THE UNOFFICIAL U.S. SERVICE RIFLE

“During the Great War, the federal government was paying about $26 for each gun, but prices for used guns have increased considerably since then.”

Its official designation was the “U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30 M1917,” but it was also known as the “Enfield” or “P-17”—both of which are technically incorrect (although many attached those nicknames to it).

The term, “P-17,” was most likely coined by workers at Remington, Winchester and Eddystone, which were previously contracted to manufacture the P-14, Great Britain’s replacement for the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE). To differentiate these two very similar guns, the P-17 name came into unoffi cial use. “Enfield” most likely surfaced because it rolled off a soldier’s tongue easier than M1917 and because the P-14 on which it was based was designed by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock in England.

NO LOVE LOST

Regardless of what it was called, it was issued to, and carried by, more U.S. service men than the official U.S. military rifle—the M1903 Springfield—during that time period. And, many in the military didn’t like it much,