Remington P17 S/N

[Promo]

Hello there,

I'm an Austrian collector of firearms. I had a very special question for which I was recommended to ask here.

I was offered a Remington made US Model of 1917 with the Serial Number 649967 (yes, I did see the number myself). Barrel is '18 marked. Rifle shows heavy signs of use, the stock is nearly black, all appears to be original.
In the book "Pattern 1914 and US Model of 1917" from Charles R. Stratton I found the production estimates for the Remington Made P17's with the number 585936, which is - according to the footnote - based upon the highest serial number known.

I am now wondering if Charles R. Stratton was not able to find any of the (at least) 64031 rifles with higher S/N than "his" highest S/N or if the rifle I was offered is a fake (though it really appears to be original).

Already looking forward to answers. And if you find any mistakes please forgive me, I'm no native speaker of English language.

Georg

 

[Jim K]

I have a note in that book that the highest Remington number documented is 672084. Since new information is always being found, it is possible that Stratton's number was correct to the best of his knowledge at the time he wrote that book.

The fact is that at that time, factories making military weapons, including government factories like Springfield Armory, simply did not care much about serial numbers or keep track of them. Serial numbers were considered a means of inventory control at the using unit, not a way of production control.

Jim

 

[Promo]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for your answer. To me it sounded just curious that someone who is able to write a book about one rifle is not able to notice over 60.000 rifles with a higher serial number.

Georg