Another 1917 project idea

tddeangelo

Handloader
May 18, 2011
2,023
20
I have a 1917 sporter. Some brief history on this one:

-My father gave it to me over 10 years ago. It was his first deer rifle. His uncle had it sporterized, in the 50's.

-It's original stock was broken. Dad made a new one in a hurry just before (or during, can't recall) deer season so he could hunt. He always said he wasn't thrilled with the replacement, but it worked. His uncle had the original repaired (it was cracked at the wrist and glassed back together).

-I hunted with it for a time, and it started giving me weird groups, followed by two case head separations. It was found to have excessive headspace, and this was corrected by setting back the barrel and rechambering. It has the original barrel, shortened to 18.5" (probably more like 18.25" now).

-It has a Timney trigger from the 50's, set to a pretty clean 2lbs.

This rifle has sat around for a while now, as my stable of M70's has pretty conclusively overtaken it for my usual hunting rifle selection. Dad told me that the rifle was originally supposed to get rebored to 35 Whelen, but it didn't, for reasons he can't recall. When I did my Whelen rebore of my M70 Classic, he suggested I use the 1917, but I wanted to do my first venture into such a project on one of my own rifles, so to speak.

In talking with the gentleman making my custom flintlock, he's agreed to give me some pointers/ideas on stock making, and I'm looking to take him up on that offer. He likes Mauser/1917 type sporters, medium bores especially.

So here's my thoughts, and I'm looking for ideas/suggestions/etc:

-Rebore to either 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, or 400 Whelen. I measured the barrel OD at the muzzle, and it's 0.602". I'm hoping that's enough barrel thickness for a rebore.

-Work with the flintlock maker to help guide me in making it a new stock. If I blow that project completely, there's always the B&C stocks, or I could get McM to make me one if it comes to it. Or get the same guy who's making my flintlock to work his magic here, too. I've seen his centerfire rifle work, and it's pretty darn nice, just like his flintlocks. But there's an "out" if I fudge the stock work, at least.

-Get it scoped up with something like a 1.25-4 Leupold, maybe a 1-6 VX6, something in that range....and use it for places where shots will be <200 yards and I want to put a large bullet on target and make deer dead quick. Maybe for a hog hunt if I do one again, maybe for bears if I do such a hunt, etc.

Ideas/thoughts/suggestions?
 
Sounds like fun.
I would have to lean toward the 400 Whelen for the cool factor and the fact that would be a major league thumper. If I remember correctly you already have a 35 Whelen? 400 is the next logical step, right? :grin:
The 9.3 x62 is cool also though and also a major league thumper although kind of interchangable with the 35 Whelen IMO. That's why I said 400.
Either of those two would be my pick FWIW.
 
There's also the 375 Whelen, too.... :)

I may have to call JES to see if the barrel has enough material to support a rebore adequately. It's a hair thin, I'm afraid.

I did see that Boyd's makes a fairly attractive wood stock, in either laminate or solid wood, for a decent price. That's a possibility, too.
 
I do like the performance of the 9.3X62; it is a great cartridge that is gravely underrated here in NA.
 
I definitely think the 9.3 will out perform the whelen with heavier bullets. With more and more bullets coming out for the 9.3 I would have a hard time going any other direction. I can't see the 375 whelen having anything over the 9.3 either
 
I will have to give JES a ring and see what he thinks about it with the OD I have on the barrel. I'm not sure there's enough steel there for a rebore.

It's getting restocked either way. The stocks existing for it are just not giving the rifle the platform it needs.
 
Richard's microfit makes a fine stock for this action also. I have one of their thumbholes on a custom Mauser and it is beautiful and functional. They offer several laminate choices as well as traditional walnut and maple. The sky's the limit if you want fancy wood.
 

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Nice looking stock!

I'm not a huge fan of thumbholes from a functional standpoint, but a traditional stock would be my speed, for sure.
 
This is their dual grip style. It allows for snap shooting with a normal hold. They also make several more traditional sporter styles. If I remember right, the lumber bill was around $150 shipped for this one 5 years ago. It is their "semi-fancy" grade.
 
I don't know if I'd go with the .338-06, .35 Whelen or the 9.3...

There's kind of a hot-rod .375 Scovill that shows some great ballistics in the Barnes manual. It's a .35 Whelen necked up to .375 dia, and fire-formed to the .375 Scovill chamber.

To quote from the Barnes manual:

"The concept was to generate .375 H&H power in standard .30-06 actions"

One of those...

Guy
 
The '17 actions used to be popular for making into a poor man's magnum, the ears ground off and rechambered for the .375 H&H. This is back when I was young.
 
Guy, I like that idea! The only issue is the barrel....I don't know that it has enough steel to pull off a 375 bore. Or a 9.3, for that matter. I need to call JES and get an opinion on that matter.

While I'm ok with the idea of a rebore, and I feel the rifle really does NEED a new stock, I'm sort of drawing the line at not rebarreling the rifle, for sentimental reasons.

If a rebore is not practical, I'm ok with keeping it as a 30-06. What I'm thinking in that case is working up a load for it with 200- or 220-gr bullets and make the little bugger into a good close-in thumper. Lower power scope (for starters, I'm thinking the Leup VariX III 1.5-5 on my 45-70 would work, as I want to put better glass on the 45-70...and then upgrade the 1917 as funds permit later), laminate stock maybe? The long, goofy bolt on the 1917 doesn't make it particularly "fast handling," yet I've shot that action type enough that I can run 'em pretty fast. It has irons on it, too....perhaps QD mounts with a BU ap sight on the back?

Hmm.........
 
Dang it, Guy, you're gonna get me in trouble with that 375 Scovill. It's just different enough to be cool. I may have to snag a 30-06 if I see one at a low price and have it redone to that chambering......dang it.....

This forum gets expensive...

:lol:
 
Well, I never have gotten around to having mine turned into a .338 - .375 bore rifle.

But I did bob the barrel to 21 inches, top it with a 2.5x compact scope and load it up with 220 gr Nosler Partitions. Figured I was well armed for most anything in North America with that.

Guy
 
OT3 is right. These actions were highly regarded for conversions to large cartridges; .375 - .458 and beyond...

In the not-so-distant past, A-Square built monster stopping rifles on the 1917 action.
 
This sounds like a cool project Tom. It'd be cool to see you break the old rifle out and hunt it again. I know it has alot of family history with you all.

I am with the others, a 9.3, 375 or 400 would all be very cool and probably just about eliminate the need for a 375 H&H. I really dig the old 400 Whelen. I keep my eyes open for something that would make a nice one.
 
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