Price check

[barretcreek]

Saw a very nice Winchester P17, all original. 98%. Rifling is sharp but grooves a little dark. What price range would cover it? Has a period sling.

[jaie5070]

Really need more info. Are all the parts blued or are some parkerized? Rebuild stamps? Do all the parts look like they have been on the rifle a long time? Is all the wear consistant with each other? I have two winchesters that are imports. One is almost all winchester but many of the small parts are parkerized from what I assume is a post WW1 refinishing. The other is
a complete mixmaster.

[Clark Howard]

If the barrel is serviceable, the bottom $ is $650-$700. Depending on rebuild/refinish situation, a blued original with all Win parts is looking at $1000+. Just what I see at the shows. Regards, Clark

[barretcreek]

The rifle is all blued, 1916 barrel date. Red banded forearm and handguard, lend lease. Blue is even, wood matches. Typical gunshow lighting, can barely see the floor. Guy lives about hour and a half so I'll call him next week if he still has it and I can do a proctologist type exam.

[Merc]

You could expect to pay $100 or more for an original period leather sling depending on condition.

[ElWoodman]

The 1916 bbl date, and red banded stock lead me to believe you have a P14 rather than a 1917.....My $.02....

[Johnny P]

The red bands were put on rifles sent to England as Lend-Lease that were not British caliber, like the M1 Rifle, M1903, or M1917 rifles. Be sure the date isn't 1918 rather than 1916, and it sounds more like a Model 1917 Rifle. Almost 120,000 Model 1917 rifles were sent to England as Lend-Lease during WWII.

[5MadFarmers]

Almost 120,000 Model 1917 rifles were sent to England as Lend-Lease during WWII.

Over 3/4 million M-1917s went to England.

[Johnny P]

Over 3/4 million M-1917s went to England.

Table LL-14 Quantities of selected items included in War Department Lend-Lease shipments, 1941-1945, United States Army in World War II - Statistics, Office of the Chief of Military History, Special; Staff, U.S. Army, Historical Manuscript File, pp. 28-29, RG, WNRC.

Slow down and read the post before you start using your own figures. The post said LEND-LEASE, and 119,000 rifles were Lend-Leased to England. The largest number of Model 1917 rifles that went to England were purchased by the British Purchasing Commission.

[5MadFarmers]

Table LL-14 Quantities of selected items included in War Department Lend-Lease shipments, 1941-1945, United States Army in World War II - Statistics, Office of the Chief of Military History, Special; Staff, U.S. Army, Historical Manuscript File, pp. 28-29, RG, WNRC.

Slow down and read the post before you start using your own figures. The post said LEND-LEASE, and 119,000 rifles were Lend-Leased to England. The largest number of Model 1917 rifles that went to England were purchased by the British Purchasing Commission.

Speaking of slowing down and reading a post, go back and read mine. It was quite short:

Over 3/4 million M-1917s went to England.

Are you claiming it's incorrect?

Then we can get into whether they painted some, but not other, rifles of the "foreign caliber" with bands to identify them no?

In addition to the lend-lease rifles they were sent 250,000 M-1917s. Not purchased by their Purchasing Commission. Simply sent. Did they get painted? We have the answer.

London [via U.S. Embassy]
Sept. 22, 1940, 12 A.M.

Personal and Secret for the President from Former Naval Person.

I asked Lord Lothian to speak to you about our remaining desiderata. The two hundred and fifty thousand rifles are most urgently needed as I have two hundred and fifty thousand trained and uniformed men into whose hands they can be put. I should be most grateful if you could arrange the necessary release. Every arrangement will be made to transport them with utmost speed. They will enable us to take two hundred and fifty thousand .303 rifles from the home guard and transfer them to the regular army leaving the home guard armed with about eight hundred thousand American rifles.

The 250,000 rifles sent, not lend-lease and not purchased, were issued to the Home Guard.

The fact that the P17, although based on a .303 British weapon, fired a .300 round meant that all these rifles had to be clearly marked with a red band around the "furniture" of the weapon, to prevent accidental use of .303 ammunition.

From "In Search of the Real Dad's Army: The Home Guard and the Defence of the United Kingdom, 1940-1944 by Stephen M. Cullen.

Pattern 14 rifles were issued to the Home Guard. When the M-1917s arrived they were as well. The cause for confusion is evident.

The red band doesn't mean "lend-lease." It's a caliber warning. Over 3/4 million M-1917s were shipped. 119,000 were lend-lease. 250,000 were sent before the lend-lease act and were not purchased or loaned - simply sent.