A great shoot day

So range day today were these two gems.

The top rifle is the Winchester Model of 1917 that I picked up about a year ago, literally in pieces, after someone fired an 8mm Mauser round through it and blew it to bits. I rebuilt the bolt and replaced the magazine floorplate and ejector, all of which had been damaged in the "Ka-boom" that resulted, and then I cleaned up the stock. She looked good but didn't shoot all that well until I noticed that the rear sight assembly was bent slightly out of alignment too. I finally fixed this the other night with some carefully applied heat and pliers and got it all lined up again like it should be.

The second one is the Rock Island-produced Springfield Model of 1903 that was literally delivered as we were loading the truck to move me from West Virginia to here back in March. It came off the UPS truck, got passed around by my volunteer helpers, then went right into the gun trailer. Today was it's first time out.

At one hundred yards from the prone, the 1917 was ringing the 8" steel about two shots out of three once I got it zeroed. I could definitely have done better had I put a sling on it but even using the peep sight I had to hold under just a bit to nail the steel as the peep is supposed to be 200yrds+. Still, she gave a good acounting of herself when I did my part and come the zombie apocalypse/post-Clinton revolution, I'd put this one on the line.

Next up was the Springfield.On this one, the ladder sight gave me a bit more negative elevation and I was able to set it up for 100 yards perfectly. It also has a much smaller peep and a finer front post and it put every shot on the steel unless I doofed the round, which I did a couple of times. THIS rifle I would not only fight with, I'd take it to Camp Perry.

And as side fun, I was shooting next to a young couple with an AR, and the poor guy was doing his best to hit the steel but couldn't quite pull it off even though he had it on a rest on the bench. The he started smack-talking his rifle, telling his wife/girlfriend that ARs really aren't made for that kind of accuracy. (???) Naturally I made it a point to call out to the RSO and ask rather loudly if they didn't have anything smaller for me to shoot at. "Those huge steel plates down there are making it too easy, even with these old antiques!"

I think the wife/girlfriend was digging me after that.

Neat side-note history-wise on these two. At the beginning of World War One, the main US infantry rifle was the 1903 Springfield. They were made at the two government arsenals at Springfield, Massachusetts and Rock Island Illinois. Production was so low however, that when we finally decided to get into the war in 1917, we didn't have enough of these and could not make enough. However, Remington and Winchester had just finished a contract to make Pattern 1914 rifles for the British and they were still tooled up at their plants and at the Eddystone, PA plant owned by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and leased by Remington for rifle production. A few changed were made to change the Pattern 1914 over from the British .303 cartridge to the American .30 round, and enough rifles were churned out to equip the US Army for the duration as the main WW1 rifle, with the 1903s being kept stateside for training or issued to the Marine Corps, who loved them.

After the war, there were still many more Model 1917s in inventory than there were 1903 Springfields, and a Ordnance Board convened to decide which one to keep as the US standard. And they chose the 1903, because the 1917, while a damned good rifle, was still thought of as "that British rifle" and "not invented here". So the 1917s went into reserve storage and stayed there until World war Two came along, at which time they were brought out for lend-lease and home guard use. Ironically, the 1903s had just been replaced again in Army hands by the new M1 Garand and the Marines were still fielding the '03s. (Mine likely is a Marine Corps gun, based on it's finish and Hatcher holes drilled in the receiver.) But both rifle types served honorably in both world wars, and I'm happy to have a couple of each in my humble collection.

US Rifle .30 Model of 1917 restored.

Gonna take a brief break from flying and sub pics for a bit to show off the 1917 project rifle.

This ugly ducking "blowed up" Model 1917 basket case from a few weeks ago is now rebuilt and it's stock refinished, and as you can see, it looks a lot better.

Given a light sanding, the wood lapped up the linseed oil like it was on sale. Other than some rust removal, I left the metal alone, preserving it's old gray military parkerizing as much as I could.

The parkerizing indicates that the rifle was rebuilt and re-issued during World War Two. Whether it stayed stateside or went to one of our allies overseas can't be divined, unfortunately. It bears no newer markings to suggest it's history.

Barrel marking shows February of 1918 though. Serial number dates to March of 1918, and that would be a correct combination for an original barrel/receiver combo.

She really cleaned up nice and the headspace looks good. I'm pretty happy with the results of the clean-up, and rebuilding the bolt, magazine and ejector box was a cinch. For once, there were no surprises.

Can't wait to get her out to the range for a test-firing, perhaps in the company of one or two of her gun-room siblings below.

Top: Model 1917, Eddystone manufacture.
Middle: This Model 1917, Winchester.
Bottom: Pattern 1914 in .303 caliber, made by Eddystone.


Yeah, now I need a Remington-made 1917 to complete the set. This collecting thing never seems to stop, does it?

A shooty good day

So on my first actual day off in two weeks, I figure it's range time!

Took the Springfield Armory M-1A out to try out a new load I'm working up.

