Barrel ,ightness

[Merc]

The muzzle end of the barrel of my M1917 is being held somewhat loosely by the front barrel band which allows the barrel to move a few mils in all directions. Before I do anything to correct this, I'd like to know if muzzle play is desirable. If yes, how much is allowable? If caused by stock wood shrinkage, what's the best fix? I have a Lee-Enfield and a Mauser that have no muzzle play at all.

[bruce]

First, get yourself some of the round toothpicks, the type that are pointed at both ends. Then get several different .30-06 loads, the rifle, etc. and head for the range. Make sure that the action screws are tight... the front one real tight, the rear one snug. Check the zero at 50 yds., then move out to 100 yds. and fire a careful 10 shot group on something like a SR-1. Use sandbags, etc. If the group is round and if it is 2 - 2.5 inches extreme spread, fine! Now, do a little experimenting. Take the toothpicks and insert them below the barrel at 5 and 7 o'clock. Try to insert them equally on both sides. This will put a bit of upward pressure on the barrel. You may very well find that this will give you better results on target. Once upon a time I had a Winchester 1917 w/ a very pitted worn barrel that would not shoot worth a flip. Handloading w/ 180 gr. flat based bullets gave better results. The toothpick method and cleaning resulted in some very nice 1.5 inch groups fired slowly and carefully from sandbags at 100 yds. HTH. Sincerely. bruce.

[us019255]

Personal story: I have a M1917 that came back after shooting about 10,000 rounds of corrosive ammo between cleanings. I replaced the stock because the original looked like it had been dragged 100 miles behind a Camel, at least I assume it was a Camel as there was Arabic script on it. I also replaced the barrel with a brand new old stock JA barrel. This was during the time when free floating was the rage for sport rifles, so I carefully free floated it. The piece would not group for sour grapes. I glass bedded the muzzle end with 5 lb. of upward pressure and got a rifle that shoots better than I can hold. My bottom line: the M1917 needs muzzle pressure.

[Merc]

I had a feeling that the extra space was left there for the purpose of fine tuning the zero. That's all part of the fun of owning a beautiful 98 year old Winchester M1917 warhorse.

Are you shooting with the original iron sights or a scope? I mounted a scope on my 1944 Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk 1 .303 British Army rifle (made by Savage) using an Addley bolt-on mount just for the heck of it after deciding that I wanted to really see how accurate the old boy could shoot. I found that, once zeroed, the rifle is amazingly accurate with a scope and shooting on a weighted rack. Like your M1917, the stock on my No. 4 is kinda beat up and battle-worn so it gets a fair amount of attention from other shooters at the range. I paid $150 for the rifle at an estate sale and have had many hours of fun with it. I'm thinking about buying a bolt-on mount for the M1917. I couldn't come close to zeroing the No. 4 with the iron sight and don't expect to do any better with the M1917.

[kcw]

In reference to us019255's comments on upward pressure at the forward end of the barrel. The GI M1917 stock is routed out to allow the barrel to be free floated from the chamber and forward to about within 3/4' of the forward end of the stock. Machined into the approx. 3/4" of the stock is a "pad" which rises up. That "pad" is designed to press upward against the underside of the barrel with about 5 lbs of pressure. What has happened with most well used M1917 stocks is that the area immediately under the rear tang (where the rear action bolt goes through) has become "mushy" due to being oil soaked etc. With the integrity of the wood compromised at that point, the rear tang of the action sinks deeper into the stock when the action is tightened than original specs call for.. Correspondingly, that situation causes the forward end of the barrel is rise upward, reducing the USGI required "up pressure" relationship between the underside of the barrel and the "pad" in the stock, even to the point in extreme instances that that the top of barrel can actually be pressing against the underside of the forward barrel band! The fix is to either place a suitable thickness of shims between the underside of the rear tang and the stock at that point, or better, route of the decayed wood with a dental burr on your Dremel tool and fill the cavity with Brownells Bedding to the point that the rearmost top edge of the tang is about even with the wood at that point (that's been a good starting point for me anyway). After allowing the bedding material to suitably cure, the action screws can be appropriately tightened. The M1903 Springfield is likewise regulated.

[RC20]

I like the tooth pick idea for a temp test

My brother got me to using thin vanier strips for a close to fit then shim with paper.

The rear tang makes sense.

also those stocks have dried out, so that can affect it.

After all they were used in weather, not kept inside in nice dry places.

Regardless you need to re-balance it.