El Mariachi, I won the auction, I bid for the sum of the parts hoping the person knew what he was going, I did not believe he could get it this ugly by accident. When the auction hit the forms it was declared “THE UGLIEST rifle ever ....”
I ask some members of one forum to hold off until the end of the auction, I was concerned the price would go up, I did not say that forum was functional, a couple backed off.
Any how, I mounted a scope, rings and base that cost more than the rifle + shipping, checked head space and loaded 60 rounds, 12 different loads, cases bullets and powder from new cases to once fired, formed from 280 Remington, military and commercial cases. The rifle came with a Timney trigger, no floor plate just a short trigger guard, the magazine was formed/glassed in with a bullet guide and spring, no metal box.
After firing the 60 rounds I decided to leave the rifle the way I founder. I could/can not improve on the accuracy.
The barrel is bedded into the wood with JB weld or glass?, the laminated wood around the barrel is the recoil lug, I took it to the range as expected other shooters seemed to look upon it as though they were looking at sin, all but one, A Chinese man that left China for Formosa came over and said he trained in China with a similar rifle, he knew it was a M1917, he was too polite to ask WHAT happened.
The good news, no flyers or bad groups, the groups moved slightly, each group had 5 holes no larger than a quarter, and I decided the person that put that rifle together knew what he was doing.
F. Guffey