The table below represents the serial numbers and production dates of Winchester Model 12 Shotguns. When was my winchester model of 1917 serial # 287124 made? According to the factory records: The year of manufacture for serial number 287124 is May 1918.

• Winchester Enfield Model 1917 Serial Numbers
• Winchester Model Of 1917 Serial Numbers
• Winchester 1917 Serial Numbers

Winchester Enfield Model 1917 Serial Numbers

The M1917 Enfield, the 'American Enfield', formally named 'United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917' is an American modification and production of the .303-inch (7.7 mm)Pattern 1914 Enfield (P14) rifle (listed in British Service as Rifle No. 3) developed and manufactured during the period 1917–1918. Numerically, it was the main rifle used by the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I. The Danish Slædepatruljen Sirius still use the M1917, which performs reliably in Arctic conditions, as their service weapon.

• 1History

History[edit]

Before World War I, the British had the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield (SMLE) as their main rifle. Compared to the German Mausers or U.S. 1903 Springfield, the SMLE's .303 rimmed cartridge, originally a black powder cartridge, was ill-suited for feeding in magazine or belt-fed weapons and the SMLE was thought to be less accurate than its competition at longer ranges. The long-range accuracy of German 7×57mm 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 .303 British Mark VII 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 Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield (arsenal) in the United Kingdom.

This development named the Pattern 1913 Enfield or P13, included a front locking, dual lug bolt action with Mauser type claw extractor as well as a new, powerful rimless .276 Enfield cartridge. The design carried over a Lee–Enfield type safety at the rear of the action and a bolt that cocked on closing to ease unlocking of the bolt during rapid fire. An advanced design, for the era, of aperture rearsight and a long sight radius were incorporated to maximize accuracy potential. Ease of manufacture was also an important criterion. However, the onset of World War I came too quickly for the UK to put it into production before the new cartridge could be perfected, as it suffered from overheating in rapid fire and bore fouling.

As it entered World War I, the UK had an urgent need for rifles, and contracts for the new rifle were placed with arms companies in the United States. They decided to ask these companies to produce the new rifle design in the old .303 British chambering for convenience of ammunition logistics. The new rifle was termed the 'Pattern 14'. In the case of the P14 rifle, Winchester and Remington were selected. A third manufacturer, Eddystone Arsenal – a subsidiary of Remington – was tooled up at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Thus, three variations of the P14 and M1917 exist, labeled 'Winchester,' 'Remington' or 'Eddystone'.

World War I[edit]

When the U.S. entered the war, it had a similar need for rifles. The Springfield Armory had delivered approximately 843,000 M1903 Springfield rifles, 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. Although it might have been faster to retain chambering for the .303 British military cartridge, the design was modified for the U.S. .30-06 Springfield cartridge to simplify ammunition logistics. 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. altered the design for caliber .30-06 Springfield, under the close supervision of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, which was formally adopted as the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917. In addition to Remington's production at Ilion, New York and Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Winchester produced the rifle at their New Haven, Connecticut plant, a combined total more than twice the 1903's production, and was the unofficial service rifle. Eddystone made 1,181,908 rifles – more than the production of Remington (545,541 rifles) and Winchester (465,980 rifles) combined.^[2][3]Although standardization with interchangeable parts was intended, early Winchester rifles (including the first five-thousand with a simple W on the receiver rather than Winchester) used slightly differing parts, causing interchangeability issues with the rifles produced by Remington and Eddystone until Winchester corrected the problem in later production.^[4]

Design changes were few; the stripper clip feed, internal box magazine, bolt face, chamber and rifling dimensions were altered to suit the .30-06 Springfield cartridge and the US pattern 5-round stripper clips, the stock was slightly redesigned, lightening it somewhat, and the volley fire sights on the left side of the weapon were deleted. The markings were changed to reflect the model and caliber change. A 16.5-inch blade bayonet, the M1917 bayonet was produced for use on the rifle; it was later used on several other small arms including the M97 and M12trench shotguns and early M1 Garands.

