M17 in 303?

[andym79]

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?

[Drm50]

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.

[lefty o]

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

[Texas by God]

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:-)

[Bigslug]

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

[Gtek]

IIRC the Model 1917 had a coned breech face and the Pattern 14 had a flat breech face.

[WehrmannsGeweher]

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:

https://i.imgur.com/7qkB3sn.jpg

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 !

https://i.imgur.com/FA9HHiA.jpg

[Gtek]

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!

[Texas by God]

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

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[Der Gebirgsjager]

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.

[skeettx]

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

Also, I added the cock on opening feature.

[1Hawkeye]

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.

[Texas by God]

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

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[1Hawkeye]

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.

[Rich/WIS]

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.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

238181238182
Click to enlarge.

[john.k]

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 .

[john.k]

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.

[Texas by God]

238181238182
Click to enlarge.
There it is in print! I wonder what the US Army manual called the 1917??

[Der Gebirgsjager]

-- never say never.

To quote myself.....

[KenT7021]

U.S.Rifle Model 1917.As far as the rifle in question I would do a chamber cast.It can be chambered for almost anything.When DP P14's were available for $25.00 to $35.00 I built a number of rifles on them.Whether I used a P14 bolt or an M1917 bolt was determined by the rim size of the case I was rebarreling to.The actions can be made to handle the .505 Gibbs.The largest round I personally used was .416 Rigby.
If the rifle is in issue condition it may simply have the wrong bolt stuck in it by an importer.

[WehrmannsGeweher]

Here's a 276 coming to auction soon. Opening bid is set @$2000. Sale est $4-6000. First one imported here in past 10 years.

https://i.imgur.com/aL1f0kq.jpg

[Texas by God]

To quote myself....."I could be wrong; and frequently am"
To quote myself[emoji16]

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[Der Gebirgsjager]

Wow! That .276 is a collector's dream. Really beautiful. Yesterday I saw a Remington 1917 offered on www.gunauction.com in similar condition.
The auction had started at 1 cent and it was up to $900 with 50-some bids. Almost makes me want to sell the two I've still got-- but their condition certainly doesn't approach these. I refinished the stocks with a satin oil finish. The metal was refinished (I think) with a dull black of some sort.
I think I bought them at Big 5 Sporting Goods back in the early '80s.

I think the nicest one I've got -- well, the one I like the best, is a Win. 1914. It took a little more restoring in that the hand guards were split and if I remember correctly I repaired them from the inside with some sort of fine mesh matting and Accraglas gel. The repairs aren't visible on the exterior. It really is a good shooter. I'd show photos, but they're stored away.

The 1914/17 rifles are a fascinating study. After WW I the US military had many of the 1917s on hand, but decided to stay with the M1903 as the standard issue rifle. At the beginning of WW II they had approx. 1 million in storage, and shipped most of them to the British after they lost many of their rifles at Dunkirk. They were mostly used to arm the Home Guard. After the war they apparently dumped them in the North Sea. Most, but not all, of the rifles that appeared on our surplus market came from their various colonies like (at the time) India. Great rifle, just a bit heavy.

[Multigunner]

The Red Chinese converted captured M1917 rifles to 8mm, not sure if the Nationalist did so as well.
Some WW1 surplus P14 rifles were bought up by commercial gun makers and converted to 8mm for sale to European users. These had M1917 bolts fitted.

Sarco once sold tons of M1917 and P14 receivers with your choice of bolts for custom projects. Some came with shot out or corroded 8mm barrels still mounted.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

My rifle is a M17 Remington with an M17 Box magazine and follower but a Winchester P14 bolt. Has been converted to 303 Epps (two center rounds)!

https://i.imgur.com/RVF9hLM.jpg