why would someone do this to a perfectly good 1917??

Attachment 29360all you guys crying about the guy destroying history?? i could bring that rifle back to shape in an afternoon, and even the best so called expert would never know...
heres a pic of a Winchester that really had its history destroyed... FYI: more of these rifles sit at the bottom of the ocean then we will ever know, thpusands sit in scrap yards in Aisia rusting away, thousand of them are in collections, or offered at gunshows, GB, AA ect..one guy installing a short barrel and a cut down stock doesnt destroy history....Uncle Sam and a blow torch does.

Chuck, I`m with you on what you are saying about this subject.

dont take it the wrong way...im all about an original unrestored rifle, but, being someone who restores, builds and reapirs vintage weapons, i get the whole dont change the history speach all the time.
i like a nicely restored weapon if done right , as much as a nice original.
but it doesnt bother me to see a modified example, however...i looked at a rare IP M1 carbine that some Jackwagon ground the rear sight dove tail off, then welded a scope base on it...just shook my head and walked away.

Couldn't have said it better chuck.
Too many people get caught up in the romantics of it all. What will the next few generations do when the current service rifles become collectable? Will they be able to tell the difference between original or not, that many mods done nowadays that it would be hard to tell then what is or isn't. How will they be bale to restore to original?
You are dead right about all the numbers lost and or destroyed due to bad storage or just pure lack of interest or seeing a dollar in the scrap or fence post value.
It is very nice to see an original or restored rifle but it is just one of many around the world.
cheers
Ned

Ned, there's bucklys chance of our current service rifles being available here, unless you are starting a new political party, happy new year.

agreed, id bet that they all get captain crunched for sure... the only weapons that might,,,and thats a big might be available will be the Remington bolt actions, and the Beretta pistols.
anything else will likely be cut up and scrapped...
i think that all surplus should be sold off to the highest bidder, and the money put towards our national dept... wait.,.that would make since...never mind.

One way of looking at is. For every one they butcher it ads just a little more value to ours.

I just put an Eddystone sporter on lay away. Quite odd since it has been re-barreled with a Sako Finnbear barrel of only 20" length and was re-chambered in 7mm Rem Mag. Oddly enough it also still retains a grenade sight. I just love the way the action cycles. But first order of business is a new long barrel and I want to neck up the chambering to either 8mm or 9.3mm.

Interesting diversity of opioion in the posts, Here is my 2 cents.
While I can appreciate the gunsmiths art sporterizing a milsurp I still cringe a bit when I see one . The pictures of barge loads of Arisakas being dumped in to Tokyo harbor or Garands M14s falling under the torch, I have no words to express that feeling. My vote, preserve what can be preserved or restore if that suits your style. Value is not the issue to me. The legacy is.

But sporterizing also demonstrates what the designer of the weapon had in mind delving into the possibilities of his weapon. It is nearly a crime to limit an Eddystone action to 30-06. There are barge loads of decaying 1917's that will never see the light of day except for the interest of people modifying them.