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Good choice ,New after market barrel.Beats the hell out of my new in the wrap Win.8/18 dated Barrel !'Offer with drawn !One of my WVa. Buddies called me and said I was way too cheap ! I Bought 3 at a Max show 30 years ago.when I only needed one .
 
It wouldn't be pretty, but you could use that receiver pretty much as-is to turn what you have into a shooter.

Personally, I would be concerned about making the rifle 'too pretty', with highly polished metalwork and (probably) a stock with a nice, thick coat of urethane on it.
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
It wouldn't be pretty, but you could use that receiver pretty much as-is to turn what you have into a shooter.

Personally, I would be concerned about making the rifle 'too pretty', with highly polished metalwork and (probably) a stock with a nice, thick coat of urethane on it.
The CMP barrels are parkerized, so that's what I will do. Make it look like a WW2 era rebuild that was parked all over.
 
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Bubba got to my Winchester model of 1917 years ago. Cut the barrel back to 20" and started to remove the wings. When I got it only the partial remains of the wings were left. Turned my old drill press into a surface grinder and used an assortment of cup wheels to finish off the wings. Then spent a bunch of hours filing on the rear receiver ring. Left extra as at the time didn't know what profile could be used for scope bases. Polished all the metal then it sat in the safe for years. Sent it out and had it drilled and tapped for Weaver Grand Slam steel bases. made up a plug to fill the oblong hole in the rear receiver ring which was tig welded in place. The smith finished the rear receiver. Bead blasted everything and blued it. Came out a very deep blue almost black. Since I cleaned up the butt plate and screws,they too got the treatment. For what I paid was very happy with what I ended up with. Stuck an old cut down fat 1917 stock in it, went to the range (pre covid) and sighted it in. was getting one and three quarter inch groups. Not the original barrel, this one was a Johnson Automatic so probably rebarreled for WWII. Wouldn't have spent the money but the barrel looked good with nice sharp lands and grooves, with a nice shiney bore. I love the 30-06. I've always found it easier to develope a good shooting load than any other cartridge I've shot. Frank
 
Bubba got to my Winchester model of 1917 years ago. Cut the barrel back to 20" and started to remove the wings. When I got it only the partial remains of the wings were left. Turned my old drill press into a surface grinder and used an assortment of cup wheels to finish off the wings. Then spent a bunch of hours filing on the rear receiver ring. Left extra as at the time didn't know what profile could be used for scope bases. Polished all the metal then it sat in the safe for years. Sent it out and had it drilled and tapped for Weaver Grand Slam steel bases. made up a plug to fill the oblong hole in the rear receiver ring which was tig welded in place. The smith finished the rear receiver. Bead blasted everything and blued it. Came out a very deep blue almost black. Since I cleaned up the butt plate and screws,they too got the treatment. For what I paid was very happy with what I ended up with. Stuck an old cut down fat 1917 stock in it, went to the range (pre covid) and sighted it in. was getting one and three quarter inch groups. Not the original barrel, this one was a Johnson Automatic so probably rebarreled for WWII. Wouldn't have spent the money but the barrel looked good with nice sharp lands and grooves, with a nice shiney bore. I love the 30-06. I've always found it easier to develope a good shooting load than any other cartridge I've shot. Frank
Frank,
That rifle sounds nice, for a sporting arm. Any chance you have pictures? I think I speak for the collective, when I say, we all love pictures! 😁

I also love the old .30 GVMT. We have reloaded a lot over the years and never got fussy about it. Just pick a velocity you want, a powder you have, and load 'er up. All loads have been easily acceptable for practical uses.
Best Regards and God Bless, Col
 
To the OP, you bet that, that old 1917 action can be made to look like new. And a new Criterion barrel is icing on the cake. I was going to suggest you get it bead blasted after the barrel goes on. Reason I say that is that I had a Winchester 1917 complete barreled action that I sent into a gunsmith. D&T for scope bases, welded in the plug I made for the oblong hole in the rear receiver ring and that also included bead blasting the buttplate and two screws. She's sitting in a nice fat chopped 1917 stock with a bunch of coats of tru oil. Have fun with your project and don't forget the pics when done. Frank
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Thanks! Got it back yesterday. The stock needs oil. I rubbed it down with DA to bring it closer to the NOS handguards and then sent it out for work. Everything, except the new barrel, is Winchester parts. Early, star marked receiver.
 
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Cpl, Learning on how to take pics then getting them on my computer and posting on the internet I something I never learned to do. I'm electronically challenged to say the least. Frank
Frank,
I can definitely relate. The "smarter" these devices get, the tougher it seems to get things done with them. Haha
Best Regards and God Bless, Col
 
Very nice save. Looks good. I’m getting ready to do a 1917 sporter rebuild this month myself. Waiting on the brown truck. How did you refinish your metal? You wouldn’t happen to have an extra sling swivel screw in your extra parts bin? Only part that I’m missing.
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
The metal work was done by Guy Snelen at AMG international. I don't have the tools to put on a new barrel and there was a concern about bolt setback because this was a an early Winchester receiver. Thus I sent it out to get it done. Still, with all the fees, shipping and so on, I'm less than $200 into this rifle as the costs were offset by selling bunch of parts that came with it, like a full P14 stock for example.

I actually just came into another M1917 barreled receiver and a stock, for a very very good price. I am going to put together another rifle :)

Very nice save. Looks good. I’m getting ready to do a 1917 sporter rebuild this month myself. Waiting on the brown truck. How did you refinish your metal? You wouldn’t happen to have an extra sling swivel screw in your extra parts bin? Only part that I’m missing.
 
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Can’t wait to see how your new build turns out. You did very good $$ wise, I’ve found a handful of 1917s at the SOS show in Louisville and the Raleigh show from 800.00 to [pristine] 2300.00 and one drilled recvr hound dog thing for 350.00. Anyway, the bbl /action /trigger guard on my donor has a nice green grey phosphate finish on it where my replacement parts are a mix of blue and black stuff. Will need to get them matched up if possible.
 
This whole thread makes me happy. About 6 months ago, I came across a lightly sporterized Win 1917. all that had been done was the barrel cut down even with the end of the stock, and upper handguards removed. Receiver and stock fully intact. A couple hours after I saw it, on a whim, I checked and found a Winchester barrelled action for sale - untouched original late 1918 barrel, receiver was full sported, ears milled off, drilled and tapped, top of rear receiver drilled and tapped, etc. Offered 50 less than the asking price, offer accepted for 200 bucks! I was shocked. Turns out the receiver and new barrel are only about 3 months apart, in late 1918.

After sourcing handguards and a few metal bits, it's at a local smith now getting put together. I won't come out nearly as well as the OP cost wise, but it should be several hundred less than market when I'm done. Also, the smith wants to take all the parts I'm getting rid of as he has a sporterized stock from a rebuild, and he can put together almost a whole gun from my parts. I'm hoping he'll trade the parts for at least part of his fee.
My only slight regret is that when it was sporterized in the early 60s, the shortened barrel and receiver were beautifully blued, smooth as glass finish and dark. I'm going to have the receiver parked so it matches the barrel and the metal a little better.
 
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