Well, in reality I suspect it is somewhere between a great find and a ripoff, but I'm curious to hear the thoughts of others who have more experience is this area. I have quite a few mil-surps, but this is the first one I have purchased, the others being inherited. There was some selective information by the seller on this rifle, and it's not quite as good as I thought it would be, but that's not to say that I'm disappointed by it either, though I probably paid too much. I certainly didn't get a good deal on it.

Bolt is Winchester, but parkerized. Floorplate and trigger guard are Parkerized Remington, follower and follower spring are Eddystone. The front sight post was bubbafied, so I replaced it with an Eddystone front sight post. All other parts are blued Winchester. Reciever is listed as June 1918 manufacture, barrel is dated Aug 1918. Stock has a rack number stamped into it, 246. Stock wood immediately under the rear handguard ferrule has been cut away; it appears this was done some time ago as the wood color in the cut out area matches the rest of the stock. The bore is bright, with what looks like some very minor powder fouling (looks like a normal barrel after a day at the range).
In any event, I offer these pictures, and am curious as to what you think of it. It came with a Remington 1913 bayonet, which I quickly augmented with a Winchester 1917 bayonet (can't have the wrong bayonet, now can we), and a Hoyt sling marked 1918 with I.J.M initials.

I am most curious about the markings on the fore end of the stock. It was advertised as being marked with a "W" which it is, but it isn't the typical Winchester "W" that I've seen. Does anybody know anything about this particular series of marks? It appears to be I W 45 but the I might be a worn out or extremely light Eddystone mark. Additionally, where you normally see the "P" proof mark aft of the trigger guard, this stock exhibits a "W" that is stamped over an eagle head and number X38 with "X" being an obscured number. Forward of the trigger guard is an eagle head with number 542. Stock has a Raritan Arsenal-Peterson stamp in the usual place.

In any event, I'm now working on locating blued Winchester parts to replace the incorrect parts on this rifle, as I believe the overall quality of the rifle is worth it.

Attachment 41283Attachment 41289Attachment 41288Attachment 41287Attachment 41286Attachment 41285Attachment 41284Attachment 41278Attachment 41279Attachment 41280Attachment 41281Attachment 41282Attachment 41290
Information
Warning: This is a relatively older thread
This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.