I went to the local pawns shop today, looking for a few socket heads to replace ones I misplaced(lost). I made the mistake of looking at their gun offerings. They had in their possession a sporterized Eddystone 1917 with a $250 price tag listed on it. This is considerably cheaper then I have seen them at gun shows and GB. So the million dollar question is..is this just a good deal or is there something wrong with it? The machining done to get the 'ears' off looked very clean. I worked the action and the safety and they were both very smooth. The only downside that I see is that the receiver was drilled and taped with cheap weaver scope mounts. Last years plan to build a 585HE on a 1917 got put on hold due to the purchase of a new transmission. I wouldn't be able to do the conversion right away but this just seems like to good of a deal to pass up.

Good deal of a price, with it all milled and smoothed off
and don't use long handle wrench to the barrel out of action,
but let smith relieve barrel shoulder in a lathe,
like I do and take it out easy, to put our 585 barrel in.
Thr gun I tested the 650 gr at 3000 is Eddystone,
and rock solid, we the open bolt, the cases fall out.Ed

That is a good deal. Most of the work on an Enfield is visible, so if it looks decent, and functions well, then there should be no surprises. It is still cock on close?

Take Ed's advice on barrel removal. A cracked receiver is totally preventable.

These are my favorite action to work on.

Jeremy

It is still cock on close, that doesn't bother me though. I would want a a-square style bolt handle put on, cant stand the 1917 bolt as is.

Yes I've even seen one the what was so-called good enfield
action cracked, a tiny crack. Repaired ok and shooting.

My famous neighbor gunsmith Bob Snapp, who had talked to
guys many years ago, they told him, when they put the
barrels in 90-100 years ago at all the factories,and armorers in
repair places, they used 3 foot long wrenchs and a 200 lb guy
jumped on it.

About six times more torgue than needed. And then 90 years
of metal growing together so to speak, it is like all one piece
if you don't take them apart right.

But they are super for big cases and testing, and for that I add an extra
bearing lug by setting the bolt handle base as extra bearing lug,
and that increases the total lug shear rating by 60-70%..Ed

Canadian,

I see the cock on close still being intact as a good thing. It likely means that the person that customized it initially didn't mess with the action more than they had to.

That conversion can be done right and it can be done wrong. Better to have it done right and know it than have to figure out why you have inconsistent ignition.

Good score. It will be a fun rifle when finished.

I would like to have seen those guys with a 3 foot wrench cranking off a barrel.

Jeremy

does anyone have a pic of what a cracked 1917 looks like? do they crack perpendicular to the bore or is it a radial crack?

It isn't a radial crack, but the ones I've seen had
hairline crack on the front of reciever, parallel
with the reciever. Starting at front of front reciever
going toward the back, ones I saw only about 1/2 inch long.
One here I fixed up to make first 8ga test gun, and now
it is used as jig to hold the magazine parts to make
the singlestack mags for 585 in Enfields. I got it
years ago as a a complete 06, and it was cracked
when I got it. they'd wrenched off old barrel
put on new one many years before. Ed