My wife while helping a friend move found out they owned a 1910 dated Springfield M1903. The question came up if there is a way to tell of it is safe to shoot or is the "rule" never to shoot the old M1903 rifles?

It's safe to shoot if it's a Springfield with a serial number over 800,000, or a Rock Island with a serial number over 285,506.

Any lower serial number is considered unsafe. That corresponds to roughly all M1903s made before February 1918.

In your case, a 1910 production M1903 will definitely have a serial that's below that cutoff, so it's considered a "low number" rifle and unsafe to shoot. But it could still be a nice collector's piece, or a beautiful wall-hanger.

(Note that this "high number"/"low number" safety issue only applies to M1903s made by Springfield and Rock Island. It doesn't affect any of the later WW2-era Remington or Smith Corona M1903s, M1903A3s, or M1903A4s.)

Need to check the serial number to confirm-just because a barrel is dated 1910 does not mean it is the original barrel. Not uncommon on military guns for guns to be rebarreled multiple times.
You can have a low number receiver with a 1943 barrel or a 1936 receiver with a 1915 barrel.
The debate on the high number low number springfields will likely never end. Looking at contemporary records from the 19 teens to 30's the failure rate was extremely low and there were many "low number" guns shot for decades as match and hunting rifles with no ill effects, but with other alternatives available each shooter can decide for themselves how to proceed

The Marines never retired their low numbered Springfields. Only thd Army took their guns out of service. The issue is extremely rare, and other than the serial number no one is really sure how to tell if a receiver is bad.

I have owned and shot several very low number Springfield and R.I.A. '03s.

I would not be concerned about the receiver at all. The few failures were a combination of receiver hardening and the 30-06 brass construction and early quality.

Please refer to this site for all the information you will ever need re the receivers: http://m1903.com/03rcvrfail/

Personal note: About 30 years ago, I owned Gen. Walter McIlhenny's (Tabasco sauce) African "meat gun" which was an extremely early Springfield '03 - under 100,000 s.n.
He used this on every safari to collect meat for the pot. I put another 300-400 rounds through it. I also owned his Colt New Service Shooting Master in .38 Special that he used in military matches. Walter McIlhenny:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Stauffer_McIlhenny

I personally prefer the low numbers.

.

I wouldn't shoot it.
Dr Lyon is not the last word on the subject.
Dave LeGate at Wolfe Publications broke more than one low number by whacking it with a screwdriver shank. Brittle actions are out there.
A century of use without running into a casehead separation is luck, not strength.

Sounds like you should wack it with a screw driver.

I own and shoot an early '03. Not often, but I do.

My best guess is that you are more likely to die in an auto accident than by having this gun explode.

While the caution has been passed on by virtually all gun enthusiasts to those getting an '03, I have NEVER heard of one of these rifles having a problem in the past 50,60,70 years.

By the way, the receiver could be checked for hardness/brittleness with a Brinell Hardness tester.

For the authority on this search out a copy of "Hatchers Notebook".

Have it checked by a good gunsmith. Decide for yourself.

Your mileage may vary -

quote:

For the authority on this search out a copy of "Hatchers Notebook".

The Bibliography of the article I referenced:

Brophy, W.S. The Springfield 1903 Rifle. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsville, Penn, 1985. See pages 425-427.

Cambell, C.S. The ‘03 Era. Collector Grade Publications, Ontario, Canada, 1994.

Ferris, C.S. The Rock Island ‘03. 1992.

Hatcher, J.S. Hatcher’s Notebook. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Penn, 1962. See pages 205, 215, 221-223, 227-229, and 442-482.

.

To put this to rest, just ship it to me. I will make sure nobody gets hurt by this exploding rifle. I will pay shipping costs. Thank You