It is an Enfiled 1917. The British could not make enough in their Enfield and Birmingham factories to stem the need for arms during WWI. Remember, they had been fully engaged with the Hun for two years already. Eddystone and Winchester both recieved contracts to build the Enfield to bolster the British Army. It was ORIGINALLY chambered in .303.
When the US became involved, Springfield, Rock Island, and Remington could not make enough '03-A3's to meet demand, so the Enfield was rechambered in .30-'06 and sent to war with the Marines. More Enfields saw fighting in the trenches than the Springfield guns, and up until early 1918 there were flat out thousands more too.
The Military standardized with the '03-A3, and all Enfields went to storage armories or were sold as surplus. The SPringfield soldiered on until the late 1930's when the Garand was officially adopted. However, many hundreds of thousands of '03-A3's went to battle in WWII since the Garand was labor intensive to build, and wouldn't be produced in needed quantities until later in the war. Most Marine units went to war with their preferred Springfields, and only reluctantly gave them up when ordered to use the Garand.
Good rifle you have. Get it fully checked by a qualified gunsmith before you shoot it, as it may have a serious fault you are not aware of.
When the US became involved, Springfield, Rock Island, and Remington could not make enough '03-A3's to meet demand, so the Enfield was rechambered in .30-'06 and sent to war with the Marines. More Enfields saw fighting in the trenches than the Springfield guns, and up until early 1918 there were flat out thousands more too.
The Military standardized with the '03-A3, and all Enfields went to storage armories or were sold as surplus. The SPringfield soldiered on until the late 1930's when the Garand was officially adopted. However, many hundreds of thousands of '03-A3's went to battle in WWII since the Garand was labor intensive to build, and wouldn't be produced in needed quantities until later in the war. Most Marine units went to war with their preferred Springfields, and only reluctantly gave them up when ordered to use the Garand.
Good rifle you have. Get it fully checked by a qualified gunsmith before you shoot it, as it may have a serious fault you are not aware of.
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