Caught the One that Got Away! P1917 On the way

Grampa have me one as my first centerfire, a DCM M1917, and two full bandoleers of WW2 vintage AP black tip on stripper clips when I was 13. I was hooked.
I've had a couple more since then, but some how I traded them all away.

I have two...possibly three.

To my considerable shame I've come to favor them over the '03 Springfield.

I've got a nice Eddystone in full trim.
Love the 1917. My favorite 30-06 rifle.


Also have a Eddystone $5 Bubba hunting special. From years back that I picked up cheap to start hunting with.

I've got a nice Eddystone made in late 1918 I picked up at a small gunshop in Western NY many years ago. Great shooting rifle that is pleasant to shoot. Maybe I'll get it out to post a pic or two.

I only have 5 of them. (Two of them were lightly sporterized guns that I restored.) BTW, the "P17" terminology is incorrect. There's the British Pattern 14, and then there's the U.S. Model of 1917.

Picked up one last year, a Remington made in 1918. It is stock except a previous owner replaced the rear sight with a precision peep sight. I would have preferred the original but the peep works very well for me. I won't be shooting over 200 yards anyway so a ladder sight doesn't matter so much. I like the balance, the bolt works smoothly and the bore is good. It is accurate (considering I'm behind the trigger) but I haven't tried any serious bench rest shooting with it yet. I love these old military bolt actions. They are just plain fun.

I'm going to use the M1917 for my jacketed bullet reloads. I use a '03 Springfield for cast bullet and gallery type reloads.

Jeff

PS: I now have a Savage bolt action in 308, bought new. My wife decided we should have one rifle made in this millennium.

I picked-up what appeared to be an unissued Eddystone at a small LGS in Kansas in 1999 for a princely sum of $299. Even then, I hurt my arm getting my wallet out so fast.

Gotta spruce this thread up with some pictures.

This set me back $500 about 15 years ago. Seemed like a lot then, but it is a pretty nice specimen.

Congrats on replacing that M1917, dh1633pm!

I have 5, 3 Eddystones and 2 Remingtons.

IMO, the "best" one is the Remington that I purchased on Gunbroker 15 years ago from a really nice lady in Washington state. Her husband had passed a few months prior and she was selling his small, but apparently beloved, firearms collection. I was the only bidder, almost certainly because she was a new Seller and some of the info she posted (and the way she posted) sounded a bit dodgy. The winning bid was $475.

After reading the description and perusing the pics I emailed her. We traded several emails and I quickly realized that she was not shady, just inexperienced. I was able to give her some good (I hope!) advice for when she auctioned the remaining items in his collection. Nice lady.

The rifle that she sent me was ... won-der-ful! It even had an original-style nickle-plated cleaning kit in-place in the stock. The bore is pristine as is the rest of the rifle. The barrel channel in the stock was still filled with ancient cosmoline. As I closely inspected every inch of my new acquisition, it dawned on me that I was probably holding a close-to-new M1917. Judging by the minor wear patterns on the metal & wood (among other things) I decided that if it had been issued it only saw the gentlest of usage and certainly zero field use. That was a Good Day for me.

Here’s my ladies - 1903 Springfield and 1917 Eddystone. Both were sporterized prior to my acquiring them. The Springfield has an extremely smooth action and a great trigger, but the 1917 is the more accurate of the 2. I’m fascinated with the sporterized military rifles - looking for a Swedish Mauser in 6.5 Swede to round out the collection.

Mark Mahler said:

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Here’s my ladies - 1903 Springfield and 1917 Eddystone. Both were sporterized prior to my acquiring them. The Springfield has an extremely smooth action and a great trigger, but the 1917 is the more accurate of the 2. I’m fascinated with the sporterized military rifles - looking for a Swedish Mauser in 6.5 Swede to round out the collection.

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Thats definitely one of the more tasteful 1917 conversions Ive seen, nice!

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Thats definitely one of the more tasteful 1917 conversions Ive seen, nice!

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What really got me was the reworking of the stock - whoever did it knew what they were doing. THe barrel was replaced as well - 22". The metalwork on the receiver where they removed the rear sight is top shelf too - unfortunately, they removed the stripper clip feed, but if you didn't know it was supposed to be there you'd never be able to tell. Definitely my #1 rifle.

AeroDillo said:

I have two...possibly three.

To my considerable shame I've come to favor them over the '03 Springfield.

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I had a bunch of '03s and '17s at one time, but Im down to one '03, '17, and A3 now- I kept the best examples of each.

Ive gotta say the early "high hump" Springer is the prettiest, but least practical due to the ridiculously overcomplicated rear sight and skinny front blade. My A3 is the most accurate of the bunch and probably my favorite. The M1917 sits squarely in the middle thanks to its lack of windage adjustment and gross tonnage.....

Using Kentucky windage, I can get pretty nice groups with my '17 and the weight does tend to keep the recoil down. Overall, the '17 is a great bench gun, but man, I wouldnt want to hump one across France!

I picked up a 1918 vintage Eddystone from a fellow shooter 6 or 7 years ago.



It has replaced my M96 Swede and K31 as my go to CMP Vintage Military rifle. I filled the aperture of the battle sight with JB Weld, drilled it out to 0.054" and then got a bunch of Pattern 14 front blades so I could zero it at 200 yds. Having a peep rear and the scant type pistol grip are big advantages IMO. She's a shooter!

I picked up an Eddystone at a show in 2019 for $500. Mostly Eddy parts, with a replacement Remington barrel and stock. Many guys swear by them in in the Vintage Military matches due to the weight, cock on closing, and sight radius.
I want to use it at Perry, but I’ve struggled with the HUGE rear aperture that allows you see an area the size of a drive in theater screen around your target. I think I’ll fill and drill the rear sight.
I’d love to love the rifle, and am trying hard to move it up into the spots occupied by the ‘03’s and ‘03A3’s in my life, but I’m having a tough time.
I guess the M1917 is like Shakespeare, and Italian opera to me. I’m trying to understand what I’m missing so I can enjoy them like everyone else.
EO

NIGHTLORD40K said:

I had a bunch of '03s and '17s at one time, but Im down to one '03, '17, and A3 now- I kept the best examples of each.

Ive gotta say the early "high hump" Springer is the prettiest, but least practical due to the ridiculously overcomplicated rear sight and skinny front blade. My A3 is the most accurate of the bunch and probably my favorite. The M1917 sits squarely in the middle thanks to its lack of windage adjustment and gross tonnage.....

Using Kentucky windage, I can get pretty nice groups with my '17 and the weight does tend to keep the recoil down. Overall, the '17 is a great bench gun, but man, I wouldnt want to hump one across France!

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Just different ideas about the "best" rifle... Alvin York said he didn't like the M1917... called it "that English rifle". IIRC, it had to do with the sights, but it's been a while since I read his account. I recall he said that after training with a M1917, he traded it for an '03 Springfield at the first opportunity.

I tend to like the M1917's sights better because it's easier to see what they're doing. 300yd battlesight, then the graduations on the ladder. It's not much different to a No4Mk2.

Nice!