The new rifle was used alongside the M1903 Springfield, and quickly surpassed the Springfield design in numbers produced and units issued. By November 11, 1918 about 75% of the AEF in France were armed with M1917s.^[5]

An M1917 Enfield rifle was used by Sergeant Alvin C. York on October 8, 1918, during the event for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, as the U.S. 82nd Division's (which York was a part of) official history states the division had been issued the M1917 (Eddystone), then replaced them with the No 1 Mk III Lee-Enfield whilst training with the British in the north of France, then were reissued M1917 rifles (Eddystone).^[6] According to his diary, Sergeant York also used a Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol on that day.^[7][8] (The film Sergeant York starring Gary Cooper in the title role, had York using an M1903 Springfield and a German Luger pistol.)

After the armistice, most M1917 rifles were placed in storage, although Chemical Mortar units continued to be issued them. During the 1920s and 1930s many M1917 rifles were released for civilian use through the NRA, or were sold as surplus. Many were 'sporterized', sometimes including rechambering to more powerful magnum hunting cartridges, such as .300 H&H Magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum. It was so popular as a sporting weapon that Remington manufactured about 30,000 new rifles as the Model 30 from 1921 to 1940.

World War II[edit]

At the time of the American entry into World War II, the U.S. Army was still issuing the M1917 to Chemical Mortarmen. Perhaps due to M1 Garand shortages at the start of the war, the M1917 was also issued to artillerymen early in the war and both mortarmen and artillerymen carried the M1917 in North Africa. Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Peterson (USAR, retired; 1920–2005), a Major in the 101st Airborne in the Normandy action, reported seeing some M1917 rifles issued to rear-echelon US troops in France during World War II. Other M1917 rifles were issued to the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary.^[9] After the fall of the Philippines, M1917 rifles were used by Japanese police forces^[10] as well as by U.S. and Filipino soldiers with the local guerrillas before the liberation of the Philippines. These rifles were also used by the Hukbalahap.^[11]

Before and during World War II, stored rifles were reconditioned for use as reserve, training and Lend-Lease weapons; these rifles are identified by having refinished metal (sandblasted and Parkerized) and sometimes replacement wood (often birch). Some of these rifles were reconditioned with new bolts manufactured by the United Shoe Machinery Company and stamped USMC leading to the mistaken impression these were United States Marine Corps rifles.^[12] Many were bought by the United Kingdom through the British Purchasing Commission for use by the Home Guard; 615,000 arrived in Britain in the summer of 1940, followed by a further 119,000 in 1941.^[13] These were prominently marked with a red paint stripe around the stock to avoid confusion with the earlier P14 that used the British .303 round. Others were supplied to the Nationalist Chinese forces, to indigenous forces in the China-Burma-India theatre, to Filipino soldiers under the Philippine Army and Constabulary units and the local guerrilla forces and to the Free French Army, which can occasionally be seen in wartime photographs. The M1917 was also issued to the Local Defence Force of the Irish Army during World War II, these were part-time soldiers akin to the British Home Guard. In an ironic reversal of names, in Irish service the M1917 was often referred to as the 'Springfield'; presumably since an 'Enfield' rifle was assumed to be the standard Irish MkIII Short Magazine Lee–Enfield, while 'Springfield' was known to be an American military arsenal.

The M1917 was supplied to both Denmark and Norway after WWII as an interim weapon prior to the arrival of the M1 Garand.

Korean War and after[edit]

After World War II, the M1917 went out of front-line duty with the US forces. Chinese Communist forces used M1917 rifles during the Korean War.^[14] This rifle was also used, unofficially, in small Middle-East and African conflicts as a military-assistance program supplied rifle.

Contemporary use[edit]

The M1917 is used as a ceremonial and drilling rifle, as with the M1903, M1 Garand, and M14. For battle purposes, the Danish Slædepatruljen Sirius still use the M1917 as their service weapon, due to the high reliability of these bolt-action rifles in the harsh conditions of high Arctic Greenland.^[15]

Design details[edit]

Like the M1903 Springfield, the M1917 actually used the basic Mauser M98 bolt action design coupled with a few modifications. Due to the original P13 action being designed for a high-powered .276 Enfield round with a larger diameter case than the .30-06 Springfield, the magazine capacity for the smaller diameter .30-06 Springfield was six rounds, although stripper clips held only five cartridges.

