Eddystone M1917 Questions?

[pjohn]

I'm a beginner on this forum. Recently I've been purchasing WWI - WWII era bolt action rifles.

I purchsed the Eddystone M1917 at a gun show because it had obviously been negalected and I wanted to clean it up and shoot it. It shoots well and accurate and even though it's not exactly a good looking rifle, I'm really fond of it..

Questions:

This rifle has a thick varnish coart on the wood is this normal?

My only functional problem is that when I load the magazine the last round is ejected with the spent round before it. Any ideas on why?

Information

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[Chuckindenver]

not normal but common of rifles from the 1950s hunters...pictures would help

[Aragorn243]

Should be an oil finish.

[pjohn]

My only functional problem is that when I load the magazine the last round is ejected with the spent round before it. Any ideas on why?

[Aragorn243]

There isn't much there that can go wrong. One or the other of the two sides of the action pin the shell in the magazine. They are each pinned in turn by either the shell beneath or the lifter. If the last shell is not being held it could be wear on the action side which seems unlikely or some issue with the lifter. Has the lifter been altered to allow the bolt to go forward on an empty magazine? If it does go forward, a previous owner was messing with it and that could be the problem. A weak lifter spring could also be possible or a snag in the magazine that prevents the lifter from coming up tight on the last shell.

[WarPig1976]

Something else to check is make sure you don't have a P14 aka .303 follower installed.

[RC20]

Congratulations, they are both fun and can be somewhat addictive.

As noted, if the bolt goes forward without a shell in the magazine its been modified.

Also I believe a 1903 follower works and maybe the spring. Any of that would not quite be right and could cause issues.

As I just target shoot I just single load a round into the magazine so some of mine could be funky as well. I don't think I ever put in a full load and tried them!

[pjohn]

Would I in anyway devalve this rifle by removing removing the varnish to retsore it to an oiled finish?

[WarPig1976]

Would I in anyway devalve this rifle by removing removing the varnish to retsore it to an oiled finish?

We haven't seen the rifle to verify it is indeed varnished, but no, if it is the damage was already done.

[browningautorifle]

Even if it's varnish or just old motor oil taking it off with acetone or mineral spirits won't hurt anything.