My father joined the Navy in early 1941. He said that he was as trained on the 1917 Enfield. He said he liked the rifle and said it was accurate. He then served on the USS Nevada and was at Pearl Harbor during the attack on 12/7/1941.
We used to have a sporterized Enfield; had original 26" barrel and the action was smooth as glass. WE used to shoot rocks at long distances with AP with it. They broke nicely.
What lots of ppl don't understand is that in a real SHTF situation you should not go running and gunning all around your site. Every gunfight carries lots of chances of being killed. With this in mind, a bolt action gun (and a P17 is for sure a top quality one) is a good choice. Extremely reliable, no ammo waste, super powerful round (30.06 will ignore most body armor), great accuracy, good for big game. I'm not arguing that this is superior to an AR15. Of course it's not, but unless you're planning to do militia stuff in a war situation (enemy invasion, civil disorder) you don't actually need an AR15. If your task is to survive off grid, kill boars for food and bears for self defense, a full caliber bolt rifle is a great choice
Yeah the Brits knew what they were doing when they designed that rifle, you can shoot them just as fast as the Lee Enfields with a bit of practice. We have a lot of them in Canada, we purchased several thousand at the start of WW2, many of which went to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers. They were well liked, and the rangers could purchase them for $5 when the war was over. They always called them “Springfields” or “Eddystones”.
I’d happily take one of these with a pile of stripper clips over a lot of other things. A lever gun might be slightly faster, but you can’t reload as fast. Shotguns are better up close, but they can’t stretch out to 1800 yards and again they’re slow to reload. These old WWI rifles are perfectly serviceable in a pinch.
@@WastelandArmorer They still are, they're just old fashioned now. Guys still carry knives and modern E-tools are the same exact tool the Romans used, it just folds up neatly now and can be straightened to be a shovel as well. The basics don't need to change all that much.
This rifle holds 6 rds in the mag well add one chambered at the ready, you have 7rds ,not 5 . What really matters is the ability to hit with it ,and yes it is a shooter !
They do. The stripper clips only hold 5. So after you empty it your using a 5 shot till you get a chance to top it off. But yes, it is an awsome rifle.
I own one. At first I wasn't too sure. Got it at a price that I couldn't walk away from. Man how pleasantly suprised I was how accurate this rifle is. I love that i can put any kind of modern .30-06 ammunition in it. Its definitely a rifle that I would consider for hunting and defending a location with. It would be perfect for a Korean Rooftop scenario.
With mine, I was impacting a steel 4x4 ft target at 650 yards 4 out of 5 times the first time I shot it using it’s plain iron ladder sights. That tells you a lot right there. The 5 round clips are easy to use and reload quickly.
I traded some scope rings, some gunsmithing, and $45 for a Winchester branded 1917. I found a replacement W marked stock and all the other original parts were still with the gun. The old stock I cut down for him decades ago. Took it out with handloads for the first time after getting it bdck to original. It shot all in one big hole with the first three shots using open sights with a random hand load using a 150 grain Seirra. It averaged 2.5”. I tried some ballistic tips in 180 grain and 168 grain with a random load. They both shot under .7”! At 100 yards. The battle sight hits almost 4” high at 100 yards and will hit POA with the ladder sight with the peep slid all the way down.
If we are going surplus and if we had to choose ww1-ww2 option I’m sorry but I’m going M1 Garand. 8 vs 5 rounds? Full power 3006? Renowned to work in almost every clime and place? Accuracy with surplus ammo is 2-3 MOA with match ammo 1.5-1 moa.
i'm willing to bet that the rifle in capable of better accuracy than most of the people shooting it. mine is a 1917 Eddistone. origional 1917 marked barrel and stock. mismatched bolt.
I had one once in excellent beautiful condition. But firing it from the bench, I thought it worked my shoulder over pretty good. Probably due to the stock drop and butt shape. I think it was a little rougher on me than the 03A3. But I prefer the Garand simply for it's lighter kick.
@@WastelandArmorer look at getting a swede mauser. flat shooting and if you get a decent one they are tack drivingly accurate. there is a story on how the swedes picked their sniping rifles. to give context all other nations would test rifles in a vice out of the factory and depending on the group size it would be designated an infantry rifle or a sniping rifle. the swedes decided to just pluck random rifles off the shelf and add scope mounts to them because they knew the capabilities of the rifle they had. not sure how true the story is but it is fun regardless.
Great rifle! My Dad was issued this for his boot camp in 1943... but bolt action, 5 round capacity wouldn't be any choice of mine for SHTF, unless it was the only thing available.
@@paulwillard5924: Okay, I stand corrected (ammo was issued in 5 round clips)...but it was not a 10 round (detachable) magazine as stated by MENSA. The SMLE is a different rifle.
These are very nice rifles, given their age especially. Used to see them in the Michigan deer woods. the '06 chambering is a plus here in the States. Used to own one that had been VERY sporterised. Personally, my #4 Mk2 .303 Lee-Enfield wouldnt be my FIRST (I have others) choice in a "situation", but it's proven itself and one would not be under-armed with it. It can fire fast, is accurate, quick reloads with strippers, and hard-hitting. It would likely do until something better was available.
Got both and theres no comparison. The 1917 has an much stronger action, feeds smoother, and has superior clips and sights. My person sample has an Elmer Keith cartouche from the Utah arsenal.