Beginning serial no. of nickel steel SA receivers.

[clintonhater]

Brophy places it at 1,301,000 in '28, Campbell at 1,275,767 in '27. However, Brophy reproduces part of the private notebook of a SA employee who placed the transition at Campbell's number. Canfield does not specify a number, but places the transition in '28, which would agree with Brophy.

Is there a commonly agreed upon number?

[Rick the Librarian]

To insert another "unknown", most of the receivers in the 1,289,000-1,301,000 range were those sent from Rock Island, which were, of course, nickel steel. I generally hear the earlier 1,275,000 number, although I believe nickel steel and DHT receivers were "mixed" for a while.

[clintonhater]

I generally hear the earlier 1,275,000 number, although I believe nickel steel and DHT receivers were "mixed" for a while.

Possibly I have one: #1,277,352 with a J5 DHT bolt, brl. date 4/27. Transitions from old to new in the manufacture of anything are seldom clean-cut, and without some degree of overlap.

[the_1st_sgt]

Some years back I bought a receiver in the 1,275,000 to 1,277,00 range, marked as S.A. but has the small "o" under the serial number. From what I 've been told by some very knowledgeable people on this board it is a Rock Island, one of the ones sent over to S.A. On the front ring (the area hidden when the barrel is installed) it is marked NS

[PhillipM]

Possibly I have one: #1,277,352 with a J5 DHT bolt, brl. date 4/27. Transitions from old to new in the manufacture of anything are seldom clean-cut, and without some degree of overlap.

If you are really adventurous there should be an NS stamp visible with the barrel removed if it is.

[clintonhater]

If you are really adventurous there should be an NS stamp visible with the barrel removed if it is.

Not NEARLY that adventurous or curious!

Can't understand why Brophy made no attempt to reconcile the two conflicting dates and numbers printed in his own book. (Other than that the immensity of his work left no time for double checking.) Or missed the opportunity of catching his only '03 research rival, Clark Campbell (whom he cites as a reference), in an error.

[John Beard]

MG Julian Hatcher, former Chief of Ordnance, writing in Hatcher's Notebook stated that the first nickel steel receiver was S/N 1275767. This is the original source of this information and is generally accepted as authoritative. The nickel steel originated from Rock Island Arsenal and was left over from WWI.

The Rock Island nickel steel ran out at about S/N 1300000. At that point, Springfield Armory went out and bought their own nickel steel in December, 1928. The original source of this information is also Hatcher's Notebook, which may explain the confusion.

Although S/N 1275767 is accepted as the first Springfield Armory nickel steel receiver, I know for a fact that S/N 1275766 was NOT the last carbon steel double-heat-treated receiver. A transition period followed. And I also know for a fact that the Rock Island nickel steel ran well past S/N 1300000.

J.B.