Commercial 1917 Winchester Bayonet

[Aragorn243]

I posted this in the yard sale thread but figured it should be here also as they aren't very common or even known.

This is a Winchester commercially sold 1917 bayonet. Not a lot known about them because no records kept of them but these were apparently left over after WWI and were sold to police departments with Model 97 shotguns with bayonet lugs. Very clear Winchester mark but no date or acceptance marks. It's also unissued. I suspect the seller figured it was a reproduction and I had that concern as well, but I looked it over very closely and it's the real deal as far and I can tell. In any case, it was $35.

It's discussed here: Bayo Points 10

[browningautorifle]

Nice piece, yes apparently that IS what was done with them. Can't imagine they came out often with the police depts though. I have seen a couple pics...

[Aragorn243]

Found these:



This early 1920s photo shows members of the Denver, Colo., Police Dept. examining Model 1897 trench guns. As was also the case with the Richmond, Va., Police Dept., the Denver PD received the trench guns by way of the U.S. Army a few years after the end of World War I. Note that the guns are fitted with Model 1917 rifle bayonets.
Photo courtesy of the Denver Public Library collection.



This Model 1917 (Rock Island Auction Co. photo) bayonet, shown above with its scabbard, bears the “circled W” logo (r. author's photo) but no additional markings. It is believed that the bayonets, which attached to the heat shield assembly of the shotgun, were manufactured in the early 1920s to support the Model 1897 trench guns that were acquired from the U.S. Army by various law-enforcement agencies.

Full article: A Genuine Time Capsule: The “Ivanhoe Trench Guns” | An Official Journal Of The NRA

Good deal for $35.

[browningautorifle]

Yes, that's one. Looks like a "Show and shine" type thing. Everyone looking them over.

[Peter Laidler]

MAGNIFICENT photo of the Denver PD above. That's how the police should be, today. Just my opinion of course............. None of this nanny state stuff.

There's a story on our local newspaper today. All caught on camera of course, of a Sergeant arresting a fighting mad pi55head. Got him on the ground and while he fell, the poor lamb smacked his head on the police car. Complained and it's taken 2 years for it to reach a conclusion and the sergeant was found not guilty of any of the many charges laid against him. That's my rant for today!