Both P14 and M1917 rifles are noted for several design features. The rifle was designed with an iron sight line consisting of rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for 400 yd (366 m) with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for 200–900 yd (183–823 m) in 100 yd (91 m) increments and 900–1,600 yd (823–1,463 m) in 50 yd (46 m) increments. The ladder aperture sight moves vertically on a slide, and hence was not able to correct for wind drift. The rear sight element was protected by sturdy 'ears' and proved to be faster and more accurate than the typical mid-barrel sight offered by Mauser, Enfield or the Buffington battle sight of the M1903 Springfield. Future American rifles, such as the M1903A3 Springfield, M1 Garand and M1 carbine, would all use similar rear sights. The front sighting element consisted of a wing-protected front post, and was adjusted laterally and locked into position during assembly at the arsenal. The M1917 rear sight element was situated on an elongated receiver bridge, which added weight to the action, as well as lengthening the bolt. The M1917 has a 31.76 in (806.7 mm) sight radius. The battle sight radius is slightly shorter at 31.69 in (804.9 mm).^[16]The M1917 action weighs 58 oz (1,644 g) versus 45 oz (1,276 g) for the M1903 Springfield.

The rifle maintains the British cock-on-closing feature, in which the bolt's mainspring is loaded and the rifle cocked as part of the return stroke of the bolt, which aided rapid fire, especially as the action heated up. Most bolt action designs after the Mauser 98 cocked as part of the opening stroke. The rifle has a characteristic 'belly' due to a deeper magazine, allowing the rifle to hold six rounds of the US .30-06 cartridge in the magazine, and one in the chamber. The M1917 Enfield like the Mauser Gewehr 98 had no magazine cut-off mechanism, which when engaged permits the feeding and extraction of single cartridges only while keeping the cartridges in the magazine in reserve. In a manufacturing change from the Mauser 98 and the derivative Springfield, the bolt is not equipped with a third 'safety' lug. Instead, as on the earlier Model 1895 (Chilean) Mauser, the bolt handle recesses into a notch in the receiver, which serves as an emergency locking lug in the event of failure of the frontal locking lugs. This change saved machine time needed on the rifle bolt, cutting costs and improving production rates, and this alteration has since been adopted by many commercial bolt-action rifle designs for the same reasons.The unusual 'dog-leg' shaped bolt handle is low profile and places the bolt knob just rearwards of the trigger close to the firer's hand, facilitating rapid cycling and fire. Like the Lee–Enfield, P13 and P14, the safety falls under the firer's thumb and can be operated silently.The M1917 Enfield bolt locking lugs had a 4 degree helical angle with matching angles on the receiver lug seats (the technical term is interrupted threading). This means that final head space is not achieved until the bolt handle is turned down all the way. The design probably used helical locking lugs to allow for chambering imperfect or dirty ammunition and that the closing cam action is distributed over the entire mating faces of both bolt and receiver lugs. This is one reason the bolt closure feels smooth. The angled lugs had no tendency to unwind with chamber pressure since the 'angle of repose' of smooth, lubricated steel surfaces is approximately 8 degrees. One advantage was that when the bolt handle was turned up was that the lugs cleared each other immediately so full effort was applied to the extraction cam. The trigger had a mechanical interlock to prevent firing unless the bolt was fully locked. The location of the safety on the right rear of the receiver has also been copied by most sporting bolt-action rifles since, as it falls easily under the firer's thumb. The trigger pull is ≥ 3 lb_f (13.3 N). One notable design flaw was the leaf spring that powered the ejector, which could break off and render the ejector inoperable. A combat-expedient repair method was to slip a bit of rubber under the bolt stop spring.^[17] A redesigned ejector, incorporating a small coil spring in place of the fragile leaf spring, was developed and can be fitted to the M1917 to remedy this issue.

