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Thread: M17 in 303?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master andym79's Avatar
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    M17 in 303?

    Hi guys, I know that the M17 was based off the P14, but it was the US Enfield in 30-06 rather than 303!

    If a rifle is an M17 in 303, is it likely its a M17 with a P14 bolt?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Drm50's Avatar
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    I don't know but I had a couple of them and was told US Army was testing them in 303. I herd several stories one was they were looking at 303 for sniper rifles.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    a 1917 that is chambered in .303 brit would have had the bolt and barrel replaced.

  4. #4
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    And the magazine box is different. A quick way back in the day to convert a 1917 to a .308 Norma mag was with a P14 bolt and a chamber reamer one would think. It’s crazy to think how many P14/US1917 were produced in four years. In Australia if you have a 1917 that shoots .303 British; somebody’s been busy Frankensteining

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    You'd also want to check the dimensions of the clip slot.
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    IIRC the Model 1917 had a coned breech face and the Pattern 14 had a flat breech face.

  7. #7
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    The P-14 was a purpose built rifle for the 276 (7x60) British. WW I came along and it was morphed to handle the 303 British. Few saw service but it did become the best sniper rifle in WW I and WW II. Accurate and far more rugged than our 03' lashups.

    Here is one example:



    The P -17 was designed and built for the 30-06 as we could not build enough 03s'. Far more were used by us in WW I than 03s'. Many were also reissued for "guard" rifles in WW II.

    Both were popular for conversion to magnums back in the day when the only Magnum action was a Mauser. Look in any older gunsmithing book and you'll find info on converting one.

    The Remington M30 was a modified "Enfield" action. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_30

    Here's a nice example. Finding one on 25 Remington would be a real score !


  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Heavy, cock on closing, but for some reason I have a soft spot. How much you figure that rifle would cost today? You cycle on of these and then down to the store and cycle plastic and everything round things, I guess I am old school!

  9. #9
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    The "British Mauser" in my mind. Great rifles in my experience. And the best sights of that era.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  10. #10
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    I've never heard of a P-17 in .303 Brit. from the arsenal -- BUT-- never say never. Since Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone all made P-14s and then changed over to P-17s some few may have been made for some reason (?).

    You couldn't just slap a P-14 bolt into a P-17 and shoot .303, so an intentional barrel change and bolt change would have to take place...but then it would very likely work.

    I converted several P-17s to .300 Win. Mag., and nothing more was required than running a finishing reamer into the chamber and opening the bolt face.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master



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    My P-14 is now in 45-70 and a fun gun it is

    Also, I added the cock on opening feature.
    NRA Benefactor 2004 USAF RET 1971-95

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    P 13 was .276, P 14 is .303, P 15 was 8 mauser and the P 17 is .30-06. The .303 has a flat bolt face and the 06 is recessed. If the action is marked U.S. model 1917 and its a .303 somebody swapped out the barrel and maybe the bolt. You can see if the serial number on the bolt matched the action.

  13. #13
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    I've never heard of a P15 8x57mm!? And picking nits; the US1917 was never a "P".

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  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    tex very true the M1917 sometimes gets called by the misnomer P 17 and if I remember right the P 15 was an attempt by the brits to help china in the 1930's before the UK was involved in WW2.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    If the receiver is marked M1917 with a 303 bolt you might want to do a chamber cast to be sure it was not magnumized to 300 Win Mag or 308 Norma. Also look at the barrel, if bigger than 30 it may be anything from 338 to God knows what.

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  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    I believe the P17 designation was used by the British for the Home Guard rifles .....Pattern 14 and Pattern 17...........someone might also include pictures of the various kinds of modified P14 s that Steyr Waffenfabrik made for anyone needing a cheap military rifle in 8x57.......nearly unrecognizable .

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Nothing is unlikely with guns............many years ago I was shown a number of M1 Garands converted to 303,and the conversion included a press die set to make the different clips needed......a proper blanking and folding die set for a power press.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager View Post
    There it is in print! I wonder what the US Army manual called the 1917??

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager View Post
    -- never say never.
    To quote myself.....

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
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