[Johnny Peppers]

The early 1903 Springfield receivers were casehardened, but the proper temperature at which the receivers were to be quenched was "eyeballed" rather than using a pyrometer. On a bright day the heated receivers did not glow all that bright, and on a dull day they glowed very bright. This led to some of the receivers being glass hard all the way through, and also led to numerous failures. These receivers were not color casehardened, but had a dull gray color with only an occasional hint of color.