The M1917 was well-suited to the rimless .30-06 Springfield round which came closer in overall length and muzzle energy to the original .276 Enfield high-velocity round for which the rifle had been designed than the rimmed, less powerful .303 British round of the P14. The M1917's barrel had a 1 in 10 in (254 mm) twist rate and retained the 5-groove left hand twist Enfield-type rifling of the P14, in contrast to the 4-groove right hand twist rifling of the M1903 Springfield and other US designed arms. The M1917 had a long 26-inch heavyweight barrel compared to the lighter 24-inch barrel of the M1903 Springfield. With the longer sighting plane, the M1917 proved generally more accurate at long distances than the M1903, at the expense of greater weight. The M1917 weighed 9 lb 3 oz (4.17 kg) empty – the M1903 Springfield weighed 8 lb 11 oz (3.94 kg) empty – and a rifle with sling, oiler, and fixed bayonet weighed over 11 lb (4.99 kg). The M1917's long barrel and issued 16.5 in (419 mm) blade bayonet proved too lengthy and cumbersome for trench fighting, while its weight and overall length made the rifle difficult to use for some smaller-statured soldiers.

Winchester Model Of 1917 Serial Numbers

Many M1917 Enfield rifles were refurbished during World War II with newly manufactured High Standard barrels with 4-groove rifling and Johnson Automatics barrels which had 2-groove rifling.^[18]

Winchester 1917 Serial Numbers

Variants[edit]

The M1917 action made from nickel-steel proved very strong, and was used as the basis for a variety of commercial and gunsmith-made sporting rifles in standard and magnum calibers between the world wars and after. Later, Remington Arms redesigned the M1917, removing the 'ears' and changing it to cock-on-open, to become the Remington Model 30 series of rifles in the interwar period.

Remington Model 1934 rifles based on Model 30 actions were produced in 7×57mm as service rifles for Honduras. In 1934 500 Remington Model 1934 were delivered and in 1935 2,500.

Additional surplus rifles were bought by European arms distributors and converted to 7.92×57mm Mauser, then sold for use in the civil war in Spain during the 1930s.

X Force was the name given to a portion of the Chinese Army equipped and trained by the US during World War II. One of the weapons given to X Force was the M1917 rifle. These rifles were too big for the small-statured Chinese soldiers so the barrels and stocks were shortened from an overall length of 46 inches for the standard M1917 to a 41-inch rifle.^[19]

Users[edit]

