national ordance 1903a3
i have a nat ord 1903a3. i understand it is a cast receiver. need to know if it is safe to shoot military ball ammo out of it? anyone have experience with these? appreciate any input. thanks
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I have no personal experience with those National Ordnance 03's, other then knowning they date to the 60's. This was long before the 3 L's became such a major factor in the firearms business.
Whenever I had doubts about the safety/strength of a rifle, I would test fire it by remote control, ( long piece of string ).
Wedge the butt in a old tire from a gas station. Take it out to a safe place in the woods and fire a bunch of those military loads. See what happens, long as your behind a tree or a rock, even if it lets go, your going to be OK. If it holds together for 20/30 rounds, your good to go.
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Well, yeah, Rufe-snow's method has been used by a lot of folks. But, the trouble is, a defective receiver can let go at any time, even after firing thousands of rounds. The .30-06 cartridge generates too much pressure for me to ever take a chance on firing it in a questionable rifle.
Even though Nat Ord made receivers that were inferior to those produced by the Springfield Armory, I've never heard of one that had a catastrophic failure. Still, I would never fire one. Good USGI 03A3's are still relatively cheap; I would not take a chance on a rifle that I was not confident in.
Neal0 -
I have a Nat'l Ord 03A3 that I got cheap from an estate sale. I knew these were not collectable but for $200 figured what the heck. Shoots as good as a WWII 2 groove barrel will allow it to. Never had a problem and I shoot 180 grain bullets through it.
Texas-Shooter0
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