Eddystone Model 1917 30-06

[theboyscout]

I have recently received a model 1917 Eddystone 30-06 rifle. I have a questions about the rifle still that was not able to be answered. Looking at the rifle I can not identify when the rifle was actually made. I know its stamped with an R for Remington and its serial number is 11190 and it was made in the US and shoots the 30-06.

so basically:

where or how can I identify its date?

 

[tahunua001]

I have recently received a model 1917 Eddystone 30-06 rifle. I have a questions about the rifle still that was not able to be answered. Looking at the rifle I can not identify when the rifle was actually made. I know its stamped with an R for Remington and its serial number is and it was made in the US and shoots the 30-06.

so basically:

where or how can I identify its date?

if it's an eddystone then it is not a remington, it just has remington parts in it. oldguns.net dates your rifle to 1917, but as far as I know they only made them from 1917-1918. given that your serial number is in the low 100,000 range out of 1.3 million I would say it is an early production, probably within the first 2 months of manufacture.

 

[Baba Louie]

If what I've read in the past is true...
http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/journals/Eddystone

and if they were in fact, building 1000 rifles a day...
with a serial # of 11190...
Starting in September 17, 1917
On the eleventh or twelfth day of production?

 

[shuvelrider]

On any Model of 1917 rifle, look on the top of the barrel behind the front sight. The original month and year should be stamped there, "example" 11-17. Hope that helps.

 

[tahunua001]

On any Model of 1917 rifle, look on the top of the barrel behind the front sight. The original month and year should be stamped there, "example" 11-17. Hope that helps.

incorrect I'm afraid. those barrels were made in very large batches which in no way coincided with the days that the rifles were made on. they grabbed an already dated barrel with an already serialized receiver and assembled them and shipped them off for inspection. those are the barrel dates, the receiver dates rarely ever line up perfectly. some guns also had to go in for rebarreling, a 1917 gun can have a 1918 barrel on it.

 

[shuvelrider]

At least it's original to when the barrel was made, most of us realize these guns have been re-arsenaled over the years. Kind of rare to find an actual un-alterted rifle in as-issued condition. You would have to invent a time machine to go back and get one as it's being issued from the crate, the collection we would have if that were possible.

 

[tahunua001]

At least it's original to when the barrel was made,

true but that is neither here nor there. the OP wanted to know when his GUN was manufactured, not the barrel.

 

[shuvelrider]

Guess the levity was missed. The OP will have to search old records if they still exist, find a source in archives somewhere or a "know all" Ennie guru somewhere.

 

[KeithL]

According to "united States Rifle Model of 1917" by C S Ferris an Eddystone with a 11000serial number would have been made 9/1917.
Likely it has a mix of parts from arsenal rebuilds, so some parts might be W or R marked. Also, as a result of arsenal overhauls the barrel could also be World War II vintage made by High Standard.

 

[velocette]

Boy scout, You can go here:
http://forums.thecmp.org/forumdisplay.php?f=79
to a forum populated with VERY knowledgeable folks.
Your US Rifle of 1917, caliber 30 of 1906 is a very strong, robust weapon.
A bit heavier than the '03 Springfield and not as trim.
The '17 Enfield action was commonly used on sporting rifles in magnum chamberings due to its strength. They had far better battle sights than the 03 Springfields, that is until the 03-A3 with its aperture rear sight came along.
Their only real weakness is that their ejector spring is fragile. You should find and keep a spare. http://www.sarcoinc.com/enfield1917-p14.html has parts for your rifle.
The '17 Enfields are well recognized as good shooters and quite accurate.
Mine, which has been sporterized will shoot into 1 1/4" consistently with ammo loaded for my Garand.

Enjoy your piece of US military history.

Roger

 

[AlexanderA]

Eddystone receiver cracks

It's worth checking rebarrelled Eddystones for hairline cracks in the receiver rings. If the gun has an original dated WWI barrel on it, it's probably OK. But if the gun was rebarrelled during WWII (for example, if the barrel is marked "JA"), it's quite possible that the receiver is cracked. The reason for this is that the steel used in Eddystones was a little different from that used in Winchesters or Remingtons, the original barrels on Eddystones tended to be overtorqued, and the receivers were stressed even more during the rebarrelling process.

This doesn't seem to be a problem for M1917's made by Winchester or Remington.

 

[tahunua001]

According to "united States Rifle Model of 1917" by C S Ferris an Eddystone with a 11000serial number would have been made 9/1917.
Likely it has a mix of parts from arsenal rebuilds, so some parts might be W or R marked. Also, as a result of arsenal overhauls the barrel could also be World War II vintage made by High Standard.

it's been a while since I read up on them but if I recall correctly, winchester didn't go into nearly as much detail as eddystone and remington with their stamping, the only parts on a winchester than should have 'W' should be the bolt handle and barrel, everything else would be blank, unlike eddystone and remington that stamped on everything from floor plate to stock bands.

 

[Baba Louie]

tahuna
check out the link on markings for the M1917. I'll dig my Winchester out of the safe eventually and see, but I do recall several "W's" stamped here and there on it.

http://m1903.com/m1917markings.htm

 

[tahunua001]

hmmm... as I said it's been a while... must be confusing with an entirely different family of firearms.... could have sworn it was the winchester 1917 though.

 

[shuvelrider]

Many of the small parts on a Winchester M1917 are marked with a "W", mine is that way. Had the opportunity to clean the drill rifles "1917's" for the local legion hall, 8 rifles we all like to call mix master's. I swapped out every "W" part I found and put it on my rifle, so mine is now around 90% Winnie parts.