Originally Posted by
StratsMan
I too have read that there were poorly trained workers who mis-read the color of the steel during heat treat before instrumentation was put in place. And that the "old hands" were much better at turning out quality heat-treated receivers in the early guns, just as reliable as the Krags. So I shoot mild pressure reloads in my 17,xxx numbered Springfield 1903, as it was produced well before any rush to build rifles for WWI and re-built at Raritan, likely after WWI, as it now wears a barrel dated 1918...