Bolt on Eddystone 1917 wont chamber a round?

[Patrick Chadwick]

Take an EMPTY fully-sized 30-06 case. Use vernier calipers to check that the overall length is not even the tiniest bit more than 63.35mm / 2.494".

Use a felt pen to ink over the neck and shoulder region - including the mouth of the case!!
Allow to dry for some seconds.
Insert the empty case into the chamber. Remove the extractor from the bolt. Replace the bolt in the rifle and close it.
Does it close?
If not, then try very hard to close it.
Open the action and remove the case. Since the extractor has been removed, you will have to knock it out with a (cleaning?) rod.

Look at the mouth of the case under an eyeglass. If you can see a bright line on the case mouth, maybe with the mouth very slightly forced inwards, then ....

.... you really do have a short chamber.
(If you see bright-lining somewhere else, then you know where to look.)

Cause:
1) EITHER there is a foreign body in there, such as a shard from a fractured case,
or:
2) The chamber is too short.

Solution for 1) Get it out.

Explanation for 2) The barrel is not original, or has been rechambered. For instance, when Bubba wanted to cure a worn throat by shortening the barrel 1 turn. And messed up when recutting the chamber.

Solution: you will have to have the barrel properly rechambered. Running in a chamber reamer to the correct depth may be all that is required.

Fantasy? Not quite. I have experienced something similar with an '03. In that case, the chamber was ridiculously long. The "Khyber Pass" look of the completely non-original extractor is a good indication that someone has messed around with this rifle.

It only takes an empty case and a felt pen - try it.