• Afghanistan^[20]
• Canada^[21]
• Republic of China^[22]
• People's Republic of China^[14]
• Denmark: Received after 1945 and known as 7.62mm G M/53.^[23] Currently in service with the Slædepatruljen Sirius in Greenland.^[21]
• Ethiopian Empire: received after World War II.^[24]
• France: Known as the Fusil à répétition 7 mm 62 (C. 30) M. 17^[25] (Repeating rifle 7.62mm (calibre .30) model 17)
• Honduras: Remington Model 1934 variant chambered for 7×57mm^{[citation needed]}
• Ireland: Around 20,000 used by the Local Defence Force during the Emergency (World War II)
• Japan: Captured during World War II^[26]
• North Korea^[22]
• Norway: In 1952 Norway received 24992 P-17 rifles from Britain in exchange for their inventory of .303 rifles which were acquired during and after WW2.^[27]
• Philippines
• South Vietnam^[28]
• Spanish Republic^[29]
• United Kingdom^[21]
• United States: Used by United States Army And United States Marine Corps
• Vietnam: Used by Việt Minh, some sold by the Nationalist Chinese.^[30] Also used by the Viet Cong.^[31]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'FM 23-6 Basic Field Manual: U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1917, 20 October 1943'(PDF). ibiblio.org. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
2. ^Schreier, Philip American Rifleman (January 2009) p.80
3. ^http://www.guns.com/2012/10/24/remington-m1917-enfield-rifle/Guns.comThe Remington M1917 Enfield Rifle: A forgotten veteran? by Chris Eger (10/24/2012)
4. ^Canfield, Bruce N. (2018). 'One of the Great Decisions'. American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. 166 (8): 43–46&70.
5. ^Ferris, C.S. United States Rifle Model of 1917. p. 54.
6. ^http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/america-ascending/case-57-world-war-i-allies-the-world-at-war,-1914-1918/us-winchester-model-1917-bolt-action-rifle.aspxArchived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine National Firearms Museum 'U.S. Army Sergeant Alvin York carried an Enfield in 1917 when he won the Medal of Honor for capturing nearly the whole German army.'
7. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2010-08-31.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
8. ^Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation: 'Sgt. Alvin C. York's Diary: October 8, 1918'Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 25, 2010
9. ^Morton, Louis (1953). 'U.S. Army Forces, Far East'. The War in the Pacific - The Fall of the Philippines. United States Army in World War II. Washington D.C.C: Center of Military History, United States Army. pp. 28–29. LCCN53-63678. CMH Pub 5-2.
10. ^'Philippines pt.2: WWII weapons used 1946–2018'. wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com. November 18, 2018.
11. ^Reyeg, Fernando M.; Marsh, Ned B. (December 2011). The Filipino Way of War: Irregular Warfare through the Centuries (Master Thesis). Naval Postgraduate School. pp. 79–80, 97. hdl:10945/10681.
12. ^Canfield, Bruce N. (2004). 'Marine M1917? Not!'. American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. 152 (5): 29.
13. ^Stephen M Cullen, In Search of the Real Dad's Army, Pern & Sword Books Linmited 2011, ISBN978-1-84884-269-4 (p.132)
14. ^ ^abRottman, Gordon L. (December 2002). Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950–1953. Praeger. p. 199. ISBN978-0-275-97835-8.
15. ^'Hærens Kamp- og Ildstøttecenter'. www.facebook.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
16. ^The U.S. Rifle, caliber .30, M1917 ©2003 By Dick Culver
17. ^Dunlap, Roy, Ordnance Went Up Front, Samworth Press (1948), p. 301
18. ^Culver, Dick (2003). The U.S. Rifle, caliber .30, M1917. http://www.odcmp.org/503/rifle.pdf: Civilian Marksmanship Program. p. 9.
19. ^'The M1917 Carbine - The Firearm Blog'. thefirearmblog.com. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
20. ^Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey (ed.). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. p. 65. ISBN978-0-415-45308-0.
21. ^ ^abc'M1917 rifle in 21st-century Greenland'. wwiiafterwwii.blogspot.com. July 24, 2015.^{[self-published source]}
22. ^ ^ab'Model 1917 Enfield Rifle'. awm.gov.au. Australian War Memorial.
23. ^Smith, Joseph E. (1969). Small Arms of the World (11 ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company. pp. 326–327.
24. ^Scarlata, Paul (Mar 1, 2009). 'Ethiopian military rifle cartridges: Part 2: from Mauser to Kalashnikov'. Shotgun News.
25. ^Manuel du Grade TTA 116 (in French). Berger-Levrault. 1956-03-19. p. 218.
26. ^Scarlata, Paul (November 2013). 'From Arisaka to assault rifle: The military rifle cartridges of Japan part 2'. Shotgun News.
27. ^Karl Egil Hanevik (1998). Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867.Hanevik Våpen. p. 371. ISBN8299314313
28. ^Windrow, Martin (15 Nov 1998). The French Indochina War 1946–54. Men-at-Arms 322. Osprey Publishing. p. 41. ISBN9781855327894.
29. ^de Quesada, Alejandro (20 Jan 2015). The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (2): Republican Forces. Men-at-Arms 498. Osprey Publishing. p. 38. ISBN9781782007852.
30. ^Windrow, Martin (20 Sep 2018). French Foreign Légionnaire vs Viet Minh Insurgent: North Vietnam 1948–52. Combat 36. Osprey Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN9781472828910.
31. ^'Model 1917 Enfield Rifle : North Vietnamese Military Forces'. awm.gov.au. Australian War Memorial.

