Design
While developed at the same arsenal, the M1917 is not a version of the .303 caliber rifle of c. 1890-1955, the Lee-Enfield (such as the SMLE version). Both were developed at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield (arsenal) in the United Kingdom. Like the 1903 Springfield, the M1917 actually used the basic Mauser 98 rifle design coupled with a few modifications. Due to the use of rimmed cartridges in the P14, the magazine capacity for the smaller diameter 30-06 was 6 rounds, although stripper clips held only five cartridges.
The M1917 action proved very strong, and was used as the basis for a variety of commercial and gunsmith-made sporting rifles in standard and magnum calibers between the world wars and after. Later, Remington Arms redesigned the M1917, removing the "ears" and changing it to cock-on-open, to become the Remington Model 30 series of rifles in the interwar period. Some (approximately 3000) M1917 rifles were produced in 7 mm and sold to Honduras around 1930. Additional surplus rifles were bought by European arms distributors and converted to 8x57 Mauser, then sold for use in the civil war in Spain during the 1930s.
Read more about this topic: M1917 Enfield
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