Unboxing a 1917 Enfield from the Civilian Marksmanship Program

[@NormalishGuy]

Got my hands on a Remington 1917 serial in the low 200,000’s original barrel from March 1918… the bore is absolutely gorgeous I’ve taken it to a few Older gun shops to have it looked over to be safe and Both shops offered me what was a crazy price for it… the gun looked like it was barely fired and the bore was in their words “ gold find “ lol. Paid $400 for it a few years ago. If you for this far here’s the story Back in 2022 Walked into my dad’s friends house who was selling his small collection just looking for Surplus rifles to shoot / plank with like a mosin he had a few mosin’s… seen this rifle sitting in the coroner really dusty, I asked what’s that rifle he said a 1918 nothing fancy and it shoots 30-06 I said hmmm you can relatively find 30-06 more then 7.62x54R at least in my area it was hard to find and hearing about a possible ban on Russian ammo at the time I opted for the 30-06 thinking eh… Ill just put some rounds through it and toss it in the cabinet. Well… he asked $400 I said heck sure it’s gonna be a planker…. To find out when I got home and did some research and my jaw dropped on the condition and shape it was in after a nice clean. He bought it back in 1990’s and wasn’t sure of the price today and I wasn’t even sure… I offered him a few more hundred dollars a few days later and he said no don’t worry just take care of it. Till this day she’s all shined up and I’ll take 5-10 rounds once in awhile and shoot targets 150-200 yards in fantasy groups.

[@GenerationKill001]

I went to the North Store a month ago and got very lucky with mine. 0 muzzle, 1 throat. Very pleased.

[@johnzx6r]

Very nice!

[@rquest3059]

I need to get one of those. It's the same rifle my grandfather was issued in WW1.

[@johnzx6r]

These don't seem to get the credit they deserve. The 1903 gets all the press, but there were far more 1917s carried during WW1 than the Springfields. Your grandfather was well armed!

[@donwyoming1936]

Nice one. Got mine from the CMP 20yrs ago. 1918 Eddystone with gorgeous stock and original 1918 barrel. But, the muzzle really needs to be counter-bored. Big ole pit right at the end. 🤠

[@johnzx6r]

Shame about the barrel. Nothing that can't be fixed, though!

[@HDSME]

Eddystone was makeing 1800 a day!!! Week ends too back then

[@RickySkogen]

Really like these military surplus rifles.Interesting video.

[@johnzx6r]

Thank you. I do, too. I plan on featuring more of them in the future.

[@pamartin]

Enjoy this piece of history, shooting wise. Just awesome.

[@johnzx6r]

Thanks - I plan on doing a shooting video of it in the near future.

[@vaquerojoel2026]

Beautiful rifle. It's good to see these on the market again.

[@johnzx6r]

Yes, hopefully the CMP has enough of them to go around - but might not want to wait too long if you are thinking of getting one!

[@VultrXify]

@@johnzx6rim at the CMP South store right now and they’ve only got like 4-5 more in Field and Service grade on the racks. Great prices in my opinion!

[@johnzx6r]

@@VultrXify Cool! I'm curious to know how many more of these that they have. The CMP recently increased the number of these you can purchase - from 1 to 2, so I'm wondering if they are not selling as well as they thought they would. I almost put in an order for another one, but then the CMP put up the MK2 Mod 1 Garands for sale, so my discretionary income went towards one of those, instead!

[@jeremyking3986]

I went to an estate sale because they had an M1 garand advertised with no price. My budget was $1200 for a decent garand. They had it at $1800, so I passed. They then offered me an m1917 for $600. I knew nothing about it, but a quick google search told me I couldn’t lose money at that price in the condition it was in. Turned out to be an all matching Winchester made in 2/18. It’s in pristine condition, I don’t think it’s been fired in 50 years. One of these days I’ll take it out and put a couple of rounds through it. I heard they’re awesome hunting rifles and still used in some parts of the world.

[@skipper9400]

you have in your hands the best bolt action rifle ever built by anybody, anywhere.........OnWard...........

[@tomcobb5014]

Nice video and congrats on a fine rifle

[@paulbervid1610]

Those are great. Got one a few years ago. Great video

[@johnzx6r]

Thanks! These are certainly fantastic rifles!

[@6mallards]

Nice. thanks for sharing

[@johnzx6r]

Thank you!

[@Justoneperson-hu3nh]

You got lucky, pending the bore condition. Look at the front tip of the stock to see if there is a "W" stamped there. ENJOY, they are usually good shooters!

[@johnzx6r]

Unfortunately there are no stampings on the stock anywhere that I can see. Don't know if this was a replacement stock that was put on long ago, or any marks that it might have had have been sanded off over the past 100 years.

[@The_SmorgMan]

@@johnzx6runlikely they would sand that spot… be an odd place to do so. I wonder if there’s a way to tell between the makers

[@johnzx6r]

@@The_SmorgMan I really don't know. I'm unfortunately a bit ignorant about these rifles - other than I know I really like them!

[@The_SmorgMan]

@@johnzx6rI like it significantly more than the 03. I’ll go back through a book I have on stocks and if I remember I’ll let you know if I find anything

[@The_SmorgMan]

@@johnzx6r can’t see with the bolt turned down, but Eddystone has a flat cut for the bolt handle. Winchester and Remington scalloped theirs. Remington being longer than Winchester.

[@johnhamre511]

I purchased eddystone 30 06 5 years ago ugly rifle pristine bore accuracy was amazing recoil very little it turned out to be my favorite bolt rifle nice rifle you will be surprised accuracy and recoil department

[@MidwesternFC]

Awesome. This did it for me. Ordering one today. Thanks for the video.