Survey says:

Seated off-hand using just the web sling, this 100-yard group is more than acceptable. And velocities are pretty consistent, so even though they are about a hundred feet per second faster than NATO spec, I think I'll go with it.

Then I got home and found notice from the Post Office telling me that they had a box for me. A big, ong box.

Oh joy, oh joy!

I went up there and got my newest restoration project...and this one is going to keep me busy for a few weeks.

First out of the box were these parts:

Not good, huh? That's the remains of an extractor, extractor collar, bolt catch box and magazine floorplate assembly. Someone reportedly fired an 8x57mm round through this rifle recently. And this would not have been a problem except that the rifle was one of these:

See the problem, folks?

Many of you are now facepalming over this, but for those of you who don't recognize it, it's a US Rifle Model 1917, chambered for .30-06, aka 7.62x63mm.

Yeah. Ouch. One of those situations where the wrong-sized round will chamber but destroy the rifle and potentially injure the shooter when fired. I am not aware of the status of the one who erred in this fashion but I now have the rifle and am going to try to rebuild it and clean it up.

Metal finish shows neglect and the wood's solid but kinda sad, so some work with sandpaper and ye olde linseed oil should clean the wood up nicely. The metal will get worked over with RB-17 and lots of light steel-wooling. None of the above-pictured small parts are salvageable save the magazine follower and spring.

The bolt catch box got it, too, sure sign of a bolt coming back fast and hard.

The ejector seems to be ok but considering the force that it was just subjected to, I'll replace it too since I'm already in there.

These old rifles were tough, which is why so many of their actions were used for magnum-caliber projects when they were surplussed out of military service after the Second World War. But they served well in that war and in World War One, where they were America's main infantry rifle, outnumbering the 1903 Springfields that they were meant to supplement. You see, when President Wilson took us into that war that he campaigned on keeping us out of, we were so short on Springfield rifles that we had to scramble to find something else to arm our newly-drafted army with. Fortunately private arms companies Winchester and Remington had just completed a contract manufacturing Pattern 14 rifles for the British and they still have the machinery and tooling. The Pattern 14 was chambered for the .303 cartridge but it didn't take much to re-tool to make the same rifle only in .30-06, and soon they were flowing out of three factories: the Winchester and Remington plants and the Baldwin Locomotive Works plant in Eddystone, PA., which was actually owned by Remington.

Model 1917 (top), Pattern 14 (bottom).

Most US Army troops went overseas with the Model 1917 and they saw tough service in their hands, including this guy:

Sgt. Alvin C. York, a conscientious objector from the backwoods of Tennessee who nonetheless went to war when the draft board refused to recognize his particular church. He distinguished himself by leading an attack that killed 25 Germans, captured 132 others and silenced 35 German machine guns. And he did it with a Model 1917.

The Marines kept their '03 Springfields though. And when the war was over, the Model 1917 was relegated to the warehouses while the Model 1903 continued on as "the" American service rifle.

US Rifle Model 1903 Springfield

This particular Model 1917 was manufactured in March of 1918 per the Civilian Marksmanship Program's definitive article on the rifle, and the barrel is dated February, 1918, which would be correct for a March-manufactured rifle. It may very well have done some time "over there" fighting the Boche, but it's here now and if I can salvage it, I'll be proud to add it to the collection.

More on the Pattern 1914...and others.

Several people seemed to find yesterday's post on the Pattern 1914 rifle interesting, so I figured that I'd expand on it a bit and highlight the American version, the US Rifle, Model of 1917, and it's partner in WW1 warfare, the venerable 1903 Springfield.

Come World War One, the British found themselves in a bit of a fix. They were off to war against that whacky Kaiser Wilhelm but they were sorely lacking in infantry rifles. They were then using the Enfield #1 Mk3, "SMLE" (Short Magazine, Lee Enfield", or "Smelly" to the troops) but they didn't have nearly enough of them.

SMLE in .303

So the Brits turned to the US Arms Manufacturers Winchester and Remington and gave them a design for a rifle that had showed promise in trials but not gone into production for lack of available manufacturers. This rifle was the Pattern 14, a rifle that was considered more accurate and robust than the SMLE but which was also heavier and limited by it's five-round magazine against the SMLE's 10-round capacity.
Pattern 14 rifle in .303

Winchester made these at their plant in New Haven, Connecticut and Remington cranked these rifles out at two plants, it's main plant in Ilion, New York, and a second plant that it set up in the Baldwin Locomotive Plant works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania just to make these rifles. They made them up until 1917, at which time the Brits figured that they had enough SMLE rifles and cancelled the contracts. But then the US, feeling left out, got into the war. Not surprisingly, we needed more rifles than we had, too. Our own government arsenals at Springfield, Mass. and Rock Island, Ill. were turning out 1903 Springfield rifles as fast as they could but it wasn't enough to arm the new troops that we were drafting.

