The more I shoot my early (mfd. Nov. 15, 1917) M1917 Winchester with a minty barrel and NOS Winchester replacement parts, the more I'm impressed with the accuracy, design and construction of the rifle and especially the close eye placement location of the open adjustable sight.

Shooting from a rack at 100 yards, I'm consistently grouping in the center of a 12" target that is barely visible to me at that distance. I use the rear ladder sight at the lowest possible setting for 100 yards.

I didn't add any bedding to the stock but did place some thick paper shims around the nose cap that was loosely holding the front hand guard in place. Shims were also required around the upper barrel band for the same reason. There's still some slight movement in the front end if forced but it's not exactly what I'd call a floating barrel.

All things considered, it's an impressive rifle.

Merc