External links[edit]

• SurplusRifle.com – United States Rifle Model 1917*FM 23-6 Basic Field Manual: U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1917, 20 October 1943
• Small Arms of WWI Primer 028: U.S. Rifle Model of 1917 on YouTube

by Bruce Canfield - Thursday, April 19, 2012

When the United States entered the woefully misnamed “War to End All Wars” on April 6, 1917, the nation was immediately faced with a serious shortage of service rifles. The government had approximately 600,000 Model 1903 Springfields on hand along with some 160,000 obsolescent Krags, numbers totally insufficient to meet the projected demand. Production of the standardized Model 1903 rifle was ordered to be increased at both Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. The U.S. Ordnance Dept. consulted with Springfield and Rock Island engineers for ways to reduce production time and cost for ’03 manufacture but, without a substantial redesign, changes would only be cosmetic. It was apparent that the combined output of these two national arsenals could not meet demand, and large numbers of additional service rifles would soon be needed.

The Ordnance Dept. had two options for procuring additional rifles: Seek additional manufacturing sources for the Model 1903 or adopt a second service rifle to augment the ’03. The former was explored at length, but the lag time required to find suitable firms capable and willing to manufacture the ’03 rifle, negotiate contracts, procure the necessary materials and machinery, then train workforces would be too great to alleviate the potential crippling shortage of rifles within a reasonable period of time. Thus, almost by default, the Ordnance Dept. was left with looking at another rifle as the only viable alternative.

Sometimes, timing is everything, and it was fortuitous that at the time the United States declared war, three American plants were completing production of large numbers of the “Pattern 1914” rifles under contract for Great Britain. The .303 British Pattern 1914 rifle was a slight modification of the “Enfield .276-inch Magazine Rifle,” also known as the “Pattern 1913,” which was a modified Mauser design chambered for an advanced .276-cal. cartridge. The workforces and production machinery used to manufacture the Pattern 1914 were still in place, thus the firms could almost immediately go into production for the U.S. government. The manufacturers were: Winchester Repeating Arms Co., New Haven, Conn.; Remington Arms Company, Ilion, N.Y.; and Eddystone Rifle Plant, operated by Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co., an affiliate of Remington located in Eddystone, Pa.

Assistant Secretary of War Benedict Crowell later said that three large plants with trained workers and tooling intact at the right time to manufacture critically needed rifles was “…well nigh providential.” While it was unquestionably fortunate to have these production facilities on hand, the Ordnance Dept. was faced with yet another dilemma. If the three plants converted from Pattern 1914 to M1903 production, troops would be issued the familiar ’03, but it would require an inordinate—and unacceptable—length of time to get a totally new rifle into production at three different factories.

The Ordnance Dept. also looked at adopting the Pattern 1914 in the .303 British chambering, permitting the maximum number of rifles to be manufactured in the least amount of time. But this would introduce a non-standard cartridge—one generally viewed as inferior to .30-’06 Sprg.—and add likely troublesome supply problems. Finally, the Pattern 1914 could be modified to accept the .30-’06 Sprg., which would reduce supply issues, but would cause some delay in getting the modified rifle into production.

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. An article in the widely-read 'New York Sun' about the newly adopted rifle was entitled “Why our forces in France must use an inferior rifle,” and it cited a number of “facts” that were either misleading or outright falsehoods. Interestingly, this article appeared before any M1917 rifles had even been issued to American troops. A subsequent July 28, 1917, article in American Rifleman’s predecessor, Arms & the Man, soundly refuted the previous newspaper piece and gave logical reasons for the adoption of the M1917 as a supplement to the Model 1903 Springfield. You can read the article at www.americanrifleman.org.

From a technical standpoint, converting the Pattern 1914 rifle to chamber .30-’06 Sprg. was not particularly difficult. The M1917 possessed a strong, nickel-steel action that could handle the pressures of .30-’06 Sprg. with no problems. The fact that the Pattern 1914’s predecessor, the Pattern 1913 rifle, was originally designed for use with a rimless cartridge (the .276) actually made the M1917 more suited to the rimless .30-’06 Sprg. than the rimmed .303 British round.

