Winchester Enfield Model 1917 Serial Numbers

Military Model 1917 Rifle: Winchester: Covering numbers: 1 - 585000. Please enter a serial number and click the submit button.

The long-range accuracy of German Model 1893 and 1895 Mausers in the hands of Boer marksmen during the Boer War (1899 -1902) made a big impression on the British Army, and a more powerful, modern rifle was desired. Thus, even though improved Lee–Enfield variants (the SMLE) and ammunition with pointed (spitzer) projectiles entered service after the Boer War in 1910, a committee was formed to develop an entirely new design of rifle and cartridge. The starting point was to copy many of the features of the Mauser system. The rifle was developed at the at () in the United Kingdom.

On July 12, 1917, each contractor submitted a second sample that reflected some improvement, but component interchangeability was still judged to be less than satisfactory. The Ordnance Dept.

All, Thank you for this fun thread! Here is a picture of my Eddystone M1917 Rifles, along with my Model 1903 Colt New Army Revolver. Why the revolver? Some of you may know that I'm into Thompsons. What do Thompsons have to do with turn of the century revolvers and M1917 Rifles, you might ask? Well, they are all tied together through history by John T. Thompson, namesake of the Thompson Submachine Gun.

Some were sold to the Philippines, and a few found their way home to ROTC units for drill purposes. Most simply languished in storage. Armed with Enfields, American doughboys man an abandoned German position in the Meuse Valley north of Verdun. World War II changed all that. After the British Expeditionary Force abandoned its weapons on the beaches at Dunkirk, the Royal Army faced a German cross-Channel invasion lacking equipment of every kind, especially infantry rifles. The British government appealed to civilians to volunteer their firearms for home defense use, but post-World War I legal restrictions on firearms ownership and the manufacture of automatic weapons made suitable firearms scarce in the British Isles.

On May 10, 1917, each of the three manufacturers sent Springfield Armory a sample M1917 for evaluation and testing. Most of the parts were hand-fitted, resulting in a lack of interchangeability among many of the components. This presented the Ordnance Dept. With yet another dilemma.

The movie’s climactic scene helped cement the Springfield’s mystique with generations of military firearms collectors, history buffs, and re-enactors. Sleek and accurate, the Springfield seemed the perfect weapon for an iconic American hero. Gain new insight into the battle that brought the end of Napoleon’s rule in France.

Granted it was pretty silly, but the 1903 has a pattern they liked. Winchester also jumped the gun on parts conformity and got smacked a bit. That is more problematical to me. They needed arms in the hand of troops and I think they should have done a mark (star or astricks) to indicate not compliant and then worked to compliance. Despite some of the reports that not all parts ever did fully interchange, having had mix masters, they all worked fine. Thanks for the picture!

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements. Box, Paperwork & Accessories: The installed scope and mount are included. Our Assessment: This Winchester Model 1917 was made about 100 yrs ago. It has since been dropped into a custom stock with hand checkering and has had its barrel cut back to 24 inches.

Just when Great Britain seemed poised to replace the SMLE rifle with the Pattern 14, the smellies, despite their supposed obsolescence, performed admirably in the trenches. The.303 cartridge proved perfectly adequate for modern warfare, and the standard Mark III Enfield not only functioned reliably but also held twice as many rounds in its detachable box magazine as Germany’s 1898 Mauser. More importantly, Britain’s accelerated SMLE production satisfied the Royal Army’s needs. American production of the Pattern 14 became unnecessary, and the British government canceled the American contracts. Production ended in July 1917, just as the United States mobilized for its own entry into the war. From Pattern 14 to U.S.

After studying the options, American ordnance engineers were put to work modifying the British rifle to accept the U.S. Service cartridge, and the result was adopted as “United States Rifle, Caliber.30, Model of 1917.” The American government was criticized by some for delaying the acquisition of additional rifles but, in retrospect, this was clearly the most logical choice. In 1919, a report issued by Assistant Secretary of War Crowell stated: “The decision to modify the Enfield was one of the great decisions of the executive prosecution of the war—all honor to the men who made it.” In addition to the production delays, there was some resistance to the new rifle itself, as well as some misconceptions regarding its suitably for the American armed forces.

