Eddystone P17: a "german crime"

[Promo]

I bought this rifle in Germany as a decoration rifle. It looked great on the pictures, so I thought I might get some cheap spare parts.

When it arrived, it took me about 3 hours to wipe out the arsenal grease that was still with every part of the rifle. It wasn't hard to find out, that the rifle didn't see much use before being demilitarized. Luckily, this was being done by welding the chamber, what made it reversible.

It did cost some money to cut a new chamber, but it was worth it. By far the most beautiful barrel I had ever seen on a 1917. Every part is marked with E; the parkerization is even such thick, that closing the bolt needs quite some strengh due to the amount of finish on the grinding parts

Here some pictures of it:








The only bad thing about it - before being demilitarized according to some old german law, the sight had being blocked and the bayonet lug had been cut off:




Regards,

Georg

Information

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[Calif-Steve]

Are you planning on shooting this rifle?

[Patrick Chadwick]

Rather odd treatment there, from the point of view of German regulations. Around the 1970s there was a law in force governing "weapons of war" (Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz). This particulary ridiculous piece of legislation required that all military weapons being imported into Germany should have the sights blocked to a maximum of 300 meters and any bayonet lug should be removed. Obviously someone thought that a milsurp would only be dangerous at ranges longer than 300 meters. And having fired at a range of up to a mile or more, the long-range snipers must then be prevented from charging all the way with fixed bayonets
Words fail me to explain this nonsense, so smileys will have to do. Fortunately, this part of the legislation has since been removed, to the relief of both shooters and collectors.

Having done it myself, I can assure you that it is a straightforward (if fiddly) job to grind off the weld spot with a Dremel mini hand grinder and the help of a large magnifying glass. But milling a new bayonet lug, welding it on, and cleaning up the result was a real drag, and it would really be simpler to get a new foreend cap if you can.

As to the welded chamber - if the rifle had been deactivated in accordance with regulations, the barrel would have been drilled through at several points, and a steel rod welded in place right through at the muzzle end. The idea is to prevent criminals from buying de-acts and turning them into usable weapons. So you were lucky to get one that was, in fact, illegitimate as a de-act.

Finally, a chamber that has been welded would not be acceptable for firing a live round. The proof houses here would not even accept such an item for proofing. In this case, the rules really do serve the interests of safety, and live ammo should not be used in such a barrel.

Patrick

[Promo]

The welded chamber had been "undone" by a gunsmith, the work was being tested by a firing proof (30% over the maximum CIP pressure). That's why this rifle is surely safe for firing. There were no drilled holes in the barrel, what was the big surprise - just the "thing" with the filled chamber.

I have an original foreend cap, but it's being made by Winchester and has a blued finish, differing from the rifles parkerized finish. So the thing is to get a parkerized, Eddystone marked one (and what is what I'm looking for).

Georg

[jamie5070]

Check with sprinfield sporters and watch e-pay. You should be able to find a nice eddy front band for a decent price. Overall that is a nice rifle.
john

[Chuckindenver]

most parts houses, and Fleabay sellers wont ship gunsparts to Europe, i will send a select few. i have a rear sight, and a bayonet lug, id sell and ship to you..

[mdoerner]

Just out of curiosity, what S/N range is this particular item? I have an Eddystone S/N 1251XXX that has very similar stamps as yours, but also has Canadian acceptance stamps as well....

Mike D

[Promo]

You're right, 1.278.XXX - so nearly the same. P17's with Canadian markings are rare in Europe, I owned one once, but sold it due to "too much" of those P17's (I own currently 5 of those).

Georg

[smellie]

Love that 11-18 barrel date: one of the very last, and rebuilt afterwards just as a sort of bonus.

The Kaiser abdicated on November 5 and everyone knew that the new Government would sue for peace as quickly as they could. Production stop notices went out to the armaments factories starting immediately; by November 11, Eddystone no longer was starting production on new rifles, but just was cleaning-up what already was in process.

I have a November, 1918 P17 myself: one of my treasures. Not all that rare, mind you: they were making 4,000 complete rifles a day at that time, plus spare parts, but it is nice to have one of the very last.

THIS one is in a completely different class.

Beautiful rifle!
.

[Promo]

With many thanks to Chuck I was able to recomplete the rifle:


Looks like she's feeling better at home back in the family of the American 'Enfields'

(From the back: Eddy M1917, Win M1917, Eddy M1917, Rem M1917 (with PH5B), Eddy P14, Win P14, Rem P14, P13)

Georg