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Old December 5, 2012, 12:18 PM   #3
F. Guffey
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 18, 2008
Posts: 7,249
“I've been told by a collector it's only worth about $100 since it's been sporterized”

My favorite people, the ones that say “the value is gone because it has been altered” they say the same thing about period correct collectable rifle that have been fired, as in, it’s scratched, it has a dent, the barrel is newer than the receiver etc.. If it was not for “THE COLLECTOR” I could not afford my vises. Flat top rear sight bridges, round top rear sight bridges, rear sight bridges without ears etc., rear sight bridge height that match the height of the front receiver ring height, then there is the P14 with the M1917 barrel chambered to 308 Norma mag and the P14 with the M1917 30/06 barrel, I paid $50.00 each for the P14s, the 30/06 barrel was a gift, a smith in Kentucky needed a 1894 Krag barrel, I sent him one, about 6 month later he sent me the M1917 barrel with the story about how many volunteers were required to separate the barrel from the receiver. He is in Colorado now.

I found a M1917 Winchester barrel, like new, my friend wants $250.00, I have no interest in ‘bringing’ a M1917 back, the collector value would be less than the sum of the parts.

And my favorite, the ugliest military sporterized rifle ever built, as in “WHAT WAS HE THINKING” and BUBBA, I did not believe anyone could build anything “that ugly” and not know what they were doing, I won the bid, $120.00, all the reasons for failure were eliminated, short hook-up, no floor plate, no magazine box, no recoil lug on the receiver, the recoil lug was on the barrel, something like a Sierra test gun, Timney trigger, the magazine box is part of the bedding meaning when the rifle was bedded the builder formed the magazine with glass, trigger guard, no plate.

I asked the compulsive laugher and gigglers to hold off on their comments long enough for me to complete the bid, I felt all the attention would drive the price up, the accuracy discouraged me from ‘the sum of the parts’ as I said I loaded 12 different loads ‘120 rounds’ different cases, powders and bullets, there were no bad groups, the rifle liked everything.

And in the description “the builder added his driver license to the receiver across the rear sight bridge with an electric stencil”, I can only guess that made the rifle affordable and prevented collectors from bidding.

It is one of my favorite M1917s, it is a Remington, no hole to fill in the rear sight bridge.

F. Guffey
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