jeffturk Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 i have been looking at this 1917 action (original style trigger guard and floor plate) without a barrel . among some of the other projects i have going on.... what can i do with this? IDEAS?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 By 1917, you're talking the 1917 Eddystone/Remington/Winchester "Enfield", right? Missing barrel... 1917s are prone to cracks in the receiver ring, and you'll need to check for cracks. The barrels were set in tight and the receivers were hard to begin with; forcing that barrel out with a wrench can cause bad things. I'm guessing that cutting a relief in the barrel just forward of the receiver is a better option. You can dip the ring in gasoline, hold the receiver up to a light, and look for cracks; the gasoline will stay in the cracks longer and be visible as dark lines. If your receiver is mechanically sound, sky's the limit. It's heavy a heavy action, even with the rear sight machined off the rear bridge. Many folks go with big cartridges (.458 Lott/Win/Ackley, .416 Rigby/Remington, .375 H&H/Weatherby, etc.). Remove the rear sight base, dressing down the bridge to a 700 Rem, 70 Win, or Savage 110 (flat). Shorten the magazine height by 1/4", reducing to 5 rounds. Straighten the the forward strap of the magazine to get rid of the "belly". Buy an aftermarket trigger for the shortened assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 yeah its a 1917 remington reciever only. i was also looking at a 1917 eddystone w/barrel. good call on looking for cracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 yeah its a 1917 remington reciever only. i was also looking at a 1917 eddystone w/barrel. good call on looking for cracks. sounds like i might be taking this on. like the 375 idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'd rather have the Remington in lieu of the Eddystone. Eddystones tend to be more brittle, and they have an ugly machine mark at the top front of the receiver ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'd rather have the Remington in lieu of the Eddystone. Eddystones tend to be more brittle, and they have an ugly machine mark at the top front of the receiver ring. gonna be scoped anyway. but didn't know about the brittleness. kinda learning as i go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken98k Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 From last fall. http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=8574&st=0&p=49409&fromsearch=1entry49409 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 From last fall. http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=8574&st=0&p=49409&fromsearch=1entry49409 very cool! loving the ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Rems don't have the duck pond in the rear bridge that the eddys have. The pond needs to be filled to mount a scope. Eddys are sometime brittle. I personally stay away from Eddys and opt for Wins and rems only. I have a 1917 win on it's way to becoming a .416 rigby. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Rems don't have the duck pond in the rear bridge that the eddys have. The pond needs to be filled to mount a scope. Eddys are sometime brittle. I personally stay away from Eddys and opt for Wins and rems only. I have a 1917 win on it's way to becoming a .416 rigby. Don i have seen the "duck pond" wondered what it was from. why is it there? what do you fill it with if you have that? one of my arisakas had ( what i think it called) a dovetail peep and i took it off for scopeing. i wondered what i would do there. thought about getting a piece machined to go in but filling sounds easier. idk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 When they milled between the "ears" of the rear sight assembly, Eddystones went fairly deep with the mill bit. For military purposes, it didn't affect things in any way; for a sportsman, it looks damn ugly. Even when you sculpt the rear bridge to a minimal profile, there is a rather large opening left. This opening is best filled with weld. You could fill it with black stained epoxy, but welding is the preferred method. I think you can weld in a small plate then machine. Now, in defense of Eddystones... the amount of work required to convert a 1917 into a graceful tool isn't small; filling that "duck pond" pales in comparison to all the other work that also needs accomplishment (shortening the trigger guard, milling the ears, straightening the bottom metal, welding on a bolt handle, converting to cock on opening, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 When they milled between the "ears" of the rear sight assembly, Eddystones went fairly deep with the mill bit. For military purposes, it didn't affect things in any way; for a sportsman, it looks damn ugly. Even when you sculpt the rear bridge to a minimal profile, there is a rather large opening left. This opening is best filled with weld. You could fill it with black stained epoxy, but welding is the preferred method. I think you can weld in a small plate then machine. Now, in defense of Eddystones... the amount of work required to convert a 1917 into a graceful tool isn't small; filling that "duck pond" pales in comparison to all the other work that also needs accomplishment (shortening the trigger guard, milling the ears, straightening the bottom metal, welding on a bolt handle, converting to cock on opening, etc.). i actuallu like the original trigger guard and bottom plate. plus no need to shorten the mag box. still looking to get one of these 1917s. i am from pa so the eddystone is on the list for me. might get all 3 and figure it out. maybe a 1,300; 1,375 and; 1,416. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 what should i expect to pay for one of these. they are all over the board. gunbroker bidding gets outta hand. i am going to a live gun auction tomorrow. lets see what that brings. i know there is like 4 or 5 arisakas in it. thats all i need ... another one of those. lol funny thing alot of ppl do not know about the different things you can do with them. will be on the look out for a 1917 or 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 what other calibers can the 1917 be re-chambered to other than the fore mentioned? what other guns have the same barrel thread as the 1917? would i be needing to look at a custom barrels if re-barreling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Like stated before the work to convert these into a custon is quite alot and filling the duck pond (I cut a dutchman out or plate and weld) in the least of the issues so I like state will a nice action. I prefer Winchesters (they have the duck pond) and Remingtons (no pond). One one the stories I got was the heat treating used early on created issues with the thick rear bridge so the pond was cut to prevent it. As for barrels, nothing that I know of uses a barrel large enough to use on a 1917 and in fact more barrel blanks are too small also. Most blanks are about 1.25" and the 1917 with no inner ring like a mauser and it's large thread should have a barrel with a 1.35" or larger to creat a shoulder larger enough to bear properly on the receiver. Most mfrs with make you a blank with a larger breech dimension. Or the original barrels are commonly reamed out to 300 win mag or 300 h&h. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I LOVE THIS PLACE! you guys are a plethora of information. i am glad i am a member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=4956&st=0 Some beautiful pics on page 2 of the above link. I am truly awe-inspired by the work that Don does. There's a wonderful shot of Don's square-bridged conversion; it gives a good sense of the amount of metal that needs to be removed to make a 1917 into a sleek sporter. Sometimes I think it would be easier just starting with a block of steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 the auction was a bust! everything over priced and i was out bidded in seconds. lol if you didn't have at least 500 per gun wanted you were out of it. no doubt there were some very nice firearms there but the ones that were "not so good" were snapped up fo hundreds over value. i will stick to local little gun shops and gun shows. i did get a Jap99 very cheap, but at a small shop minutes from the auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken98k Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 the auction was a bust! everything over priced and i was out bidded in seconds. lol if you didn't have at least 500 per gun wanted you were out of it. no doubt there were some very nice firearms there but the ones that were "not so good" were snapped up fo hundreds over value. i will stick to local little gun shops and gun shows. i did get a Jap99 very cheap, but at a small shop minutes from the auction. Last year, Century was selling 1917's for $695. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 so i probably shouldnt mention the one i bought last year for $90? an old sporter off gun broker. the ears have been milled off flat, but will need more work in the future. i'm planning a .404. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffturk Posted March 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 90 bucks??!!! thats what i'm talking about! there was a 6.5 jap receiver only with a barrel that looked like it just came outta the ocean and it went for almost 200. THAT IS NUTS! i am still in the market for a 1917. i am bidding on one on gunbroker if it goes too high guess my search will continue. or..... does anyone have one they would part with? btw... have i mentioned Huber triggers? damn those are awesome. just installed my second one. i wanna do all my milsurp rifles with them. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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