Us model of 1917 eddystone

[fisherman1]

Received this rifle from a friend. It was his fathers. All that is stamped on the barrel or receiver is "us model of 1917 eddystone". Then the serial number. I found a site to put in the serial number and it tells me this rifle was built in 1918. How do I tell the caliber? Also what are these old rifles worth. It is in really good shape.

[rembo]

Unless it's been rebarreled all M17 Enfields 's are 30-06. Value is determined by originality as well as condition.
It was made at the Eddystone arsenal. M17 Enfields were also made by Remington and Winchester. There's a whole story on these that I'm sure someone will have time to type out here.

One thing to keep in mind is the left hand twist....left hand twist bullets are getting harder to find....

[bobinthesky]

What Rembo said.

Also, it will depend on whether or not the rifle has been "sporterized" in the manner a lot of Lee Enfields were with the fore stock cut down, rear sight ears ground off and such.

[Scottmisfits]

Left hand twist bullets? That's a good one!

Post up some pictures. It will give a better representation of the rifle. If you google the rifle you can see a bunch of different pictures of sporterized (modern looking) and original form with the longer wood stock.

Mine has a "flying bomb" on the receiver. These ones were typically built ambit better and the desired ones from the sharpshooters of the day. The symbol almost looks the Detroit Red Wings crest.

They can be very accurate rifles. Shooting Federal blue box 150grain factory rounds I can put 5 shots in to a nickel from a solid rest. Off of a bipod is still under 1MOA.

[saddleup]

I too recently acquired the same rifle, all original, and I even know the US soldier that carried it in the Battle of the Bulge in France in 1945. The gentleman is now 92 years young, and still rides a horse..lol Rifle is very good condition considering it was made in 1918. I am planning to shoot it this spring, but having trouble deciding on the brand of left hand bullets to use I may just go with regular bullets as I think the twist changes to right half way down the pipe.

[Grizzly Adams]

I even know the US soldier that carried it in the Battle of the Bulge in France in 1945

Don't imagine too many 1917s carried during the latter days of WW ll.

Grizz

[saddleup]

[QUOTE=Grizzly Adams;3445676]I even know the US soldier that carried it in the Battle of the Bulge in France in 1945

Don't imagine too many 1917s carried during the latter days of WW ll.

Grizz[/QUOTE\

As a matter of fact.. No, not very many were carried during the latter days of WW ll , But this one was along with a few more if your read up on them.

[Scottmisfits]

Mine was still in "service" during WWII, but it was being used by the Homeland Militia. My Grandfather lived in Whiterock (Vancouver) and wasn't of age to go oversea's with the military. But if he ever heard the bell's and alarms go off it was time to fight. Thankfully it never came to that.

It sat in his closet since my grandparents moved to their current home in 1986, on the west coast. When I got it there was a piece broken but I got it replaced. It has been sporterized as well. The only thing I want to do with it is replace the recoil pad. These rifles tend to hit hard. I don't shoot it much so it's not a huge deal even if I do leave it how it is.

[fisherman1]

Thanks for all the info guys. It sure is interesting hearing all the history folks have with these old rifles. I can't get pictures to upload. if you would PM me your cell i can text or email them though.

[Scottmisfits]

Here are the pictures from Fisherman1

[bobinthesky]

The caliber was originally 30-06 Springfield and the rifle should be marked Cal 30, which was the military designation. The caliber could have been changed some where along the line but if it was done by a gunsmith then the barrel should be so marked. A chamber cast is the only way to tell for certain if it worries you.
This rifle looks to be all original with the exception of having the fore stock cut off.
M-17's were made by 3 manufacturers, Eddystone, Winchester and Remington. The actions are very strong with the exception of the extractors which can be prone to break. There are aftermarket extractors available which are better than the originals.
The barrels of these rifles were screwed into the actions extremely tight and as a result, the receivers can crack when the barrels are removed leaving a hairline crack. This is thought to be due to improper heat treatment and the Eddystone is the biggest offender of the 3 but it's by no means that common on any of them.
A lot of these actions have been used to build custom rifles and I have a couple which are both highly modified and very accurate and reliable rifles. They are labor intensive to modify as most people want the mag box belly removed and the rear sight ears ground off. Speed lock kits are available from Dayton Traister and they turn the action from a "cock on close" to a "cock on open" action like most 98 Mauser clones. My rifles sport speed lock kits and Timney triggers, a great combination! One drawback to this design is that the actions don't have really good gas protection for the shooter in the event of a ruptured case and aftermarket kits used to be available that address this but I doubt if one could find them anymore.
As for value, these rifles have some collect-ability but the cut down stock reduces the value some what. Basically, the rifle as it sits is worth whatever some one is willing to pay for it, more or less like a cut down Lee Enfield is.

[Scottmisfits]

I have seen a few Eddystone versions and none of the barrels were stamped but that looks like the original barrel anyway.

One thing that I found through the research that I did is that Eddystone was actually a Remington Company. The "Eddystone" plant was a converted rail factory that only built these rifles while the Remington and Winchester factories were sti building other firearms. The tolerances of the Eddystone rifles were better and therefore they were considered to be the more accurate rifles.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1917_Enfield

[Deer Hunter]

I have a nice m1917 custom in 30/06
They are excellent rifles with a ton of history

[fisherman1]

There are sooo many different prices and styles of this rifle. I am looking to sell. What would be a starting price to ask?

[mgvande]

Don't sell. Build. Look at Numrich they could have everything u need.

[Scottmisfits]

I've had some offered to me for $100 with some surface rust on the outside of the barrel and completely sporterized and up to $400 for a complete unmodified version.

[CMichaud]

I have a complete Winchester made one with the red paint band (Canadian use) still present.

As a sporter, it would be comparable to a L-E sporter IMHO. There is a sporterized P-14 (these were very similar but 303Br) on CGN and the ask is $150. The ad has been bumped 4 times.

As such, I would probably list it for around $300 and be prepared to take about $200.

Just my 2 cents.