Model 1917 Remington question

[Ken C.]

Im wondering if it is still possible to get wood and some fixtures for the model 1917 US Enfield? I saw one today (by Remington) that the stock had been "sportered" circa probably 1920. Although it probably suited the original owner (who brought it home in 1918) it would not suit me, as its pretty ugly now. I hesitate to use the term Bubba'd because the man who did it also carried it through France and Belgium. I guess it suited his hunting needs. It would need the stock and forend, handguard, front sight guard, front band and bayonette lug. The bore is pretty dirty and I dont know if its just from sitting in the closet for many years or maybe is pitted under the dirt and grime. Any advice would be appreciated. What I dont know about them would fill a LARGE book. If I can still aquire the missing stuff would it be worthwhile purchasing? Ken

[irishsteve]

As long as the rear sight"ears" havent been cut off,or the barrel shortened its savable.Try Gun Parts Corp,Sarco for stocks,Springfield Sporters.They all have most parts.

[A square 10]

where to start ?............

yes , the parts can be found , neil may[hes sold a number of his] still have stocks & handguards - email me ill put you onto him ,

and he may have the other bits you need as well , otherwise i can give you another possible source or two to try ,


as to the history of the rifle , im skeptical as it doesnt fit with what i know , but ill never argue with documentation - yet , its unlikely it was sported in the 20s and went back into service after that [im sorry if i missinterpreted what you wrote] as you seem to sugest ,

all that said , if its decent , the bore will be the biggest concern , its most likely worth the restoration , do check all the metal to see nothing is messed with , some of the 'conversions' to deer rifles involved removal of the rear sight ears - that would put the keebosh to your project ,

[Dan Wilson]

Ken, some pic would greatly help seeing just what you have.

But yes, you can get the parts from several sources

Sarco has stocks and all the other parts you may need
U.S. M1917 & BRITISH P-14 ENFIELD PARTS (http://www.sarcoinc.com/enfield1917-p14.html)

Springfield Sporters has all the metal parts you may need and can pay a surcharge to get specific manufactures for the parts if your trying to make it "correct'
http://www.ssporters.com/

And GPC also has the metal parts you may need but they are more of a crap shoot whether you get pristine parts or beat up parts.

U.S. Military | Numrich Gun Parts Corp. | e-GunParts.com (http://e-gunparts.com/model.asp?idDept=258)

Dan

[Ken C.]

"yet , its unlikely it was sported in the 20s and went back into service after that [im sorry if i missinterpreted what you wrote] as you seem to sugest"


Sorry, I probably wasnt clear. The rifle at present belongs to the son of the man who carried this rifle in WW1 and who subsequently brought it home and then "tailored" it to fit his deer hunting needs in PA. The ears are intact, with the military rear sight.And I do not believe the barrel has been shortened, it appears to have the military front sight without the sight guard. I called him tonight and he said he will let me take this rifle and clean it up and take a pic of it. It is quite ugly in appearance at present, as his dad altered the buttstock. Thanks to all for your advice. Ken

[Ken C.]

Here are some pics of the US Enfield I inquired about yesterday. Sorry about the size, as I dont know quite what Im doing re: acceptable sizes of photos. The front sight "ears" have been ground off, the sling broke when he went to put it back in the closet. As you can see (hopefully) the buttstock has been drastically altered and the handguard is gone, the forestock cut. Is this worth restoring? What should I pay, within reason?(I still have to clean the bore to see what it looks like)

[Patrick Chadwick]

Ken, I have all the bits you are missing, just in case I ever found a rifle such as you have...Unfortunately we are several thousand miles apart, so that won't work.

However, I found my bits in Austria and Italy - not exactly M1917 hotspots - so you ought to be able to find what you need easier where you are.

If I was interested in busing your rifle to restore, I would be concerned about one thing above all - the condition of the bore. Restoration will not produce a valuable antique, so it only makes sense (for me, at least) if the result is a rifle that shoots well. And hunters often have a bad habit of leaving a rifle unattended from one season to the next. If you do not have the knowhow to judge the bore yoursélf, get the help of someone who does, or leave it.

Bearing in mind the time, knowhow and cost of replacement parts required, I would value such a rifle at about 200 if the bore is OK. I hope this rough guide helps you to make a decision.

Patrick

[A square 10]

id concur with the above , it looks to be a very dooable project , most of the metal is available and the stock and handguard you can get ,

no worries on my missunderstanding your original post i often miss an important part :>}

[Ken C.]

Patrick, I cleaned years of crud out of the barrel as well as the rest of the rifle, I would describe the bore as good, it came up very nicely. Placing the nose of an M2 Ball in the muzzle, it leaves about 5/16" showing. The barrel was mfd 8 of 18, all parts that I can see ( I disassembled the rifle about 85 % to clean it)are marked with Rs, as well as other markings, such as the flaming bomb, very small eagle stamps with numbers underneath (or so they appear to me) It cleaned up pretty well, and so I made him an offer of 150 (before I saw your post) and he accepted it. I also bought a Remington .22 caliber rifle Model 12-c pump action with octagon barrel which other than being somewhat dirty appears to be in very good shape. It has some external rust, as did the 30/06, but I think I can remove the great majority of that as I did the Enfield. I appreciate the advice of all who answered my posts. Ken

[irishsteve]

Sounds like you made out all right.

