M1917 Rifle For Review!

**samnev** · 07-21-2013, 11:05 PM

by GIZMO8Z

... I bought one from the Collector's Guild... Priced at $62...

Wow Joe , that is a great price. They ones that I have looked at recently, and they were British issued US strike were around $300. US isuued ones ran $350-$400. Another great find.

**GIZMO8Z** · 07-22-2013, 03:39 AM

Thanks, Sam! The pics the collectors guild provided weren't that great... Hopefully it looks better once it arrives!

I took the rifle out for the first time today. Definitely not the smoothest action, but it shot well! At 100yrds it was shooting high. I adjusted my aim and then had no problem hitting my tiny orange sticker target:

Grrr! All my pics are rotated 90* to the left. Sorry guys!

**relicz** · 07-22-2013, 04:00 AM

Elevation adjustment is no problem on these rifles.......windage is another story. I agree Joe that the British cock on closing action are less smooth than cock on opening action once used to it. Smoothest action ever is the Krag .......with the possible exception of the Swiss straight pulls.

**samnev** · 07-22-2013, 04:32 PM

Good shooting Joe

**samnev** · 07-25-2013, 04:18 PM

Joe,
Did you get your bayonet and are you happy with it?

**GIZMO8Z** · 07-25-2013, 05:45 PM

Hi Sam,

The bayonet arrived just now. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to open the package. I tossed the package into my luggage and now I'm on a train to see my gf to celebrate my birthday. When I get a moment later today I will open the package and evaluate/ snap photos.

**GIZMO8Z** · 07-25-2013, 08:46 PM

I just opened up the package. The bayonet itself is in good shape. Blade is good, wood is nice, the button functions smoothly.

The scabbard has some issues... The wire that attaches the scabbard to a belt is bent (should be easily fixed) and the paint, or maybe the leather of the scabbard itself, is very dry and prone to cracking when I gently squeeze... Pics soon!

**GIZMO8Z** · 07-26-2013, 02:33 AM

Hi Sam,

Here are three quick photos that I snapped.

**lithgow** · 07-26-2013, 07:20 AM

Joe-the bayo is very good for the price but someone has overpainted the scabbard OD at some stage-was originally green stained leather but this wears pretty quickly in use.

**Scout** · 07-26-2013, 07:37 AM

Congrats on this quality rifle.
Somehow this ungainly looking but high quality rifle is regarded as the ugly red headed stepchild of the UK/US firearms family and never got the reqognition that the US Garand, 03 or the Brit 'Smelly' got. It fell through the cracks of firearms history, so to speak.
In a pinch, one could do a lot worse than this sturdy rifle. A testimony to this; many surplus rifles landed in Greenland, where they were used for hunting by the hunters for many years. Being used by people whose life and that of their families depended on them bringing home the bacon....or rather the blubber.
Very often these rifles were not religiously cleaned nor oiled and they were severely banged about in the boats whilst exposed to sea water and also used severely on land.
Severely beat up and rusted, these Greenland rifles occasionally pop up still. Still working just fine.