remington enfield 30-06

[buckman11]

hi,
im wonderin if anybody can tell me anything about the remington enfield 30-06. i just inherited it from my dad and i dont know a thing about it. just wonderin if anybody can tell me when it was made and if there is anything important i should know about it. i included some pictures of the gun.

 

[dprice3844444]

more light would be better on the pics

 

[carbine85]

The pictures are pretty bad. From what I can tell it looks like a sporterized Enfield. It may have been a 303 at birth and converted to 30.06.

 

[Laphroaig]

Google "US model of 1917" and you will get a better history than I can provide.

Remington made Enfield rifles for Britain during the early stages of WWI. When the US entered the war we were short on the newly commissioned Springfield 1903 rifle. So it was decided that Remington and others could convert the Enfield design rifles into 30-06. Hence the Model of 1917. They were made by Remington, a Rem subsidiary in Eddystone PA, and Winchester. Maybe others? Actually more M1917's were used in WWI than Springfields.

After the war they were dirt cheap and commonly sporterized. One of Remingtons early bolt models was based on the enfield action (Model 30).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_30

The M1917 is a heavy rifle but capable of good accuracy.

Laphroaig

 

[ken grant]

I seem to remember that the standard 5 groove .303 barrel was used but chambered to 30/06 which resulted in an oversized bore.

Also Remington did the same with their M30 and M30S (IIRC)


Another recall(I think) was that Eddystone 1917's had headspace problems and would chamber a no-go gauge and even a field gauge as well.

 

[Bexar]

The bolt face on many were opened up and converted to .300 win Mag. The 1917 is supposed to be an incredibly strong action. I believe I read somewhere that Sgt. York actually used a 1917 in his MOH battle even though he is often referenced as using a 1903. It's interesting that you inherited it from your dad as my nephew recently was given his, now often used, sportarized Enfield by his grandfather. I'm old enough to remember that in our town, San Antonio, growing up in the 60's the only commercial rifle anyone used deer hunting was the Winchester 94. All the Dad's used sportarized Krags...03'...1917s and the very occasional Mauser. Never hunted with him but our across the street neighbor hunted with an Arisaka he had brought back. That 1917 will outlast generations more if taken care of. If you are not sure yet...I'd have the caliber checked. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bexar]

Didn't Remington run with this action and bring it out as a commercial model before they came out with the Mod 700?

Ooops...sorry Laphro...I just re-read your post.

 

[Bexar]

Try this websight. Dates of Military arms manufacture by serial number.

http://oldguns.net/sn_php/milmods.htm

 

[AlexanderA]

I seem to remember that the standard 5 groove .303 barrel was used but chambered to 30/06 which resulted in an oversized bore.

No.

Another recall (I think) was that Eddystone 1917's had headspace problems and would chamber a no-go gauge and even a field gauge as well.

No.

 

[Kp321]

P-17's were built as 30-06 and have .308 bores. The original barrels were five groove which made them hard to measure accurately but they are .308 and can shoot very well if not totally worn out. The US forces actually used more 1917's during WWI than 1903 Springfields so many of them have seen lots of use. Many 1917's were rebarreled after WWI and have either two or four groove barrels.
Yes, Remington produced their M-30 rifles on the 1917 action, minus the rear sight "ears".

 

[ken grant]

I recall a magazine article in the late 50's on how to measure a 5 groove barrel. I don't recall the details but it used a lead slug, a caliper and a v-block.
That where the P17 over sized bore came from.

It also said that un-used .303 barrels left over from the P14 rifles were used until they were no more on hand.

The headspace issue came from a friend who did a lot of making Sporters from 1903,1917 and 98 Mauser rifles.
He is the one who told me about every Eddystone he ever worked on had excessive headspace.

 

[mtrmn]

OP--it's a totally worthless piece of junk. As a BIG favor I will send you my local FFL's info, PLUS I will pay you 100 bucks AND pay the shipping to dispose of it for you.

Hard to tell from the pics but it appears to be either a well-converted military model of 1917 or the commercial model Remington sold for a while. Since it was inherited from your father, even if it WAS a POJ (highly unlikely) I recommend you keep it at all cost.

I inherited one from my grandfather (Eddystone US mdl of 1917, full military) and the headspace was excessive, causing case head separations. But the barrel had good rifling that shone like a mirror. I finally determined the bolt locking lugs were worn down. I had a welder build them back up and hand fitted the bolt myself using a set of go, no-go gages. It now shoots sub MOA 3 rds at 100 yds and is my favorite rifle to shoot due to where it came from.

All you nay-sayers and handwringers out there let the flaming begin

 

[fguffey]

Quote:
I seem to remember that the standard 5 groove .303 barrel was used but chambered to 30/06 which resulted in an oversized bore.

No.


Quote:
Another recall (I think) was that Eddystone 1917's had headspace problems and would chamber a no-go gauge and even a field gauge as well.

No.

Alexander A, I have heard those rumors also, then there is the one where they used up the 303 P14 Barrels first then went to the M1917 Barrel. The profile is different, the 303 P14 barrel is smaller in diameter.

Then there is the head space thing with the Eddystone M1917. I have one that has a long chamber, the chamber is longer from the shoulder to the bolt face than a minimum length case from the shoulder of the case to the case head by .016". .016" is .002" longer than a field reject gage. I checked the length of the chamber first then formed 280 Remington cases by adjusting the die off the shell holder .014". The first time I fired the rifle there was .002" difference in length between the chamber and case when measured from the usual places.

Then there was that rumor about how the M1917s got the long chamber, there was a story about a smith that did it. Seems he was accused of not understanding the 'POWERFULL CAMMING ACTION' created by the bolt lugs.

There have been guestimates of something like a 1 to 1,000 ratio, and I ask: "What is the angle of the bolt lugs? "What is the advance in thousandths per degree of bolt rotation? AND THEN? I am accused of being one of those people that does not understand. Another rumor, it is believed the bolt closing action can crush a go-gage.

I measure the length of the chamber on the M1917 with a 280 Remington case. I know, the bolt will not close on a 280 Remington case because it is longer than a 30/06 case by .051", from the shoulder to the head of the case.

F. Guffey

 

[fguffey]

The bolt face on many were opened up and converted to .300 win Mag.

Then there was the 308 Norma mag. Before the 300 Win Mag there was the 300 Magnum.

I have an 03A4 barrel that was removed after it was discovered the rifle was an 03A4, it came with the stock and hardware like the trigger guard, it was also fitted with air brakes, the good news, the barrel was not shortened.

F. Guffey

 

[hso]

Great rifles, very strong action, very accurate, commonly converted to hunting rifles by being restocked and drilled for scope mounts.

If the bore is good you have an excellent hunting rifle, but the collector value was removed when it was sporterized.

 

[AJumbo]

My grand-dad had a P17; he bought it in the 40s, and subjected it to some quick-and-dirty "sporterizing." He left the military sights in place, cut the fore-end away and used it for hunting deer until he was too sick to hunt. I loved that rifle, learned to shoot with it, and wish I had some idea where it got to. With the military peep, it was a 3" rifle all day, and loved heavier bullets. I believe it had the 5-groove rifling.

 

[natman]

It's probably either a 1917 that was sporterized or a Remington or BSA factory sporter using the same action.

I suppose it's possible that a bolt face was altered, but since military rifles were made with a 30-06 bolt face as the 1917 and magnum bolt face as the 303 British P14, it doesn't make much sense to do so.