A subject were there is so much information that one has trouble sorting out fact from fiction. Much has been repeated, changed, repeated until it's all taken as gospel regardless on which side you favor.
I am as guilty as the next person and if I could have a do-over I might not publish anything about the low-numbered 1903's.
Today I believe that about everything I have read on the subject is suspect.
Most discussions on this subject soon turn ugly and became personal. I tested five (5) low-number 1903's with annealed primer pockets, cut cases so they would fail and wrote about it on another forum. What followed was personal emails telling me how I would be responsible for all the people who would be hurt or killed with low-number rifles.
The reason I started researching the subject was because both Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal both started selling rifles to civilians in 1910-1917 and they were made into sporters by the thousands.
I have, or have read, most of the shooting press of the day and there was not a single report of SPORTER blowing up. Same with the Sedgleys not a one. How can that be?