[@johnzx6r]

Thank you for watching!

[@skratch-do9nd]

$1100 ? No way,,,,,

[@KyleParubets]

Better believe it. In my opinion it is high, but not super obscenely high. Especially in my area, which is Bay Area California where things tend to be higher priced. Its not often you come across these in gun stores at all

[@mattp9029]

Are they worth $1100. I'm thinking about it, but seems like a lot for an old mass produced bolt action. I have one of their M1s but that's an Icon.

[@johnzx6r]

I guess it depends. The price is about in line with what they seem to be going for on places like Gunbroker. I think the biggest selling point for them is that they are just good rifles. They were very well made with strong and durable actions, and are generally pretty accurate. There were about 2 million of the things made, but taking into consideration loss during wartime, destruction by other means and the number of them that have been "sporterized" over the years, the number of them in good, original condition has significantly dwindled. And, as I'm sure you are aware, they aren't making any more! The prices on them have risen quite a bit over the past 20 years or so, and I'm sure we haven't seen the end of that rise, either. So if you are considering getting one, it is probably best to do it sooner rather than later.

[@robertmcsorley4001]

So does any rifle manufactured before 1924 qualify for C & C status? 100 years old or older correct?

[@johnzx6r]

If you mean C&R, then any rifle over 50 years old in original condition qualifies for C&R status.

[@robertmcsorley4001]

@@johnzx6r Thanks, I had always been told that ATF set the 100 year mark.

[@bheckner]

Nice rifle👍👍

[@johnzx6r]

Thank you!

[@joearledge]

not a directly related question, but have you ever played with any of the boat tail cast bullets?

[@johnzx6r]

No, I've never tried any boat tail cast.

[@Darkendesire]

Someone who is new into trying to shoot a 1917 and not sure where to start what ammo should I look for? Will any 30-06 work? I’ve been told that modern ammo shouldn’t be used unless I miss heard Is that true?

[@johnzx6r]

Whoever told you that may have been confusing this with the M1. Bolt actions can easily handle pretty much any .30-06, especially these 1917's, which are extremely strong actions. So yes, if the box of ammo you are buying says .30-06, it will work just fine in these rifles.

[@Darkendesire]

@@johnzx6r oh hell, thank you I really appreciate it! That would’ve been able to solve this problem a lot faster ha

[@pattonjd1]

Is it an Eddystone?

[@johnzx6r]

Yes, Eddystone.

[@montecook5260]

1100 hundred? Just sold a 96 swedish mauser for 300.

[@Hugh_jasshole1980]

I just picked my Eddystone up for 900 bucks at a gun show. Great shape. Bore is around 65 percent. Had 7 offers to buy before I left the show with one being 1500 bucks

[@HDSME]

The catuoch is there you have to steam clean itits there!!!

[@johnzx6r]

It appears as though any cartouches that may have been there have long ago been sanded away.

[@cotto1hunded]

Man that looks my mine is pretty rusty😢

[@johnzx6r]

That's too bad. This one isn't in the worst shape, but I have seen some that were much nicer.

[@cap2c484]

I'm a big fan of the CMP, but shame on them for the packaging. The rear sites wore through the cardboard. Terrible packaging for the price paid.

[@johnzx6r]

This has been a pretty common complaint. They really should do more to prevent these from moving around during shipping. Thankfully mine wasn't worn all the way through and there was no damage to the rifle, but I think that there have been others that weren't so lucky.

[@merlemorrison482]

Ejector spring is the only weak point on these. Might want to look for a spare up front.

[@JRB781]

Very nice! From what I have heard, the 1917 was actually a better rifle than the 1903. I've always wanted to get a rifle from the cmp. Unfortunately, my local gun club is not affiliated with them.

[@johnzx6r]

The 1917 has sights that are easier to use than the ones on the 1903, far better for battle than the 1903's. The 1917 can be a very accurate rifle. The CMP will also accept membership in the Grand Collectors Association in lieu of a club membership, so if your club is not affiliated with the CMP, a $35 membership in the GCA satisfies that requirement.

[@JRB781]

​@@johnzx6r Thank you for the advice. I will have to check out the GCA.

[@JRB781]

​@@johnzx6r I just lucked out today. I went to a local shop looking for a 30-30. They didn't have that, but they did have a sporterized Win. M1917 for only $600. The shopkeep told me it had only been there a day or two. I didn't waste any time and immediately snatched it at that price. Fortunately, the sporterization was done professionally and only the stock was cut down. The receiver has not been drilled/tapped and the barrel hasn't been chopped. The barrel was a little dirty, but looks in pretty shape. I may eventually get one of those liberty tree repro stocks and unsporterize it.

[@johnzx6r]

@@JRB781 That's great! I ran into a similar situation last year, but with a Remington 1903A3. Someone had dropped the action into a commercial sporter stock, but otherwise it was unmolested. It was at a price I couldn't refuse, so I bought a GI stock and handguard off of EBay, swapped the sported stock for the GI, and now the 03A3 has been returned to its former glory! Hope you will be able to do the same with your new 1917 - everyone needs one in their collection!

[@JRB781]

Thank you. I actually did come across a 1903a1 sporter myself last week. Unfortunately, the barrel was chopped, rusty, and it was a low number (360k sn range) Springfield rifle. The seller wanted $800 for it and "knew what they had." I am really glad that I found that 1917 yesterday. It definitely is a much better rifle.

[@UltraLimitedHD]

Muzzle and throat wear is great for a rifle that looks terrible. But hey, if you like it, that's all that counts ...