I have been handed down a Model of 1917 Eddystone bolt action rifle, serial 1213467. It looks to be in excellent condition, but I think I'm missing the magazine. I am not a gun person but would love to shoot it (with the help of someone knowledgeable of course). Where would I find a magazine for this rifle? Thanks for any help!
Looking for magazine for 1917 Eddystone
- Thread starter Chravis
- Start date
Jim Watson
New member
The 1917 has an internal Mauser type box magazine.
Do you mean you are missing the floorplate or follower or magazine box?
Or are you looking for a detachable magazine as seen on AR, AK, etc.? If so, it hasn't got one.
Lots of pictures from this goog
https://www.google.com/#q=1917+enfield+diagram
History at
http://www.odcmp.org/503/rifle.pdf
Parts at
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Search.htm?s=1917+enfield&page=5
Do you mean you are missing the floorplate or follower or magazine box?
Or are you looking for a detachable magazine as seen on AR, AK, etc.? If so, it hasn't got one.
Lots of pictures from this goog
https://www.google.com/#q=1917+enfield+diagram
History at
http://www.odcmp.org/503/rifle.pdf
Parts at
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Search.htm?s=1917+enfield&page=5
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Once we figure out what is missing we can fill in.
I have one I can sell (PM me). I don't sell low cost but its in excellent condition and can provide photographs
If you wan lower cost options then Numrrich, Springfield Sporter (?) etc have parts and various internet searches will get you results.
There are a lot of parts available for that particular gun.
Add in a better details, , barrel date, does it have E, R or W on the nose of the stock.
Various E, R and W stamps can be seen on the various exterior parts like bolt handle and sleeve, sight.
I have one I can sell (PM me). I don't sell low cost but its in excellent condition and can provide photographs
If you wan lower cost options then Numrrich, Springfield Sporter (?) etc have parts and various internet searches will get you results.
There are a lot of parts available for that particular gun.
Add in a better details, , barrel date, does it have E, R or W on the nose of the stock.
Various E, R and W stamps can be seen on the various exterior parts like bolt handle and sleeve, sight.
As a guess, I think it likely that the missing part is the floorplate (30 in the first diagram). Unlike some more modern rifles, the Model 1917 does not have a detachable magazine, but a missing floorplate will leave a hole that looks very much like a magazine could fit it there. If you do need a floorplate, you will need a magazine spring and follower (31 and 32) as well, since the spring fits into the floorplate on the bottom and into the follower at the top.
Jim
Jim
Thanks for everyone's replies, especially the link to the history pdf. That is awesome. I am away from home for a few days so I'll have to look in more detail when I get home. But the gun definitely has the floor plate. I think what I'm missing is the internal magazine (if it's even possible for that to be missing) or whatever spring mechanism is needed inside the magazine.
I've taken some pictures of the rifle. When I look through where the bullets would go, I see straight down through to the floor plate. So perhaps I'm missing the internal box, spring, and follower as people have suggested.
Also, there is an E stamped in several places on the gun, including on the plate under the sight as in one of the photos. There is also the flaming cannon ball? In one of the photos you can see some stamp of some sort in the wood. Anyone know what that is?
And, I've seen some videos where the barrel had the month/year stamped on it. My gun does not have that. Would that indicate this is not the original barrel or did some of them not have the stamp to begin with?
Finally (for this post), does anyone know the relative value for a rifle like this? I understand there were lots and lots of them made, but it's close to a hundred years old, so that's pretty cool.
Thanks again for all of your insight. You guys are awesome!
Oh I do have one more - are any of you (or someone you know and trust) in the upstate of south carolina that could help me out with getting this rifle operational?
Also, there is an E stamped in several places on the gun, including on the plate under the sight as in one of the photos. There is also the flaming cannon ball? In one of the photos you can see some stamp of some sort in the wood. Anyone know what that is?
And, I've seen some videos where the barrel had the month/year stamped on it. My gun does not have that. Would that indicate this is not the original barrel or did some of them not have the stamp to begin with?
Finally (for this post), does anyone know the relative value for a rifle like this? I understand there were lots and lots of them made, but it's close to a hundred years old, so that's pretty cool.
Thanks again for all of your insight. You guys are awesome!
Oh I do have one more - are any of you (or someone you know and trust) in the upstate of south carolina that could help me out with getting this rifle operational?
Attachments
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Hard to say from the pics... stock looks a bit shiny from a refinish perhaps, can't tell much about the metal finish. Are there any import stamps, barrel condition internally, matching numbers, any rust pitting under the wood?
To properly appraise its value any expert collector needs to examine it hands on, and even take the action out of the stock.
A complete wildass guestimate would be between $400.00 and $600.00.
BTW a quick look at GB (not the best tool for appraising) turned up one with a minimum bid of $625.00. No bids so far.
To properly appraise its value any expert collector needs to examine it hands on, and even take the action out of the stock.
A complete wildass guestimate would be between $400.00 and $600.00.
BTW a quick look at GB (not the best tool for appraising) turned up one with a minimum bid of $625.00. No bids so far.
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ALERT: No one made barrels without some marking on them. WWII did not have dates, but mfg, RI, JA, HS. Flaming bomb of some type.
I have seen a few kludged on barrels, I would like to see pictures of the area just behind the front sight where the marking should be.
This should be checked by an expert with a Field Reject gauge (not go or no go). Normally they almost close on field reject.
