Minute of Mae: U.S. "Enfield" 1917

History aside, my experience with the 11917 Enfield came in the 1980s.  My first father-in-law had one that survived the war and was sporterized later when the rifles came out as surplus.  The rear sight was removed, the upper handguard went away.  It was drilled and tapped for scope mounts and the stock was chopped down.  Whoever did the work did a good job, because I had a bit of trouble identifying it until he told me what it was.  The bore was excellent and he took his deer with it, along with the occasional varmint.

When he died, it was passed down to a son, and I hope that it is still serving the family.  While we tend to cringe at such things today, the fact is that thousands of these rifles were released into the civil markets after the war and served as deer rifles for the greater public.  I once passed on a sporterized 1903 Springfield on the side of the road.  We were hunting and a guy stopped his truck and offered it for the sum of $75.00.   I didn't have that much cash in my pocket, and he drove off with it.  Probably heading to a pawn shop.