M1917 notched receiver

[Chuckindenver]

im sure to see Nick Ferris this weekend, ill pick his brain on the subject of Notched 17,s.
if nothing else im sure to get a good guess from him, and ill also put it out at our next Militaria club meeting.

[Tom in N.J.]

The Danes notched the receivers to show caliber US .30 as opposed to British .303. The magazine box is NOT extended, so the story about longer cartridges has no basis.

[shjoe]

tom. the notch would certainly tell a soldier by sight and feel which cartridge the rifle was designed for. so, instead of the danes painting the stock red, they chose to machine a notch in the receiver. intersting. i can not find any mention of speacial M1917s used for target or match competition prior to 1921 having a notched receiver to facilitate loading 30-06 match ammo with a bullet seated closer to the rifling, but it is an interesting thought. if ALL of the M1917s sent to denmark post WW2 were notched at that time for training purposes with the danish home guard, then that would prob end the discussion. i am not convinced yet that ALL M1917s sent to denmark had notches milled. i will try and take a few pics of said rifle soon as i can, for posting next week. good research dan. i would be pleased to find out a bit more info from Mr Ferris, before i wear out the pages in the post WW2 section in his fine book. best, john

[Amore2]

It doesn't make any sense, that the notch should be made in Denmark to avoid mix-up between M.1917 (.30-06) and M.1914 (.303 British).

We recieved the first 38.395 pieces of M.1917 from Canada in 1953-54, 10.000 from Norway in 1957 and 13.000 from Norway in 1959, but we have never had a single M.1914 in .303 in service in Denmark.

After the war we primarly had Lee-Enfield No 4 and a few (about 900) No I, mrk.III, but no M.1914. Otherwise we were using german K98 in 7,92x57 IS and Swedish Mausers in 6,5x55.

In 1953 were all british and swedish equipment/weapons returned and the only cartridge in use were the danish M/48 (.30-06).

There were no other rifle to mix up with at that time. The army had the M/50 Garand for servicerifle and our machinegun was the Madsen M.48 also in .30-06 and the machinegun for tanks was the british 7,92x57.

None of the danish experts I have talked to about the notch, have ever heard about the notch in the purpose to avoid mix up in calibers and they must have known if that was a danish initiative.

regards
niels

[Amore2]

I forgot to mention, that the norwegians made som changes on the rifles, when they had them before shipping them to Denmark.

We don't exactly know how the changes technically were made, but it had something to do with the norwegians wanted to use another type of clip to the M.1917's. The only documentation we have seen is a memo from Forsvarets Krigsmaterielforvaltning (nov-dec. 1956) that says, that a check of the Norwegian rifles was necessary before signing the contract, because of the changes made on the rifles for using a new clip. The danes wanted to use the standard US-clip. We can't see in the documentation, how this norwegian change was made.

Maybe the notches are a Norwegian acitivity ?

niels

[Dan Wilson]

Thanks for the insider information, this is the kind of input we need to try to figure stuff like this out.

Maybe someday we will come across something that actually explains why the notch was cut.

Good question on the Norwegian connection to the rifles, guess we need someone there to add to this.

Dan

[shjoe]

excellent research. these forums draw on a wealth of personal experiences and knowledge. i was unaware of the possibility of a Norwegian connection. would the norwegian desire to use a mauser clip alter the "feed angle" of the cartridges, necessitaing the receiver notch? i will have to investigate this myself with a mauser clip. thus far, i havent found any sign of a canadian broad-arrow stamping on the rifle. the stock is a remington replacement with no re-arsenal stampings. would the canadian marking be elswhere on the rifle? my next question would be, what do the norwegian and danish stampings look like? i have to strip it down again in a day or two to re-check for any discoloration or indications that i did not clean the bore adequately - then re-oil. i need to re-adjust the firing pin protrusion and check it with a live primer in an un-charged case. then, off to the range with some factory 150gr ammo. best, john

[shjoe]

i tried a mauser stripper clip loaded with factory 150gr FMJ rds, in the notched eddystone. with the exception of a poor fit in the stripper clip grooves, the cartridges did not need a notched receiver to be loaded. now i am curious as to the configuration of the norwegian stripper clip which required them to notch the receivers.

[da gimp]

rifles with great regularity. It was the favorite action to make an affordable .375H&H and other large bore big game rifles. If it is long enough for that cartridge, I know of no OAL .30-06 loads as long as it, much less longer & needing a notch in the reciever. There are notches in some US Springfield 1903's that I am aware of. At one time the gurus of the 1903's collecting thought these were put in by/for the USMC if I remember correctly,us old farts have brain farts 2.


Hope this helps & maybe some1 needs to ask over with photos of this notched reciever.

da gimp

OFC, Mo. Chapter

NRA Life/Endowment

[eldowerks]

Just for what its worth...
A local Minnesota gun store recently had a Model 1917, Remington made, with the notched receiver and the cylindrical front sight post.

At the time I didn't know enough about M1917s to read the arsenal marks on the stocks so I can't confirm it was an import.

The gun shop guys didn't have a clue as to why the receiver was notched.

At any rate, they are out there.