I once read an article in, I believe, Rifle magazine, wherein the author told of a low numbered receiver which broke, on the right side rail, simply by his striking it with a heavy screwdriver. This was sort of understandable since the right side rail is relatively thin and could cool too quickly during quenching. Anyway, the author went on to describe doing the same thing with two more receivers. It happened that I had a low numbered Springfield action in a drawer and, having heard about the brittle Springfields since I was a kid, I decided to give it a whirl.
I picked up my heaviest screwdriver and gave the right side rail a healthy swat. Nothing. I tried a couple more with a good snap and the rail was dented up and starting to bend but there was no crack. I decided the screwdriver wasn't working so I selected a 16 ounce hammer and gave it a few lusty whacks. Now, the rail was bent to the point that the magazine opening was nearly closed off but it refused to crack. Before I was done, I had destroyed that receiver but there was never any cracking. I decided the author of the article must have been very unlucky and got 3 bad receivers while I had one of those which was fine. GD