LSB#: 180411RR04 Make: Winchester Model: 1917. Now a Sporting Rifle Serial Number: 40836 Year of Manufacture: August, 1917 to April, 1919 (page 129 of Charle. SCROLL BELOW 'PAYMENT & SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS' FOR FULL PICTURE SET Shipping: Your item will be shipped within 1 week of receipt of good funds, usually the next day. You will receive an automatic notification with a tracking number upon shipment, to let you know that we have received funds. (Please obtain a tracking number from your carrier for immediate delivery confirmation of payment). If you are in Southern California, you are welcome to pick your item up and complete the transfer at our shop in Simi Valley (M-F, 8-4 and Saturday By Appointment). This gun can only be shipped to an FFL, and it will be shipped from an FFL.

The barrel shank is marked with two “eagle’s head” inspection stamps. The left side of the receiver is marked with an Ordnance Department “flaming bomb” proof.

Although many British civilians turned in the few weapons they had, their contributions did little to alleviate the shortage. The British government bought advertising space in U.S. Publications asking Americans to “Send a Gun to Defend a British Home.” American citizens shipped a vast assortment of personal firearms to the beleaguered nation to fill the gap. Despite American generosity, Great Britain’s army desperately needed uniform modern battle rifles.

World War I [ ] When the U.S. Entered the war, it had a similar need for rifles. The had delivered approximately 843,000, but due to the difficulties in production, rather than re-tool the Pattern 14 factories to produce the standard U.S. Rifle, the M1903 Springfield, it was realized that it would be much quicker to adapt the British design for the U.S.30-06 Springfield cartridge. The Enfield design was well-suited to the.30-06 Springfield; it was a big, strong action and was originally intended to employ a long, powerful, rimless bottlenecked cartridge. Accordingly, Remington Arms Co.

Well, Folks I got me one!My 1917 Enfield arrived fromt he CMP, and she is a bute! The serial number is 925,000 range and the metal is in excellent shape! The wood has the character dings and scratches, but she is a bute.If I didn't already say that.

Although the initial runs of 1917 rifles from Winchester suffered from this problem, the rifles eventually enjoyed 95 percent interchangeability, a satisfactory rate during wartime. By February 1918, the three plants combined produced over 7,000 of the 1917 rifles daily for the princely sum of $26 per copy, half of what the P-14s had cost to produce. By war’s end, 75 percent of the doughboys carried the “U.S. Enfield,” as it was often called.

The explanation involves American ingenuity, productive capacity, and lack of preparedness for entry into the Great War. Having concluded that the used by U.S. Army troops in the Spanish-American War were inferior to the 1893 Mauser rifles that the Spanish troops carried, the Army adopted the U.S. Magazine Rifle of 1903, commonly called the Springfield because it was manufactured at the U.S.

Also, the M1917 did not have a magazine cut-off, which meant that the follower blocked the closing of the bolt when the magazine was empty. This often caused some consternation and awkwardness during close order drill. Some soldiers reportedly inserted a dime to keep the follower from blocking the bolt but this was hardly a suitable fix.

Eventually, a stamped sheet metal “magazine platform depressor” was issued. Nevertheless, the M1917 eventually won over many of its former critics as it proved itself to be a sturdy and reliable infantry rifle with an excellent battle sight. The rifle acquitted itself very well on the battlefields of France and, as they gained experience with M1917s, fewer soldiers complained about having to use an “American Enfield” rather than a Springfield. There were many reports regarding the efficacy of the new rifle, and relatively few detailed any significant problems. By the time of the Armistice, some 1,123,259 M1917s had been shipped to France; 800,967 issued to troops and 322,292 “ floated in bulk” (unissued in reserve). Of this figure, 61,000 were reportedly issued to the U.S.