M1917 American Enfield ?

[hammer24]

Interestingly, I came in to owning a fantastic Eddystone with original barrel dated March '18. It was wearing a Winchester stock in great condition. Upon taking it down I realized it had British ownership marks. I have later found that that this was a rifle sold under the counter to the British before the US declared an allegiance in the war. The Gov't sold M1917s to the British through a US steel company before we had declared war to save international "face". The British marked them with a big red band of paint across the fore end marking them as 30-06, as to not confuse with .303 P14.

I'm guessing the Brits found out they could get the Winchesters on the cheap from the US (not meeting critical specs), thus making them the "sniper" rifle of choice.

 

[edporch]

Interestingly, I came in to owning a fantastic Eddystone with original barrel dated March '18. It was wearing a Winchester stock in great condition. Upon taking it down I realized it had British ownership marks. I have later found that that this was a rifle sold under the counter to the British before the US declared an allegiance in the war. The Gov't sold M1917s to the British through a US steel company before we had declared war to save international "face". The British marked them with a big red band of paint across the fore end marking them as 30-06, as to not confuse with .303 P14.

I'm guessing the Brits found out they could get the Winchesters on the cheap from the US (not meeting critical specs), thus making them the "sniper" rifle of choice.

I have an M1917 Eddystone I got many years ago that has the red band around the forestock with 30-06 on it.
It's in great shape with the original barrel.
It's my understanding these were used by the Home Guard in Britain.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I'd like to have a 1917. I've got a Pattern 1914 .303 that I like a lot, so a 1917 would be a good companion for it.

 

[edporch]

I'd like to have a 1917. I've got a Pattern 1914 .303 that I like a lot, so a 1917 would be a good companion for it.

I feel the same about a P14.

 

[Mfoster20]

Love them both and both are very collectable. I’m slightly partial to the 1917. Love the sights on it vs the wwi 1903. Good luck!

 

[edporch]

Love them both and both are very collectable. I’m slightly partial to the 1917. Love the sights on it vs the wwi 1903. Good luck!

Only downside is the WW1 1903's sight has a real windage adjustment, whereas the M1917 on the other hand has only a "Kentucky Windage" adjustment.

 

[76Too]

Nothing a little JB Weld in the aperture and a steady hand with a small drill bit can’t fix.

I did this mod to my Model of 1917 and it made a WORLD of difference in accuracy and is CMP match legal. You can even tailor your ‘custom’ peep to accommodate for windage if yours has a tendency to shoot to the left or the right.

 

[rob63]

If anyone is interested in obtaining a M1917, there are three of them on the Cowan's auction site right now. This was supposed to be a normal auction next week, but was changed to an online timed auction due to the virus. One of them appears to be an actual untouched Winchester production rifle, pretty rare to see one that didn't go through a rebuild. Anyway, I only mention it because Cowan's is located in Cincinnati and I know they will allow you to go pick up items at their place, plus, their descriptions are normally accurate with good photos. It remains to be seen, but with the change in the auction due to the virus these might end up selling for reasonable prices.

https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/early-winchester-u-s-model-1917-rifle-4018116

https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/remington-u-s-model-1917-rifle-4017916

https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/canadian-marked-eddystone-u-s-model-1917-rifle-4017910

 

[2in1evtime]

The early Winchester rifles did not have interchangeable parts. That's the short answer, it had to do with them beginning production before the design of the US version had been finalized.

What are the markings on your rifles? If they say Winchester instead of WRA, and a barrel date later than 1-18, they should have interchangeable parts.

One of the rifles is only marked with a W and the other is marked Winchester, i do remember when i got them in the early 70's great grandpa said the W stood for winchester and that it was a very early production rifle! But thanks for the info as i wasn't aware as to the manufacturing difference in parts, Both of these rifles have matching #s too. I do not really remember what i paid for them but it was a lot less than a garand cost back then! Most of my military collection was purchased in the 70's and 80's then a few special finds off and on til present

 

[rob63]

One of the rifles is only marked with a W and the other is marked Winchester, i do remember when i got them in the early 70's great grandpa said the W stood for winchester and that it was a very early production rifle! But thanks for the info as i wasn't aware as to the manufacturing difference in parts, Both of these rifles have matching #s too. I do not really remember what i paid for them but it was a lot less than a garand cost back then! Most of my military collection was purchased in the 70's and 80's then a few special finds off and on til present

That's really cool that you have one of each of the different markings. If you can, it would be great if you could post photos of them, particularly of the receiver markings. Side by side comparisons of everything about them would be awesome. I doubt there are many differences that are actually visible to the eye, I think the changes had to do with very slight dimensions, but it would still be neat to see.