Winchester US Model 1917 – .30-06 SPNG – MFG 1918 – WWI Era – Ord Stamps

This is a no reserve penny auction for a Winchester Model 1917 bolt-action rifle chambered in .30-06 SPNG. Serial number- 265832. According to serial number records, this Model 1917 was manufactured in 1918. This rifle is in great overall condition but it appears the stock was cut down. This was likely to convert the rifle into a hunting/sporting rifle. It is also missing the internal magazine However, the rest of the rifle looks great. The top of the barrel shows off various ordnance and proof marks, including military acceptance marks.
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<br />Although, the Springfield Model 1903 was the official standard-issue rifle of the US military during WWI. The Model 1917 was the most produced and used rifle for the Americans during WWI. Originally a British design based on the German Mauser action. The British contracted some American companies to manufacture the Enfield Pattern 1914 and ship them to British troops fighting in Europe.
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<br />When the US entered WWI, it ran into an early problem. How to equip an Army that blew up many times its original size overnight. Only Springfield had the tooling to build the Model 1903 rifle but didn&apos;t have the capacity to churn out enough rifles to equip the new American Expeditionary Force headed to Europe. The solution lay with other American companies that were manufacturing Pattern 1914s for the British. The tooling and manufacturing process was already established at some of these companies. So the US Government contracted Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone to manufacture Pattern 14s (now called Model 1917s) chambered in .30-06 Springfield for the US Military. Winchester was among the first to get new Model 1917s into the hands of American Dough Boys.