The striker assembly has to be removed form the bolt for this test, if someone does not know how to do that they also don't know the 1917 and you need someone who does (older guys usually, some young guys but this is old history)
The gun has been re-arsenaled, those marking on the left side show that (or the stock was). Not a bad thing but the parts are probably going to be random. You should be able to see some more IDs on the exposed parts.
Front sight should have markings on it but a magnify glass is needed.
Its also been re-finished and partly sanded down.
Depending on barrel condition (and ID) $500 to $650. More a shooter if the barrel and head space checks out. Lots like to shoot these so that is not a bad thing.
I have seen a few kludged on barrels, I would like to see pictures of the area just behind the front sight where the marking should be.
This should be checked by an expert with a Field Reject gauge (not go or no go). Normally they almost close on field reject.
The striker assembly has to be removed form the bolt for this test, if someone does not know how to do that they also don't know the 1917 and you need someone who does (older guys usually, some young guys but this is old history)
The gun has been re-arsenaled, those marking on the left side show that (or the stock was). Not a bad thing but the parts are probably going to be random. You should be able to see some more IDs on the exposed parts.
Front sight should have markings on it but a magnify glass is needed.
Its also been re-finished and partly sanded down.
Depending on barrel condition (and ID) $500 to $650. More a shooter if the barrel and head space checks out. Lots like to shoot these so that is not a bad thing.
Thanks everyone. I'm not interested in the value because I might want to sell it, I was more just curious. Ideally I'd like to use it as an occasional hunting rifle. It sounds like I need to find someone who knows these guns and can assess the safety of it and help me get it into working order. I'm not sure how to find that person but that will be my next step.
Your photo of the mag well is too dark to tell if the internal mag box is still there. The quickest way to find out is to remove the trigger guard (2 screws) and see if the box is still there. It basically nestles into grooves on the internal side of the TG, but is actually a separate component. Even if that is missing, all you need is basically the box, a spring and a follower, all relatively cheap parts unless you encounter some dimwit who thinks he has gold. Check eBay and shop around.
I've got a few more details. I don't know how I missed this, but remember that this is an Eddystone model. There are 'E' stamps on many of the different parts. However, I finally did find the date located on the barrel - 11/17. But, according to my serial number search, this Eddystone was manufactured in 11/18. The other thing I found was above the date on the barrel, is an 'R' not an 'E', and some sort of cartouche. So, my guess is this gun went through the arsenal rebuild program and was rebarrelled with a Remington barrel.
I found a gunsmith here in town and I have dropped it off with him to clean, order/install missing magazine box, spring, and follower, and make whatever other fixes are needed to make the gun operational. He said that based on the shiny finish, someone tried to make it look nice, but it's not in the original fashion. More importantly, he immediately noticed that the trigger spring was missing. Without that spring, if a round was loaded while the safety was on, then when the safety was switched off, the gun would fire even without pulling the trigger - that's a problem! He's fixing that.
The only other detail I have is just a little piece of history about the gun itself. My grandfather ran an armory in Albertville, Alabama, and my guess (along with my dad's guess) is that it came through that Armory and he ended up with it for some reason. My dad remembers it being wrapped in plastic and covered in grease (not sure why) and stored in the rafters in their attic. I'm not sure what that's all about!
In any case, by next week I may have an operational M1917. Thank you all for your advice and comments.
I found a gunsmith here in town and I have dropped it off with him to clean, order/install missing magazine box, spring, and follower, and make whatever other fixes are needed to make the gun operational. He said that based on the shiny finish, someone tried to make it look nice, but it's not in the original fashion. More importantly, he immediately noticed that the trigger spring was missing. Without that spring, if a round was loaded while the safety was on, then when the safety was switched off, the gun would fire even without pulling the trigger - that's a problem! He's fixing that.
The only other detail I have is just a little piece of history about the gun itself. My grandfather ran an armory in Albertville, Alabama, and my guess (along with my dad's guess) is that it came through that Armory and he ended up with it for some reason. My dad remembers it being wrapped in plastic and covered in grease (not sure why) and stored in the rafters in their attic. I'm not sure what that's all about!
In any case, by next week I may have an operational M1917. Thank you all for your advice and comments.
Well done. Interesting history as well.
It is not to common for a re-arsenal R or W barrel to be put on an E receiver, or any other combo.
Reports from the experts it happens, not sure what you can do to a receiver that would warrant taking a barrel off it, typical is the barrel gets shot out or bent (tank treads and other silly stuff like that, I knew a Coastie that dumped his rifle into a very large engine flywheel when I was a kid)
While the date may not be right as they did not EVER put any than other than the mfg barrel on (receiver and barrel would match) these also could have anywhere from a month to 3 months split on barrel dates and receivers. mfg did not go in lock step.
It sounds like he did a lot of work on it, I would be curious to see Muzzle Wear and Throat erosion readings. Various sources for those and gun smith might have it.
It is not to common for a re-arsenal R or W barrel to be put on an E receiver, or any other combo.
Reports from the experts it happens, not sure what you can do to a receiver that would warrant taking a barrel off it, typical is the barrel gets shot out or bent (tank treads and other silly stuff like that, I knew a Coastie that dumped his rifle into a very large engine flywheel when I was a kid)
While the date may not be right as they did not EVER put any than other than the mfg barrel on (receiver and barrel would match) these also could have anywhere from a month to 3 months split on barrel dates and receivers. mfg did not go in lock step.
It sounds like he did a lot of work on it, I would be curious to see Muzzle Wear and Throat erosion readings. Various sources for those and gun smith might have it.