Analogies sometimes work well.
Thanks chuckindenver for the reply. I regret any confusion that my above reply generated. I do think that your original comments and that of jgaynor were right on point for the purpose of my inquiry.
In a a seeming information void, I am simply looking for clues wherever I can find them. Analogy is a legitimate method of inquiry and that is where I am presently positioned. You initiated the reference to 8620 steel regarding bolt and I thank you for that information. I followed the 8620 lead looking for the composition of that steel. I perhaps found a valid answer. (The nature of the 'machinist' thread indicated that there was indeed an interest in knowing the steel composition. Also the apparent inclusion of such information in the referenced Machinist Handbook suggests professional in interest in such knowledge.) The fact of the context of that thread concerning Garands doesn’t compromise or invalidate the answer concerning the steel composition as mild low carbon material. I then considered the likelihood that if such steel was used in the Garand receiver, it might well have been used in comparable production period Models 1903A3. Since the referenced thread also suggested that a higher grade steel had been used prior for the Garand, I wondered if such earlier unidentified steel was the WD equivalent of 4140 steel. If so perhaps too the Remington 1903 receiver might well have been fabricated from 4140; which coincided with my fuzzy recollection. The reference to the Winchester Model 70 was simply to point out that 4140 was available and even being used commercially in the U.S. marketplace by the mid-nineteen thirties. (Would a first world nation with a then state of the art military rifle choose to adopt lesser quality steels for more severe applications?)
A lot of conjecture in place of solid facts. I do tentatively conclude, in lieu of better information, that likely the 1903A3 production would have likely used 8620 steel. IF any of the experts in the Garand community has the information about original Garand steel composition(s), such might suggest a clue regarding early forties Rem 1903 production.
