Un-refurbed M1917?

[Ridolpho]

Picked this up recently. Barrel is dated 11-18 and serial number seems appropriate. Everything I've found a mark on is Eddystone and the metal has a nice parkerized finish. I just lightly oiled it prior to taking the photos which explains the glossy appearance. The bore is what I would call excellent- bright, sharp rifling. The stock appears to be birch? but is in good shape and doesn't have rebuild marks- just the Eagle heads. One let down is the bolt which appears to be blued and gives the impression of not being original to this gun. The other surprise was that it needed some work to get proper tip of forend up-pressure. I'd be curious to know what you all think- could this be the original stock and original metal finish or has Ridolpho been stiffed once again? In reality I didn't pay that much for it and intend it to be a well used range gun. Thanks, in advance, for any input.

Ridolpho

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[CINDERS]

Looks like a really nice weapon Ridolpho good shooting at the range

[Patrick Chadwick]

The other surprise was that it needed some work to get proper tip of forend up-pressure.

Maybe it never had any. My Eddystone, also 11-18, with a black walnut stock, did not appear to have any, and it was an "armoury mint" rifle, i.e. internally as-good-as new, but with dings from being shunted around from one armoury to another over the best part of a century.

I would be grateful if anyone could produce source documentation** that specifies that there should be an upward pressure at the fore-end and how much that pressure should be.

**please - not "it is generally known" or "it was usual", which is no more than hearsay, but source documentation - if there is any!

[Ridolpho]

Patrick: Good point- I've not seen in any proper reference anything about as-manufactured stock fit specs on either M1917 or P14 rifles (I believe I have all the standard refernces). This rifle, as received, actually had significant down-pressure from the Nose Cap. One other thing I forgot to mention possibly relating to originality is a very faint colour banding in the finish on the receiver. If you look at the fourth photo from the top left you can see it. These bands run all the way around the body and are very linear. Anyone ever seen this- could it relate to original heat treatment?

Ridolpho

[A square 10]

i thgink that might be walnut , just not that really dark heartwood we expect , i could be wrong , but i dont think they used anything else then , and that does appear to be a correct "E" marked factory stock minus any rebuild cartouches , congrats on a fine rifle

[M94/14]

I also own an "Armory Mint" Eddystone, 11-18 125xxxx in a very dense walnut stock (even the tops of the handguards are "E" marked). It has a factory Parkerised finish, and has minimal barrel pressure, perhaps 2 lbs.

[Chuckindenver]

rifle is origonal, and iron phosphate. stock is walnut, and original...nice score..dont change a thing...enjoy

[Ridolpho]

Thanks, guys. Glad to hear it looks authentic- almost seemed too good to be true. I managed to get satisfactory pressure at the forend tip with some very minor work so next stop is the range.

Ridolpho

[Patrick Chadwick]

next stop is the range

Glad to hear it! You seem to have acquired a very fine Eddy. Don't be too surprised that it looks so "low-mileage". That last post-armistice batch probably went straight into store for decades, and was never used enough to warrant an arsenal rebuild or "mixmaster" treatment. Don't slide (or let yourself be pushed) into the collector's neurosis of "is that the correct shade of black for that particular screw on a Monday morning in December 1918, considering that it was raining and the inspector had had a bad weekend?" The factory assembled rifles with parts out of bins at great speed and with great efficiency. They did NOT give a .... ..... for collectors a century later - they just made great guns. So go and shoot it!

BTW, if you find the usual 168gn loads for 30-06 a bit tough on your shoulder, 150gn Garand loads also work well in my M1917. Or reduced loads for 100 yards. like this:

Attachment 47073
So who needs a modern black plastic shooting machine?

[Ridolpho]

Patrick: Hope mine'll shoot like that! I just bought a bunch of Garand friendly ammo so I'll start it with that. When I saw this at the show I wasn't terribly interested until I had a peek down the barrel- it really does look like new.

Ridolpho