Sirius Dog Sled Patrol m1917

[PeterN]

I have one of the ex Danish US Model of 1917 rifles. A dealer here in the UK had a few in stock, probably 20 plus, back in the 1990s. He told me they had come from Greenland but they are ex Danish. Mine has the sighting sticker and the notch cut out in the receiver. I was told the notch is to cater for a long heavy hunting bullet to use against Polar Bears by the Sirius Patrol. Mine has an S stamped in the stock under the bolt handle. The bolt number has been re-stamped on the other side. It is a matching number bolt.
Attachment 117640Attachment 117639
Regards
Peter.

[pickax]

The notched receiver is thought to be a Norwegian modification, as they used a self designed
stripper clip for loading. This clip pushed the bullet tip forward a bit.
Your rifle likely came from England to Norway then in 1959 13000 rifles sent from Norway to the Danish home guard. Now full circle back to you. Very cool!

some discussion here trying to figure out the notch.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=61830
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=13094

[Mbechmann]

Sounds like some body maybe higher up made a decision to sell these off to CAI instead of destruction? Because it did happen. Would be great if you could find the rest of the story.
I don't follow the auctions much any more, but have not seen any Dane use '17s in years. Canadian yes though occasionally.
.
Nice to have your perspective from Denmark, please keep us posted on what you find. My main reference have been the threads here, CMP forums and Nick Ferris book, which has a small chapter on these '17s. United states rifle model of 1917 by CS Ferris
Here is the thread on CMP forums as I was sorting out this rifle. Winchester 1917 for review - CMP Forums


,

The guy I am talking very close to that guy. Thats the problem. He knew exactly how many rifles went to Greenland. So there is no way this would happen without this guy knowing about it. He also knew exactly who destroyed these rifles.

I have one of the ex Danish US Model of 1917 rifles. A dealer here in the UK had a few in stock, probably 20 plus, back in the 1990s. He told me they had come from Greenland but they are ex Danish. Mine has the sighting sticker and the notch cut out in the receiver. I was told the notch is to cater for a long heavy hunting bullet to use against Polar Bears by the Sirius Patrol. Mine has an S stamped in the stock under the bolt handle. The bolt number has been re-stamped on the other side. It is a matching number bolt.
Attachment 117640Attachment 117639
Regards
Peter.

The notched receiver is thought to be a Norwegian modification, as they used a self designed
stripper clip for loading. This clip pushed the bullet tip forward a bit.
Your rifle likely came from England to Norway then in 1959 13000 rifles sent from Norway to the Danish home guard. Now full circle back to you. Very cool!

some discussion here trying to figure out the notch.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=61830
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=13094

Peter, Pickax is correct. Technically they are Danish, as it was one of the last shipment of 13000 rifles Norway shipped to Denmark in 1959. The guy I am talking to, also confirmed that the notch was made to use bigger rounds, but they also had to change the ejector spring and charging rail. So it is not just the notch they changed.

That being said, you do bring up a very good point. If your rifle comes from Greenland, it is technically Danish bought from Denmark, but it would have been bought from the Royal Greenlandic Trading Company.

This is very interesting because another Danish source said that the trading company received "the rest of the Norwegian rifles". So what if, the trading company only choose to change 5000 rifles for Greenland, but what if they actually received more rifles than that? That would make sense. I will ask my friend about that.

---------- Post added at 03:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 AM ----------

The notched receiver is thought to be a Norwegian modification, as they used a self designed
stripper clip for loading. This clip pushed the bullet tip forward a bit.
Your rifle likely came from England to Norway then in 1959 13000 rifles sent from Norway to the Danish home guard. Now full circle back to you. Very cool!

some discussion here trying to figure out the notch.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=61830
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=13094

The guy I am talking very close to that guy. Thats the problem. He knew exactly how many rifles went to Greenland. So there is no way this would happen without this guy knowing about it. He also knew exactly who destroyed these rifles.





Peter, Pickax is correct. Technically they are Danish, as it was one of the last shipment of 13000 rifles Norway shipped to Denmark in 1959. The guy I am talking to, also confirmed that the notch was made to use bigger rounds, but they also had to change the ejector spring and charging rail. So it is not just the notch they changed.

That being said, you do bring up a very good point. If your rifle comes from Greenland, it is technically Danish bought from Denmark, but it would have been bought from the Royal Greenlandic Trading Company.

This is very interesting because another Danish source said that the trading company received "the rest of the Norwegian rifles". So what if, the trading company only choose to change 5000 rifles for Greenland, but what if they actually received more rifles than that? That would make sense. I will ask my friend about that.

Could you do me a favor? Take a picture of the front sight? Is it flat, like the US models, or is it actually a small pipe thats in it?

[pickax]

As I have read, the roll pin type front sight was a Dane replacement, and only seen on some rifles.
Postulated that it was used by Danish home Guard as easier to see, and used in competition as well.

[Mbechmann]

As I have read, the roll pin type front sight was a Dane replacement, and only seen on some rifles.
Postulated that it was used by Danish home Guard as easier to see, and used in competition as well.

The reason for the sight change, is that they had done lots of testing at the testing facility, the shooters improved the accuracy with 13-20%. When the sights was tested by the Home Guard it showed 15-18% improvement and it was easier to maintain the sight for follow up shots. The Home Guard also tested this on older members compared to younger guys. The older guys had used the rifle for years, and they also improved their shots by 15-18%.

Thats the reason the roll pin front sight was approved by the Danish Defence in December 10th 1960 and it was done on 85000 rifles incl spare barrels and so on. I also have the price for the cost to do that change. Thats why the roll pin sight is sort of a signature for Danish rifles. This wasnt done in any other country.

Thats also why that older version of the sight thats on mine, proves that it left Denmark prior to December 1960 - which only happened for the 40 rifles to Sirius .

Thats also why I wonder if yours has roll pin sight .

[PeterN]

My rifle has the roll pin front sight marked 045. The barrel is a Winchester dated 02 -19 so the original one has been replaced at some point as the rifle is an Eddystone. The charger slots look original and the rounds clear the action and don't need the notch.
Attachment 117656Attachment 117655
Regards
Peter.

[Mbechmann]

My rifle has the roll pin front sight marked 045. The barrel is a Winchester dated 02 -19 so the original one has been replaced at some point as the rifle is an Eddystone. The charger slots look original and the rounds clear the action and don't need the notch.
Attachment 117656Attachment 117655
Regards
Peter.

Yours had the roll pin sight, that came from Denmark. So yea, thats a confirmed Danish rifle. Yours also has the notch, so that would mean it came from Norway in 57 or 59 (most likely 59). Thats pretty cool

[pickax]

That's great to know the history of the roll pin sight, a big improvement. Wish I had one on my rifle. I fail to see the notch on PeterN's receiver though.
I'm going on my annual migration to Maine tomorrow, so will bow out until I get settled in there. Look forward to any other info you guys can add to the thread.

[Mbechmann]

That's great to know the history of the roll pin sight, a big improvement. Wish I had one on my rifle. I fail to see the notch on PeterN's receiver though.
I'm going on my annual migration to Maine tomorrow, so will bow out until I get settled in there. Look forward to any other info you guys can add to the thread.

Peters has the notch. First post on the second page .

And yea, that is a big improvement. I wasnt expecting anything near that kind of improvement just due to the sight.

Have fun in Maine tomorrow.

[pickax]

My bad not relating to Peters first post. The pipeline hack has me a week late, and still not sure of the gas supply on the way up from Fla.
Expecting a 3 day trip at least, with gas lines at the available stations. What a world!