[grayham]

Ken, I bought a Winchester sporter about a year ago and "restored" it. The parts were not too hard to find. I got some pretty good parts from the commercial sellers. It is a lot easier on a 1917 than on the 1903 I am doing now-the 1903 is like trying to build a Ford from parts you buy at the dealer.
Greg

[Dan Wilson]

Well since the barrel date is there its highly unlikely that the barrel was shortened.
I was concerned about that when you said the ears were removed since the ears are the portion that holds the sight blade but it seems at most you will have to replace the front sight assembly - not a problem and easy to get part.

There appears to be quite a bit of surface rust, probably pits underneath the rust as well so if it were me I would plan on parkerizing the rifle when done instead of bluing.

And you weren't joking when you said "ugly", boy that stock is fugly for sure :)

Dan

[Ken C.]

Ken, I bought a Winchester sporter about a year ago and "restored" it. The parts were not too hard to find. I got some pretty good parts from the commercial sellers. It is a lot easier on a 1917 than on the 1903 I am doing now-the 1903 is like trying to build a Ford from parts you buy at the dealer.
Greg
Thanks for the advice. I had better luck with the Springfield, its all there, altho it too was mistreated. Fortunately for me, I was able to get all the surface rust off.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj195/Ken1450HD/003-3-1.jpg

[Ken C.]

Well since the barrel date is there its highly unlikely that the barrel was shortened.
I was concerned about that when you said the ears were removed since the ears are the portion that holds the sight blade but it seems at most you will have to replace the front sight assembly - not a problem and easy to get part.

There appears to be quite a bit of surface rust, probably pits underneath the rust as well so if it were me I would plan on parkerizing the rifle when done instead of bluing.

And you weren't joking when you said "ugly", boy that stock is fugly for sure :)

Dan
Dan, I was able to clean it up quite respectably and will not refinish it. When I got it home and took it apart, I saw that the "ears" on the front sight had been simply ground off, and if this means replacing the whole thing I will do so. Everything else is intact and I think the only thing missing is the bayonette lug and front swivel. Even though he drastically altered the buttstock, he did reattach the buttplate. I was going to take that off and clean it up, but its probably the only thing holding the parts together. I think I can even manage to repair the old sling which was broken, simply by overlapping and riveting it. Not perfect any longer, but its been part of the rifle since the beginning, and I would feel guilty throwing it away. Ken

[Patrick Chadwick]

Well done Ken!

I would have grabbed it too, for 150. As the front sight block with the ears is separate from the rest of the wood and the missing ears will not affect shooting, you can still continue with the rest of the restoration independently of that item. Acting on the cheerful assumption that bits are cheaper where you are than in Europe, I reckon you should be able to get what you need for less than 100, and so for about 250 (plus a lot of time!) you will have a good rifle. And I find it is more satisfying to do something like this than simply lashing out pots of money for something out of a showcase.

If you haven't already got them, you must get the basic books by Ferris and Stratton.

Take your time to get R-marked parts to match the rest, and in the end you will have a good rifle -YOUR rifle - and more practical hands-on experience and understanding than some of the armchair pundits you will undoubtedly come across at the rifle club and elsewhere.

Patrick

[harry mac]

Good score on the little .22 as well. Like an idiot I sold my Mod 12C acouple of years ago and even before the guy's car was out of view I knew I'd dropped a clanger (messed up). Is yours complete with the Lyman tang sight that came as an optional extra?

[Ken C.]

Good score on the little .22 as well. Like an idiot I sold my Mod 12C acouple of years ago and even before the guy's car was out of view I knew I'd dropped a clanger (messed up). Is yours complete with the Lyman tang sight that came as an optional extra?
Harry, This 12-C is a complete stranger to me.It doesnt have the Lyman sight, just the one on the barrel. There are 2 plug screws where the other sight would be mounted, and the little piece for ajusting elevation is gone. I probably paid too much for it, but I knew when I saw it that I wanted it. Yesterday I took it apart and discovered that the firing pin is broken. the rifling forward of the chamber is somewhat eroded, but the rest of the bore is in fair shape. Also, both pieces of the firing pin were in the gun, so if I cant get another, I can probably fix that by silver soldering it. I read up on them in the meantime and found that quite a few were manufactured, so I may find another pin. It was quite a proposition to reassemble it, too. I didnt want to leave it in pieces as I figured I would lose some of the parts. I didnt see your post until a few minutes ago. Ken

[MD220]

If you have a difficult time finding a firing pin for your Mod. 12,SGN advertises them often.I don't recall the exact dealer,but they are in there somewhere!

[harry mac]

Ken, I'm not up to speed on GPC's current parts listings but my own Mod 12C also had a broken firing pin when I acquired it. I ordered 2 from Numrich and included a spare with the rifle when I sold it. Broken firing pins were apparently a very common occurrence with Mod 12s. The only way round this is to never dry fire it once you've replaced the pin.