M1917/P14 confusion over receiver. Any resident experts able to offer help?

Hello all!

I hope this finds you well! If you have a moment I am wondering if y'all could shed some light on my rifle for me. I recently acquired a M1917 or so I think. I have attached some photos to show you what's going on. I purchased the C. S. Ferris rifle on the topic but was unable to find the information I was looking for. The rifle is marked ERA with a serial of 882, quite low. No M1917s with this marking are written about in the Ferris book. However P14s were marked similarly. Also the receiver has what look to be some British or Canadian markings. Not sure honestly. Photos attached of those. The rifle has a bolt in the white. There is a partial flaming bomb visible on the bolt. Also a flaming bomb and eagle appear an the barrel with a large "C" stamp. The barrel is a WW1 era Eddystone with a 9-18 date. I have a hard tome imagining a factory rifle with this receiver and a 9-18 dated barrel. The rifle is chambered for 30.06. The rifle overall is a mixmaster. Could this have been assembled from parts? The stock has arsenal refurbishment markings as shown in the photos and is of the M1917 variety with no accommodations for a volley sight as a P14 would. The bolt stop spring rest seems to be of the P14 variety with cuts in two directions. Any idea what's going on here? Is this a mix of P14 receiver on a M1917 barrel? And is the low serial number a indication of something strange? And were white bolts common or was the finish possibly removed? I have seem photos of rifles with white bolts, but it does not seem to be the norm. The rifle came with a blue british sling, although I'm sure it is just an add on from the previous owner. I hope my assault of questions is not too much of an inconvenience, and any assistance is appreciated! If you are wondering the rifle shoots great! I have it sighted in and it has no problems blasting soda cans at 100 yards.

Thank you for your time,

Lazerwolf987

Lazer, Yes --This looks to be a P14 receiver with a 1917 bolt and barrel. The receiver is marked DP (Drill Purpose). The ERA marking and serial look odd to me like maybe restamped but I'm not certain on that. Unless the magazine well and feed rails have been altered it won't feed 30-06. The biggest difference in a P14 and 1917 receiver is the length and shape of the opening for the magazine box. People attempt this conversion because P14 barrels are really hard to find. Have you tried feeding from the magazine? If this were mine I would think of this as a rifle to "part out". A good unalterd 1917 barrel is worth 150-200 and stocks are similar. Salt Flat

Thanks for clearing that up! I am unsure as to alterations in the magazine and feed rails, but the rifle feeds and ejects pretty consistently. Thanks again for the assistance.

Lazerwolf-- The rifle is definite a parts guns made up of Pattern 1914 parts with a M1917 barrel, bolt and stock. At least from what I can tell. I would tell to just shoot the rifle if the headspacing is OK. The receiver is a very early Eddystone P14 one. I do not know the reason for the conversion. But if the rifle had all of the original P14 parts, it would be of interest to some P14 collectors. Someone probably purchased one of the cheap imports from several years ago and converted the rifle to .30-06. One of the few conversions from .303 to .30-06 Springfield that worked. I have found that most of the M1917 projects that I purchased required major fitting by a gunsmith. I am glad your's is not a Winchester P14, they seem to be the worst to fit M1917 parts to.

Hey Salt,

Have you heard of this going the other way? Do you think finding and swapping the receiver back to a M1917 is a worthy endeavor or cost effective? I can't imagine too many receivers on their own floating around, but I would hate to see this rifle go to waste. Lazerwolf987.

Lazerwolf, This is possible, If you could find an unmolested 1917 receiver or action. I saw a complete action at a gun show about 3 months ago for 150. HOWEVER, some of the receivers have cracks. In the last few years I have bought 3 receivers at gun shows and only 1 was not cracked. So have a flashlight and a magnifying glass with you and examine closely when you go to the gunshows. You could also place a want ad on this forum. Salt Flat

Lazerwolf, Here's a link to a thread on the cracking issue; https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=47515
Also I think I would look for a barreled receiver unless you have the proper tooling to change barrels. This would be more of a drop in installation and a whole lot easier.
Salt Flat

Lazerwolf- It is probably not worth the effort to try to fit a new m1917 receiver to your parts rifle. For the amount that you would invest in tools and parts (new receiver) you probably can find another nice m1917. I would check the head spacing to insure there is no problem there. Then shoot the rifle. They are great fun and accurate especially with a Parker hale rear target sight.

I don't know if it'd be worth finding a M1917 receiver for. Especially with purchasing or making the tools beeded to take the barrel of and put it back on.

Thanks for all the help gang. I really appreciate it. I will have enjoy it for what's it worth and keep my eyes peeled for the next one. Y'all have been great!

Lazerwolf