https://thecmp.org/sales-and-s...d-rifle-information/

The CMP just announced that they are opening up mail orders for M1917 rifles, something that rarely occurs. Prices are $1,100 for a Service Grade or $1,000 for a Field Grade. Limit one M1917 per year.

These are one of my favorite milsurp bolt rifles of all time. 6 rounds of .30-06, with a slick cock-on-close action (like a Lee-Enfield), and way better peep sights than the M1903's blade and notch sights. (The M1917 sights are what the traditional "USGI sight picture" of the later M1 Garand/M1 Carbine/M14/M16/M4 are based upon, with a rear peep and a front post with protective wings.)

Despite popular impression that the M1903 was the primary bolt rifle for US soldiers during World War 1, the M1917 actually made up over 2/3rds of US rifles in that war. The M1917 then remained in limited US military service through WW2, with most of our remaining M1917s being sent as foreign aid to a number of allied countries during and immediately after WW2, including the UK, Canada, the Philippines, China, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Ethiopia.

These rifles have been tough to find for years, so while the price is a bit steep, this is likely your best opportunity if you're interested in picking up a M1917. But act quickly... They likely have only hundreds, not thousands, of these available.


Mine's an Eddystone from January 1919, one of the very last M1917s produced in the last few days of production. As of the last time I checked several years ago, it was the highest serial number recorded. This rifle was sent as aid to Canada during WW2, where it saw use with the COTC (the Canadian equivalent of our ROTC), before returning to the US at some point in its life.

I was literally come to post this! I missed an opportunity to pick one up last time I was there because I didn't have the cash to get my Smith Corona and the M1917. Placing my order this week.

Dammit, decisions, decisions! I don't have the budget for this, nor do I need it, but the opportunity also isn't likely to come around again. I already have an Eddystone that I de-sporterized, and it's a pretty decent shooter. I'd love to have an "original", and I've always had good luck with the CMP so if they're listing them as Service Grades I'm sure they're nice rifles. I'm not unhappy with the one I've currently got, though.

Get one if you can. Great shooting mil-surp rifle. One of my faves. While the ‘03 Springfield gets all the glory and raves and while it is a handier rifle to schlep around I would rather take the ‘17 for shootin’ and stuff.

I finally got a Parker Hale 5B target rear sight for mine. It will put them in there!!! I have read articles where the ‘17 was to be the National Match rifle but, the ‘03 fanbois put that idea to rest. There is even reading material out there, kind of like a dope book, for hold off for windage and other hints put out by the military back in the day for competing w/ the ‘17.

I also am looking at a P14 the ‘17’s 303 Brit brother. Another fine rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by 357fuzz:
While the ‘03 Springfield gets all the glory and raves and while it is a handier rifle to schlep around I would rather take the ‘17 for shootin’ and stuff.

Agreed. If I had to go into battle with a WW1/WW2-era bolt action rifle, it'd be a close decision between the No. 4 Enfield or the M1917.

quote:

I also am looking at a P14 the ‘17’s 303 Brit brother. Another fine rifle.

Yep. I've got one of those as well, also an Eddystone. Shown on top in this "family photo":

Are you trying to make my wife mad at me, because this is how you do it!?!

Not my primary goal, but it's a nice bonus.

I realize it's sort of an unfair comparison, as they aren't exactly contemporaries, but I actually prefer my 03A3 to my 1917. The 03 is definitely lighter and handier, and I like the finer front sight post. The rear aperture on the 17 is more elaborate, but for the type of shooting my range allows me to do (inside of 200 yards) I can actually get a true zero with the 03A3, while the rear sight on the '17 won't depress enough and it shoots high.

There's something about the ergos and the action, too...the 03A3 just kind of flows while I have to use more force and feel like I'm fighting the 1917 to get it to do what I want it to do. I realize the 03A3 was a "cheaper" design than the original 1903, simplified for wartime expediency, but the final product was effective and a really capable rifle.

