What to do with an 03 Springfield.

ShadeTree

Handloader
Mar 6, 2017
3,515
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Got a sporterized springfield that I done a lot of fiddle work with but didn't shoot much. Along with some other stuff after some barrel cleaning and trigger work it promptly went out and shot a 1/2" group with a load my model 70 likes. I was ecstatic at that, but then quickly realized during that shooting session it was working hard at separating case heads on brass that had been reloaded several times in another gun, and twice in this gun.

Verified it with a couple fresh brass just to be certain and on the first shot you could start to see it, by the second reload and shot on that brass it was undeniable. I checked head space with the scotch tape method and it would not begin to close with 3 pieces of tape which measured .006, so it wasn't a head space issue by my testing.

Took it to a smith for verification and it would not close with a .005 shim behind a go gauge. Smith says the chamber is out around. Happens sometimes when they were slamming through military barrels.

You could shoot the gun for 3 more generations with factory shells or 1 loading on fresh brass and never know the difference, but I bought the gun to reload, test, and shoot.

Needs a new barrel to be right, but what to chamber it for. Already got a good shooting 06 so now that this barrel needs replaced I can't see putting another 06 on it. My thinking is a 24" 35 Whelen would fit the era of that gun and I wouldn't have to change anything with feed rails or bolt face, but I'm open to possible better suggestions on this action and stock.

 
35 Whelen and the 03 Springfield go together like apple pie and vanilla ice cream!
 
hodgeman":9y1stpez said:
35 Whelen and the 03 Springfield go together like apple pie and vanilla ice cream!

Does seem like it would be a good and easy fit. The only reason really I question what I ought to do is that I'd like to build a custom gun at some point and I always had it in my head if I did that I'd like a nice 358 Win. For all practical purposes a 358 is just a somewhat scaled down Whelen, but I guess if you're talking 35 caliber you can't have too many. :grin:
 
It would make a dandy 35 whelen. A 338/06 wouldn’t be half bad either.


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A 35 Whelen would be sweet. I turned my '03 into a 358 Norma. I do enjoy that.
 
I have had all three calibers, two 03's, and a Remington 721. One of the 03's, was a 338/06. Its a great cartridge, and and has a great variety of bullets available. That would be my choice again.
 
338-06 or 35 Whelen

Keeps it simple and makes a better big game rifle of it.
 
The 03 Springfield just screams for being turned into a .35 Whelen with a 1 in 12" twist barrel. (y)
Paul B.
 
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!
 
ShadeTree":yc3m7izm said:
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! (y)

Regards, Guy
 
Guy Miner":3tm6weun said:
ShadeTree":3tm6weun said:
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! (y)

Regards, Guy

I'll be honest, I LIKE the 30-06, a long standing classic in its own right and a great cartridge! I was looking forward to experimenting the limits of different bullet weights with this rifle so it is somewhat disappointing.

There's an older gent in this area that what he doesn't know about military rifles of either the 03 or mauser variety, isn't worth knowing. He acted like it would almost be sacrilegious to rebarrel an 03 that produced a 1/2" group with a miltary barrel and limited testing. I understand that point as 06 brass is easy to come by and relatively cheap so the gun could go on just as it is. But it wouldn't be right and I would be heisitent and apprehensive anytime I was testing any load nearing maximum pressures.

To fully enjoy the gun it's gonna bug me with anything but a new barrel, so now that it is inevitable I might as well bump it up.
 
I’m gonna go with the the guys saying 338/06 or 35 whelen. Maybe sneak in the 9.3x62 also. The 03 Springfield is basically a copy of the 98 mauser so technically you could say it has heritage there lol [emoji16]


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"To fully enjoy the gun it's gonna bug me with anything but a new barrel, so now that it is inevitable I might as well bump it up."

Have you considered having the current barrel rebored? Be a bit less expensive that a rebarrel job.
Paul B.
 
PJGunner":2fzjmb71 said:
Have you considered having the current barrel rebored? Be a bit less expensive that a rebarrel job.
Paul B.

That's generally the fastest/cheapest way to make a Whelen, but the OP reports that chamber is out of round- a rebore won't really help that much.
 
hodgeman":278u3cj4 said:
PJGunner":278u3cj4 said:
Have you considered having the current barrel rebored? Be a bit less expensive that a rebarrel job.
Paul B.

That's generally the fastest/cheapest way to make a Whelen, but the OP reports that chamber is out of round- a rebore won't really help that much.

Yep. A headspace issue could be fixed and while the barrel was off could be rebored if chosen too, but with the chamber out of round my way of thinking is the only way to fix and keep the original barrel would be to reem the chamber to a larger diameter cartridge regardless of the final bore diameter. Not really what I had in mind to do, plus going that route would require more smith work downstream depending on the cartridge dimensions.....bolt face, magazine follower, feed rails, etc.
 
I "concur", rebarrel and go 35 Whelen, whatever length suits you Pard. I still think that there are "more" .35 cal bullets made for Whelen speeds than .338 cal. I'm sorry .338 guys, but they are awful stout bullets! But, getting back to an out of round chamber....When I was 16 I bought my first "really nice deer rifle", a Mod 94 Classic Carbine. It had to be a Friday rifle because the chamber was oval! I could hit the brass end of a shotgun shell at 25 yds, a squirrel head at 30yds and a Skoal can lid at 50! But...at 100yds it was barely 4". I missed a big doe 5 times ( she stood still the whole time!) at 150yds with my dad watching me! I later put an old antifreeze jug out at where she was standing, sat down (my father had taught me since I was 8 how to shoot) and fired another 5 shots....I "nicked" it with one! I didn't reload then, but I figured it had to be that oval chamber, spent cases were bulged on one side. A friend a few years later had a regular Mod 94 and it would shoot 3" groups at 150! So...rebarrel! :) (had to fix that, sorry)
 
Ok, I'll be the 'different' one here, why not re-barrel to a 6.5-06 (if you're going wildcat) if not, there are no flies on a 270 or 280 either.
 
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