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. Obviously, total interchangeability of parts was desirable, but to totally rectify the situation would require a significant delay in getting the critically needed guns into mass production. Despite the pressing demand, it was decided to postpone so engineers at the three factories, assisted by the Ordnance Dept., could reduce or eliminate the interchangeability issue. 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. gave each maker the option of immediately proceeding with mass production and working on the interchangeability problems during the course of manufacture, or waiting until completion of standardized manufacturing drawings. Remington and Eddystone delayed production until the drawings could be obtained, but Winchester proceeded with M1917 manufacture. Assistant Secretary of War Crowell later commented, “It would have been well if the same course (waiting for final specifications) had been followed at the Winchester plant, for word came later from Europe not to send over any rifles of Winchester manufacture during that period.”

Eventually standardized manufacturing specifications and drawings were finalized, and large numbers of Model 1917s began to flow from all three plants. While the interchangeability problem was never totally eliminated, a 95 percent interchangeability rate was established, which was acceptable to the Ordnance Dept. Eventually the interchangeability problems with early production Winchesters were eliminated, and later rifles were equal in all aspects to the Remingtons and Eddystones.

The U.S. M1917 was 46.3' in overall length with a 26-inch barrel. It weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and had a magazine capacity of six rounds. The same type of five-round charger (i.e. “stripper clip”) used with the ’03 rifle was also used with the M1917. This resulted in five rounds being routinely carried in the magazine, although a sixth cartridge could easily be manually inserted. The rear sight had a folding leaf adjustable for elevation, but not windage. The sight was mounted on the rear of the receiver which made it a better battle sight than the ’03’s barrel-mounted Model 1905 rear sight. The front sight blade was protected by two sturdy “ears,” one on either side. The stock and two-piece handguard were made of oil-finished black walnut with grasping grooves milled into both sides of the fore-end. Most of the external metal parts were blued, except for late production Eddystones, which were factory Parkerized beginning around October or November 1918. After the war, the vast majority of Model 1917 rifles were overhauled, which typically resulted in the formerly blued rifles being Parkerized as part of the rebuild procedure.

Another distinctive feature of the design was a “crooked” bolt handle intended to bring the shooter’s finger in close proximity to the trigger. Although clearly a bit hyperbolic, a post-World War I War Department report stated, “… by bending back the bolt handle we had placed two men on the firing line where there was only one before.”

The receiver ring of the rifle was stamped “U.S./Model of 1917”/(name of maker)/serial number. The barrel was stamped on top (behind the front sight) with the initials of the maker (“W,” “R,” or “E”), a “flaming bomb” insignia and the month and year of production. The receiver rings of very early Winchesters were simply marked “W”—as was the case with the British Pattern 1914 rifles—in addition to the serial number and “U.S.” Only the first few thousand Winchester M1917s were marked in this manner and the vast majority had “Winchester” stamped on the receiver ring. Serial numbers were sequentially applied beginning with “1.” A number of other parts were also marked with the initial of the manufacturer. The M1917 bayonet was adopted concurrently with the M1917 rifle, and it was a copy of the British Pattern 1914 bayonet. In fact, some bayonets made for the Pattern 1914 had the British property stamps obliterated and over-stamped with U.S. military markings.

Given a choice, the average Doughboy would have probably preferred an M1903 Springfield to an M1917 due to the former’s lighter weight and better handling characteristics. There were also several features of the British rifle that some American soldiers found, at least initially, to be somewhat objectionable. For example, the M1917 has a cock-on-closing action, while the ’03 cocked on opening. This resulted in many complaints against the M1917’s operation, primarily due to lack of familiarity. 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. Marine Corps and 604 to the U.S. Navy. In addition, 127,000 M1917 rifles had been issued to U.S. military personnel still in the United States and another 70,940 were on hand at various ordnance facilities and military installations. These figures represent substantially fewer than the more than 2 million M1917s eventually manufactured, as manufacture continued after the Armistice but prior to cancellation of the production contracts. By the time of the Armistice, an estimated 75 percent of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was armed with the “American Enfield.”

After World War I, the ’03 Springfield remained the standardized U.S. military service rifle, even though there were larger numbers of Model 1917 in inventory. Some Model 1917s were called back into service during World War II as training and supplemental service rifles, but the “American Enfield’s” glory days were all too brief, and they ended with the Armistice.