If I had to choose between a WW1 era 1903 and a 1917, though, I'd take the '17 for the sights alone. The No. 4 is also a very nice rifle and I love the smooth action and the dial-adjustable rear sight...but I'd never pick something in .303 if .30-06 was an option.

This is good to hear. I stumbled upon a '17 in the early '90s in a shop. November, 1918 manufactured Remington. Very good condition but missing the stacking swivel and screws. IIRC, they told me the rifle had come back from Nationalist China. Haven't checked, but I hope that the CMP will have some parts and accoutrements too.

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
IIRC, they told me the rifle had come back from Nationalist China.

Definitely possible. Many thousands of M1917s were sent during WW2 to arm "X Force", a five division army group of Nationalist Chinese soldiers fighting the Japanese in Burma with the aid of US and British advisors and equipment.

Many of the M1917s sent to the Chinese had the barrels, stocks, and handguards cut back by several inches, for easier use by the diminutive Chinese soldiers. Examples of these shortened M1917s are uncommon in the US these days, but they are out there.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

Once again, great info Rogue. Mine is full size; I checked my notes from purchase and I didn't record origin. $225 in '92, and the dealer was a block away from the old Interarms warehouses in VA.

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
This is good to hear. I stumbled upon a '17 in the early '90s in a shop. November, 1918 manufactured Remington. Very good condition but missing the stacking swivel and screws. IIRC, they told me the rifle had come back from Nationalist China. Haven't checked, but I hope that the CMP will have some parts and accoutrements too.

I wouldn’t worry much about parts. Plenty of them still out there. For instance Apex has a lot of M1917 and P14 parts at some decent prices.

^^That's good to know that Apex has parts also for the M1917. Mine came with a broken magazine follower spring; turns out that the spring for the M1903 was pretty much identical/interchangeable so I got one from Numrich back when.

Also. If parts are needed check out the CMP Forums. Lots of people w/ parts you can buy or trade.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
IIRC, they told me the rifle had come back from Nationalist China.

Definitely possible. Many thousands of M1917s were sent during WW2 to arm "X Force", a five division army group of Nationalist Chinese soldiers fighting the Japanese in Burma with the aid of US and British advisors and equipment.

Many of the M1917s sent to the Chinese had the barrels, stocks, and handguards cut back by about a foot total, for easier use by the diminutive Chinese soldiers. Examples of these shortened M1917s are uncommon in the US these days, but they are out there.

Man, that would almost be a great carbine(of the time) I like that.

Yeah, it's not quite what most people today would consider a "carbine", because the M1917 is fairly lengthy to begin with at 46".

The shortened version is still 41" in OAL, which puts it at just barely shorter than the M1 Garand or M1903 (both of which are 43").

Compare to contemporaries like the M1 Carbine at 35", or the Enfield No. 5 "Jungle Carbine" at 39". Or the modern M4 Carbine at 33" at full stock extension.

But I guess it's still a "carbine" in the same way as something like the German Karabiner 98k, in that it's comparatively shorter and lighter than it's full-sized progenitor. (The K98k is 43", while the G98 is 49".) However, in today's classifications, rifles like these would be termed "short rifles", not true "carbines" by modern standards.

quote:

Man, that would almost be a great carbine(of the time) I like that.

Agreed, that thing is really cool! My 1917 is the longest gun in my safe...I had to cut a hole in the shelf above to make it fit!

Even the shorter “Nationalist Chinese” Model of 1917 is about the same length as one of my best shooting carbines, the Swiss K11. My Swede M96 Mauser and my Argentine M1891 Mauser are my longest rifles in my safe.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
My 1917 is the longest gun in my safe...I had to cut a hole in the shelf above to make it fit!

You need a Trapdoor, or a musket then.......

A trapdoor is on my list, I just need to find a serviceable one that's affordable. My goal is to have an example of each of the mainstream-issued US service rifles (not all the variants, just an example of each type).