1903 safety selector

[laf]

Hello,

I picked up a Springfield 1903 that was coated in cosmoline and probably from sold by CMP in '02 to the guy I bought it from. I've been cleaning all the cosmo off with paint thinner and a heat gun and have got the bolt and receiver looking good. My question is about the safety. I can't seem to get it to go from 'ready' to 'safe' without pulling on the knurled cocking lever to get those grooves to line up with the selector. Is this a worn spring thing, a mistake on my part putting it back together, or something else? The bolt moves freely in the receiver and the feed selector seems to be working as it should.

Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Alan

 

[DragonGunner]

Hello,

I picked up a Springfield 1903 that was coated in cosmoline and probably from sold by CMP in '02 to the guy I bought it from. I've been cleaning all the cosmo off with paint thinner and a heat gun and have got the bolt and receiver looking good. My question is about the safety. I can't seem to get it to go from 'ready' to 'safe' without pulling on the knurled cocking lever to get those grooves to line up with the selector. Is this a worn spring thing, a mistake on my part putting it back together, or something else? The bolt moves freely in the receiver and the feed selector seems to be working as it should.

Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Alan

Its working fine.

 

[laf]

Alrighty. Thanks.
Alan

 

[DragonGunner]

Have you checked what yr. your 1903 was made in? I have one made in 1932 that has a WWII barrel an Keystone stock.

 

[indyjohn]

Alrighty. Thanks.
Alan

What Dragon said was that the safety only engages when the bolt is cocked (that's what you're doing when you pull back on the "knurled cocking lever")

That knurled knob should be in the "back" position every time you cycle the bolt.

 

[laf]

It's a Rock Island made in 1918 and has been double heat treated according to the serial. It's a straight stock and has a nice cartouche on it. OGEK with a square around it. That's partly why I picked it up not knowing how well it worked. It has was rebarrled sometime after 2-45. Wood's a little rough and has cosmo still coming out of it, but I think it'll look good. Not as nice as the one from DragonGunner though.

If I cycle the bolt so that it is cocked I still can't move the safety selector from 'ready' to 'safe' without pulling the knob back about 1/8" more than it is when cocked. Does that sound normal?

 

[DragonGunner]

It's a Rock Island made in 1918 and has been double heat treated according to the serial. It's a straight stock and has a nice cartouche on it. OGEK with a square around it. That's partly why I picked it up not knowing how well it worked. It has was rebarrled sometime after 2-45. Wood's a little rough and has cosmo still coming out of it, but I think it'll look good. Not as nice as the one from DragonGunner though.

If I cycle the bolt so that it is cocked I still can't move the safety selector from 'ready' to 'safe' without pulling the knob back about 1/8" more than it is when cocked. Does that sound normal?

1918....I like that history. After you cycle bolt it should go to safety and you shouldn't have to pull the knob back.....at least my RA and SA are that way. Try the CMP forums under these rifles an they could tell you what to look at to fix if this isn't correct for the Rock Island.

 

[indyjohn]

If I cycle the bolt so that it is cocked I still can't move the safety selector from 'ready' to 'safe' without pulling the knob back about 1/8" more than it is when cocked. Does that sound normal?

No.

Soak the entire bolt in mineral spirits for a day. ~Maybe~ cosmoline is the issue but I have not seen this specific issue before.

 

[laf]

I've disassembled the whole bolt, firing pin, the knurled spring cap that holds the pin, spring, safety selector by knocking it off the bolt, etc. It was in paint thinner for an hour or so and I used a paintbrush to get everything off. I'll drop it back in there and see if anything changes, but it doesn't feel sticky like I missed a spot but maybe it's deep in the bolt. The action feels smooth, the trigger breaks clean, and it seems to cock well except for not going back far enough.

I don't remember this happening on my friends 1903 when I shot it, but I went through 3 different bolt guns with safeties in 3 different spots so I wasn't sure I was remembering correctly.

Thanks for the information everyone.
Alan

 

[indyjohn]

My M1903 doesn't do what you're describing. I've never heard/seen/read of this kind of behavior on any M1903. My next move would be locating a person that is known to be an expert on these rifles.

 

[laf]

I couldn't find anything about this happening either. The spring inside the bolt looks brand new, super shiny stainless, I wonder if it was replaced at some point and the wrong length or something that wouldn't compress fully.

I've got a friend with 2 M1903's. I guess I'll be playing the replace parts in his bolt until it doesn't work game and finding out what mine had done and what needs fixed.

I'm glad it's not normal. Seems like a stupid feature if it was working as designed.

 

[03A3]

I guess that if the safety lever is assembled into the bolt sleeve properly then the striker rod (knurled knob) is too far forward. I'm guessing...???
The striker rod is held in place by the sear so I'd look into that. It might be that something is damaged/worn/been Bubba'd.
Parts are easy to come by and not very expensive.

 

[BGDave]

Was common to put a little clip on the trigger to take up the first stage of the two stage pull. Or like o3a3 says it has had some trigger work done. Any metal removal will move the cocking piece forward. Good luck.

 

[laf]

Thanks for the suggestions on where to look. A friend has a couple 03's so I'll try swapping parts out between them and see what I find. I'll report back in a few days once I get a handle on it.

Alan