrow in the quiver if needed. Got more testing to do to see if I can safely get to at least 4-6 firings total.

 

[1Shot]

If you decide to replace the barrel ask yourself what would I be using this rifle for? If you will be mainly punching paper up to Elk size game the 6.5-06 with an 8 twist 24" barrel would make a great alternative. Great match bullets and hunting bullets for most any situation. Shoots flat hits hard and does not have a great deal or recoil and no changing of anything on the rifle except the barrel. I have three 1903A3s in original military configuration. Two are Smith Corona 4 groove barrels and the other is a Remington 2 groove barrel. They all are very accurate but the Remington is the most accurate. One SC came from the CMP the other two rifles I bought from my friends gun shop. He got them from a fellow who found them in a closet at his father's house after his death. The man remembered his father telling him when he was a young boy that he brought them home from WWII when he came home. He had forgotten all about them all these years. The man was a black man that served as a truck driver in the Red Ball Express during the push toward Germany. These rifles on the inside were like new, one seemed to be new, no scratches even on the magazine follower or bolt face. They had lite surface rust on them because of sitting in a closet in north east NC humidity for about 65 years but they cleaned up pretty well with oil 0000 steel wool and a lot of elbow grease.

 

[ShadeTree]

This is an old thread, but a bit of an update. Experimented on what could be done to keep this gun going in the meantime, and it's been the primary gun I messed with this summer when I had time. Done as much polishing as I dared on the rough chamber and along with that if I'm careful and fussy with the cases, with either neck sizing only or minimal shoulder bump on FL resizing,I can get 10-12 reloading's out of the cases. To be really safe 10 is probably more realistic. I can live with that for now until it gets rebarreled.


Edited to add, I'm annealing before the first loading and annealing every 3-4 loadings thereafter. Didn't test it both ways to see how much of a difference that's making but just doing everything possible from the get go, to help the cases.