Rough guess of value Winchester 1917

[fjruple]

This one is 'W 2-17 with the bomb ordinance stamp out front , serial 48321 so I am thinking it may be the original barrel. The '?ANY' (may be an 'H')mark is the only thing that I can find on the stock other than the 'E' on the front and on the bands. The floor-plate and trigger guard are also Eddystone. The safety has no marking.

Brian-- Thanks for info. The "W" "2-17" marked barrel with the ordnance bomb stamped out is interesting to say the least. There was a "compatibility" issue with the most early Winchesters due to jumping the gun on production before the US Ordnance drawings can be finalized. The barrel would not match the receiver based on the date given. It probably should be a 2-18. Compatibility between the three manufacturers were not achieved until January 1918. The stock is an Eddystock made stock. The safety is probably either a Remington or Winchester which are marked on the inside. The safety was probably not removed from receiver during the rebuild process as they are a pain in a rear to get back in. I found the M1917 rifles to shoot great with flat based bullets. I have been using NOE 314198 cast gas check .310 sized bullet with 13.0 grains of Longshot to great effect at 100 yards. Thanks again for the info and good luck with your rifle.

[BrianL]

Are you thinking that it was re-barreled with an older barrel? I am not finding many markings on parts here . Nothing on the swivels and only on one band. The trigger guard and floorplate are E marked but look new, no knicks, scratches, etc. Deep dark bluing. It is almost like a brand new stock assembly was installed with all hardware.

Jack,
The barrel looked a lot better after abour twenty passes with a brush. The grooves looked better at the breech end and somwhat darker towards the muzzle. I ran out of good bore solvent and only had some from a kit. I think that maybe a good soaked patch and brushing with a stronger solvent may help. I do see some land inperfection toward the muzzle as well.

[BrianL]

An update, after reading the post about the date stamped on the barrel , I looked at it again in several lightings and believe that I see a very washed out/light stamped (1) in front of the 2 and this would better match the November serial number range. I will attach pictures aa I go. I looked it over again....and again...good looking rifle....and see that the only parts that are parkerized is the stock hardware, other than the trigger guard and floorplate which are perfect blue

[fjruple]

Brian--
From the serial number that you provide the receiver was serialized in the Winchester inventory on October 26, 1917. That is NOT as an assembled as a rifle. The serialized receiver would go into a parts bin for final assembly into a rifle within week or two after that date. So having a 11-17 dated barrel seems to be original to the rifle. Most M1917 parts will be marked with a manufacturer's letter with the exception of a few parts. In some cases, complete removal of the part is required to view the letter. I have also found several of the published listing of what "original" parts are marked and those parts that are not to be in error. The most notable exception is the butt plate cap or "trap door" on the butt plate. In published writings the Remington made butt plate cap is not marked. I have found in every incidence that the letter "R" is stamped on butt plate cap under the leaf spring that applies pressure to the butt plate cap to keep it closed. In order to see that "R" on the butt plate cap, the butt plate much be complete disassembled. A lot of this "lettering" is a carry over from the Pattern 1914 production where there was little or no commonality of parts. In some cases if the letter is missing it is either a post WWI replacement part, has been refinished or by simple wear on the part. The most famous part for the wearing off of the letter is on the butt plate made by Eddystone where the "E' was placed in a location that took a lot of abuse from use.

Your rifle also falls into that period of Winchester not being compatible with other manufacturers. General Pershing prohibited Winchesters from being sent to the AEF do to compatibility issues. If your Winchester passed the the compatibility "inspection" There should be a "star" stamped on the receiver next to the US Ordnance marking. The cut off date was January 1, 1918 for compatibility. The compatibility issue was the result of Winchester not waiting for the final design drawings from US Ordnance. Both Remington and Eddystone waited for the final design drawings.

Cheers

[BrianL]

The receiver has the star marking and tbe barrel is apparently 12-17

[Texas by God]

I can't fathom how many the contractors made in just two years- amazing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[fjruple]

I can't fathom how many the contractors made in just two years- amazing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Tex-- Its even shorter than 2 years. Winchester started serializing receivers in 21 May 1917. Remington in November 1917 and Eddystone in August 1917. The production in Eddystone was absolutely unbelievable. At some companies, the production did go into early 1919. Even though there was general production was set up from the Pattern 1914. The commonality of parts between the three manufacturers and the redesign of the Pattern 1914 to .30-06 slow down the process a bit. Lay on top of that the labor issues of finding people to work in the plants. winchester solved that problem to a degree by bring back retired employees who wanted to do their bit for the war effort and hiring women to take the place of men who were either drafted or left to look for higher paying jobs.

[alamogunr]

Interesting thread. I have a 1917 Eddystone that I purchased about 3 years ago. I usually buy from Empire, although the prices may be a little higher, I can trust the description. I don't consider myself a pure collector. I buy a gun to be both a shooter and to add to the "collection". I just read the article in the last American Rifleman. That plus this thread has mostly formed my total knowledge of the 1917. Except for what I learned from the Gary Cooper movie about Sgt York.

I'm going to go over the rifle and see how much it conforms to the things brought out by posters here.

[BrianL]

Closing tbe deal. The seller agreed to pay for the parts that would bring the rifle to full function and accepted my trade.
By the way, got the parts from Numrich and they worked.......best that I can say. Sandblasted and refinished with no makers marks left. Not an issue to me but be aware.

[Jack Stanley]

If you have to buy another bottle of bore solvent , I've had good results using Sweet's 7.62 . It has a lot of ammonia in it so it cut's into normal fouling very well . I'm not certain how it would do on what you have .

It's good to hear it's cleaning up for you .

Jack

[BrianL]

I had a bottle of Sweets and I used mostly Butch's Bore Shine but can not find my bottle. Just have the Hoppes that comes i the kits. Maybe a good soaking? Hope to get out this weekend...if it ever stops raining here in NH