Hi all, I didn't see another Danish weapons board so I apologize for posting this here but Danish weapons experts are hard to find. I recently acquired an m1917 Eddystone that I believe served in the Danish Home guard. It has Canadian marks on it and it has the front blade replaced with a post, as well as the follower milled so it doesn't stop the bolt, both features I'm told indicate Danish use. I'm also told the post front sight was added by the Danes in lieu of the blade as it was better for marksmanship competitions, anyone here have any info on this? Otherwise its a beaut, and a well travelled one at that, enjoy!
Was introduced into the Danish Home Guard in 1953, hence the designation "M 53" in Denmark. Also Used by the Danish military dog sled patrols in Greenland as well as sold as surplus to Greenlandic Inuit hunters. Originally supplied by the United States to the British in 1940, who applied some red paint markers to indicate the 30-06 caliber.
The modifications to the sights, including the removal of the "ears" around the original rear sights, were done by the Schulz and Larsen company, "Otterup Gevearfabrik". A simple "V" notch rear sight was placed at the rear end of the barrel instead.
M-53, sold as surplus and costing a whopping $ 20.-,( 99 Danish Kroners) was my first high powered rifle in Greenland. Used it on many hunts, including a polar bear that luckily lived another day by disappeared into fog-covered drifting ice. Heavy enough to drag it up the mountains. The Danish surplus "AMA" loaded ammo with 147-grain fmj jacketed bullet, often the only locally available 30-06 ammo in Greenland, was performing poorly on thick-skinned and blubbered large sea mammals and could not penetrate deep enough due to the military designed tumbling after hitting the target bullets. I also hear that Greenland is for sale
The Gevær M/53-17 is a rifle that you and I would likely not recognize if we saw the name in print or heard someone talking about it in the gun shop. What you don’t know is that the Gevær M/53-17 is nothing more than a slightly modified M1917 Enfield, often referred to as “the American … Read...
I like to add that a small number of Danish-surplus M-53 rifles also ended being bought up by Portuguese fishermen then fishing in Greenlandic waters, and thus and as a memento of their stay in Greenland, ended up bringing the M-53 rifle back to Portugal. Back then buying and owning a rifle in Greenland only required the exchange of cash.
Many moons ago i needed a project to stay sane and decided to convert a 1917 in 30-06 to 45-70 and put on a full muffler.
Sold it to a Norwegian guy who harvested tons of deer quite illegally
Rebuilding the action to big rimmed cartridges was an effort.
I know the Sled Patrol used the modified sights for their rifles, but the photos I have seen of the Home Guard M53 had the original rear sight with protecting ears. Photos not clear enough to see if anything was done to the front sight. John
The M-53 rifles sold as surplus in Greenland would at the end of the line of the M-53 rifles in Greenland, be completely unmodified and be an original P-17. Many Greenlandic Inuit hunters would often file down most of the "V" notch rear sight claiming that it was easier and faster for the target acquisition of s seals head popping through the surface of shooting at a seal on the ice. All about bringing food to the table. The nonadjustable M-53 rear must also have been precalibrated before being installed to match the trajectory of the standard NATO, 147-grain bullet out to 100 meters?
Wow thank you so much for all the info! I am excited to shoot it with that sight which I bet beats the original blade. Yeah it wasn't what I thought I was getting but is so amazingly beautiful I think I may keep it. The wood is so crisp and (now I know what an unsanded stock really feels like) and I think other than the remington rear sight, danish front sight and winchester triggerguards, the parts are all original. Heres the full gallery of photos, do the markings on the wrist have any Danish Significance? This obviously also went to Canada first. Also this cleaning kit came in the butt stock, looks like my SKS kit and isnt the Danish plastic oiler I would expect.
Yup, but i got the action, stock and barrel for free and i needed the challenge to stay sane.
It's not always about the destination sometimes it's about the trip ;-)
Also, not too many P-14 in Denmark but lots of P-17?
By owning and using an M-53, aka P-17 in Greenland, I was wondering about why the P-17 could hold 6 rounds of 30-06 rounds in the magazine. Later I learned that P-17 was a straight conversion from the rimmed .303 British P-14, that needed a larger magazine for holding 5 .303 cartridges,
Therefore when a P-14 was converted to a P-17, it could also hold 6 of the slimmer 30-06 cartridges. Because of that, the P-14 has also been popular for conversions to the fatter belted magnum cartridges because the larger P-14 magazine could actually hold 4 belted magnum cartridges against most other magnum caliber rifles which could only hold 3 rounds, and especially good for those Mavericks who needed that extra shot
A couple of Danish M-53. The British applied red paint on the stock to distinguish the 30-06 caliber P-17 from the .303 British caliber P-14 has been retained. Shipped to the Danish Home Guard after WW2, and many of these M-53 ended up at a later date as "bread and butter" hunting rifles for the Greenlandic Inuit, who could back then acquired the M-53 for Danish Kroner 99.- about $ 16.-
The simulated Garand rear sight of the open sight version of the M-53 has also retained the non-adjustable rear sight on the barrel. An interesting rifle with two sets of rear sights. Them Danes must like rear sights
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