US Rifle Model 1903

Fortunately, the Winchester and Remington plants were still set up to produce Pattern 14 rifles, so the design was changed a bit to chamber the rifles in .30-06, the US cartridge that the '03 Springfield was already using, and they were put into production, this time as the US Rifle, Model 1917.

Model 1917 (top), Pattern 14 (bottom).

So our troops went to Europe with not one rifle, but two. The 1903 Springfield is the one often remembered at the predominant World War 1 rifle by many, but in actual fact, more US soldiers were armed with the Model 1917s. Even Hollywood got it wrong when they made a movie about World War One Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York. His heroics were portrayed in the 1941 movie Sergeant York, which featured Gary Cooper in the title role, shown here shooting his newly-issued 1903 Springfield rifle.

In reality, York carried a Model 1917.

1903 Springfield (top), Model 1917 (bottom).

Given a choice, our troops tended to prefer the 1903 Springfield. It was shorter, lighter, and had much better sights that were fully adjustable for windage and elevation. A shooter who knew how to use them could put hits on targets at remarkable distances.

1903 rear sight.


By contrast, the Model 1917 and Pattern 14 were only adjustable for elevation, and while the SMLE had a windage adjustment, it was still pretty crude.

Pattern 14 rear sight. Model 1917 rear sight is identical.

Enfield #1Mk.3 SMLE rear sight.

It was with those 1903 rifles and their long-range marksmanship skills that the US Marines established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in their engagement with the Germans at Belleau Wood. The Germans could not believe that riflemen could pick their machine gunners off at 800-1000 yards as the Marines regularly did with their Springfields.

Post-WW1, the Pattern 14 and Model 1917 were declared obsolete and sold off or stored. They'd be back by necessity in World War Two when the British, desperate for rifles again, re-issued their Pattern 14's to Reserve and Home Guard troops right alongside Model 1917s that the US sent under provisions of the Lend-Lease act. Owing to the difference in cartridges that the two fired, the 1917s had to have big red bands painted on the stocks to clearly identify them as .30 rifles, not .303. The 1903 Springfields soldiered on, remaining a front-line rifle with the Marine Corps. and even some Army units well into the Second World War. An updated version of the 1903, the 1903A3 Springfield, saw that war to a conclusion and even served into the Korean War as a sniper rifle.

Mine have some noteworthy markings that tell a bit about where they've been and what they've seen. My Model 1917 was made at the Eddystone plant in Pennsylvania.

It's barrel is dated 1918, and that's consistent with the serial number. It also shows a stock stamping "RA-P" with indicates an overhaul at the Raritan Arsenal in New Jersey, probably post-WW1.

It also bears the US Ordnance Dept. acceptance stamp, a small flaming bomb, on the receiver and the barrel.

My Pattern 14 was also made at the Eddystone plant, but it's receiver marking is a bit plainer.

On it's receiver rail, it has the British acceptance mark--a crown and the letters G.R. for Georgius Rex--King George. Just ahead of that is a broad arrow stamp, indicating British government ownership.

My 1903 Springfield is a later model, manufactured in 1933 per it's serial number and barrel date.

It also has some faint stock markings that didn't photograph well. The main one of interest is an SAA stamp, which indicates that at some time, this rifle went through an overhaul program at the San Antonio Arsenal.

The SMLE has lots of markings.

It was made in 1916 and the Birmingham Small Arms factory in England. It also bears the Georgious Rex stamp.

It has two serial numbers, the larger one it's British number assigned when it was made, and the lower one an Australian number stamped on it when it was transferred to the Aussie government at some time in it's service life. The D^D stamp is indicative of the Australian Defense Department. This old critter got around.

The stock bears marks as well. The small "639" indicates that this rifle received a new stock in June of 1939, probably when it was being pulled from post WW1 storage and being reconditioned. The stock also has both the rifle's original serial number and the Australian Dept. of Defense stamping.

I'm guessing that it served with English forces in the First World War and the Australian forces in the Second. Bet it's got some stories to tell.

I regularly shoot all of these rifles and find them all to be perfectly sound and accurate after all of these years. All will put rounds nicely on a 200 yard target if I do my part, and I suspect that 1903 in particular will reach out considerably farther. When I get a chance, I'm going to work it in on the 400 yard range and see if I can't ring the steel gong with it a few times.

The 1903 is special to me. I actually saved this one from destruction by buying it sight unseen from a kid who'd inherited it from his grandfather and who was going to cut it into a deer rifle. When I met him, it was bouncing around in the trunk of his car, uncased, with the jack and tire iron and a tool box banging into it. I gave him a hundred fifty dollars for it on the spot, gambling that it wasn't some shot-out piece of junk or National Ordnance boat anchor. As it turned out, I did ok.


All of these rifles have history. Each undoubtedly saw service in at least one world war and perhaps a few other smaller conflicts on the side. Each could probably tell some great tales. Each has known many previous owners before me, and I have no doubt that each will survive me in fine shape and pass on to other owners, probably still in 100% serviceable condition. But for now, I'm proud to have them and appreciate the chance to research them and shoot them.