New Impulse Purchase - M1917 Eddystone
So I went to a gun show the other day and first thing I find in the door is an Eddystone M1917 at a reasonable price which caught my eye. Stand owner wasn't there so I took a walk through to see what else I could find, but didn't find anything else that was on my short list or at a price that made it had to have. Came back, talked to the owner, and wound up getting it for a bit less than it was marked at. Even came with an original leather sling though it is not in any shape to be used with the gun, though the cleaning kit was there. I've wanted one of these but hadn't really researched them, but the price was too good to pass up so I made my move.
The reason I got it at a good price as the gun is/was a bit rough condition wise. The most obvious issue is the stock was refinished with some kind of shellac or something while the bands were still on and the receiver was still in the gun. The hand guards were stuck to the stock and this goop was all down in the action! The other is that the bore is a bit questionable though using a .30-06 dummy round as a rough guide the muzzle doesn't seem to be TOO bad.
As for the stock and metal, it cleaned up great. Some denatured alcohol cleaned the nasty refinish up on the wood and the over application onto the metal. It did raise the grain a little but since the original finish seems like it is there under the wood I see no need to sand it, just rubbed it down in some BLO and called it a day. No before pictures but it was pretty rough looking before so this is an improvement. The parkerizing actually doesn't look too bad on the action aside from a couple odd wear spots on the left and the bolt stop, with the bands and barrel having the expected wear. Look as good as I can expect after oiling it, given it's approaching 100 years old and probably went through two World Wars.
Gun is mostly matching. The barrel and stock are original Eddystone as are most of the small parts, though the rear sight ladder/elevator is Remington. Notably it appears the bolt was replaced with a WWII K bolt which is a slight bummer but better for the gun as a shooter, though all the parts on it with visible external markings are Eddystone. The buttplate was painted black but I don't think that is correct either. Aside from the E on the end the stock it has a "C" with a cartouche above the trigger guard and a "9B" below it, near the heel and no P to indicate a refurb.
Not all of the pictures came out but here are a few, post clean up.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...xg8u1ysn-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...5pvpxumk-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...vhjtdhq1-1.jpg
The reason they were on the wish list though is I have a family connection to these guns. My great grandfather worked at Baldwin Locomotive, I believe as a machinist or heavy equipment (ie press or forge) operator but it's lost to time. Not sure which shop he worked at and if he did actually work on these, but he was working there in this time frame which is good enough for me. Plus Eddystone is fairly local so that is cool too.
In taking it shooting I was happy with the end result. Group at 100 yards was pretty solid with off the shelf ammo. Took 6 shots, one sight in shot and one for the group. Averaged out to about 2", including the shot off to the left. Note the top left is not from keyholing, it's from the chicken wire tearing the paper when I took it off the target stand.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...s68vto8i-1.jpg
Overall really like shooting it. Not too loud and very mild kick. It does seem like the bolt could be a bit smoother when opening after firing and in general operation, so might need another coat of oil on it. Other than that I see this one getting shot a lot, especially as I plan to use .30-06 as my "starter" round for reloading.
