Model of 1917A4 Replica Project

1917a4 Replica Project---

A while back forum member Promo posted pictures of his original M1917A4 Enfield. I drooled all over the pictures and felt I had to build a replica of this. Since then I have been waiting for an appropriate 1917 Enfield to come along. At our May gun show I came across an almost perfect candidate for my project. The only small minus was that it was a Winchester rather than a Remington. It was a complete barreled action with no stock or stock hardware. The ears were cut off and one side of the rear bridge was radiused by hand. The trigger guard was straightened but fortunately the riveted magazine box was left alone. The project was stopped at that point for unknown reasons. The seller was willing to negotiate the price a little and I left the show walking on air. The 4 groove High Standard barrel was left uncut and the bore is near perfect. So for my part I machined the rear receiver ring flat and drilled and tapped the receiver on the mill. The receiver was hard as a rock, inducing much stress (on me) when I was tapping the holes. I rounded off the right hand side of the rear bridge to match the opposite side. I decided to make the scope mount from scratch. This was so I could extend the length to cover the “bath tub” hole and account for the height of the rear bridge. It took a lot of time to make and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else when a Redfield 1903a4 mount could be fit with much less effort. So here it is nearing completion. It still needs an upper hand guard, both bands and sling swivels. Salt Flat


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I'll bet that'll shoot like a laser when finished. Wish I was closer, I'd bring a few boxes to consume. I'm not far but still...

Beautiful. I'd love to do the same to my sporter 1917. Would you ever consider making any brackets for sale? Do you have the link to the original pictures by Promo?

Again, outstanding work.

Agambard, Thank You for your comments. Here's the link to Promo's original rifle.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=76219

Sorry but I won't be able to make any more of the brackets. You could use a Redfield 1903a4 mount with a shim/spacer to get the right height on the rear receiver ring. Also I am drawing up my mount and will make it available to the forum when I'm done. You might see if Chuckindenver would drill and tap your receiver if it hasn't already been done.

What a coincidence! Earlier today I checked through various older threads of mine and re-uploaded the pictures to some where I still had them at hand (due to the forum crash a year ago many were lost). Among them was also the original thread on the "M1917A4" rifle -> https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=59860 . The link you had posted though were later pictures of higher quality than back then. Super happy to hear that it inspired you for your build!

I'll have to give that a shot. Thanks for the link. @Promo seems to have all the most interesting toys!

Promo, Yes, what a coincidence. And I was totally inspired by your excellent photos and great collection. Thank You!--Salt flat

Nice Work

Later 42rocker

Salt Flat, had you actually ever considered using the Redfield base as used on the 1903A4 sniper rifle (that was used on my rifle)? Or was your action grounded a bit too much to make it work?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Promo

Salt Flat, had you actually ever considered using the Redfield base as used on the 1903A4 sniper rifle (that was used on my rifle)? Or was your action grounded a bit too much to make it work?

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Promo, The rear receiver ring on my rifle was ground down too far and the ears were completely gone. One side had also been radiused. I could have made the Redfield mount work with a spacer but it still wouldn't look exactly like yours. Also I wanted to cover up the "bathtub" hole for a clean look. It would have been a lot easier to use an original mount with a spacer and if I do another one, I'll do it that way. The only way to make a perfect replica would be to start with a fresh rifle and cut the ears to the configuration of your rifle. I have an original Remington 1917 that I thought about doing that way, but--- Salt Flat

Fully concur with you. Your rifle anyway looks to have a better seated scope base than mine! Glad you saved that Remington and went with the sporter rifle, now you have something absolutely unique.

Promo, Thanks for your comments. I was tempted but could not modify the Remington. Salt Flat

I received the upper hand guard, bands and rear swivel and finished off this beast. I thought I should post a few full length photos to complete this. I switched out the Weaver 330 for a Lyman Alaskan, which I like a little better. Thanks for looking, Salt Flat

I'd love to try it out now...