Even though the rifles were serviceable, bought and paid for, many thousands were sold as surplus. It should be remembered that the Army felt the pangs of the Great Depression along with the country that it served. Entire arsenal-loads of these rifles were sold off in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the weapon that finally crushed the Kaiser.Р”Р„s a reward for its hard service, the Army quickly mothballed the РІР‚СљAmerican EnfieldРІР‚Сњ in favor of the Springfield, the standard rifle since 1903. One of the most famous users was later Sergeant Alvin York who, using his trusty and accurate Remington rifle, shot 28 and captured another 132 German soldiers almost single-handedly. Use of the M1917Р”В«y the end of WWI in 1918, three out of every four US soldiers carried a M1917 rifle. Weight aside, it was soon in mass production with over two million leaving the factory. The weapon, with its machete-length bayonet and sling weighed in at over 11-pounds. Overall, the barrel was 26-inches long, which was longer than the Springfield. The rifle was over a pound heavier than the Springfield and used an extremely long bayonet that was more of a short sword, neither of which made it popular with the doughboys. This type of sight became so popular with the Army that all future infantry longarms, the M1 Garand, M1 carbine, and M1903A3 Springfield, all carried their own versions of them. With a modified bolt, magazine and chamber specifications, and updated markings the Enfield-designed P14 became the Remington-designed M1917.Р”Вistinctive РІР‚ВearsРІР‚в„ў of metal on each side of the peep-aperture protect the 1917РІР‚в„ўs rear sights. 303 cartridge, needed minimal conversion to fire the US. With Great BritainРІР‚в„ўs P14 rifle order filled, three large rifle plants in the US were sitting idle while the P14 rifle design, chambered for the standard British. However, there only existed enough in 1917 to arm about 10% of the envisioned Army that would be sent, РІР‚Сљover there.РІР‚Сњ The Army turned to Remington. The standard US military rifle was the excellent M1903 Springfield rifle. Like other countries, she found herself unprepared. Then, the United States entered the Great War. By 1917, the company, along with their Eddystone (Baldwin Locomotive Works) subsidiary and Winchester had produced some 1.2-million of these bolt-action guns.

Dubbed the Pattern 1914 or simply P14, Remington started production of these. It was more accurate, stronger, and-some argue-more reliable. This rifle took all the lessons learned from captured Boer Mausers and the British ArmyРІР‚в„ўs own standard Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE). In 1914, they went to Remington in New York and brought with them their plans, produced by Enfield, for a wholly modern rifle. The KingРІР‚в„ўs purchasing agents looked to the industrial powerhouse of the United States for arms. When the great empires of Europe let slip the dogs of war in World War I, no country found themselves ready for it and Great Britain, her small peacetime army expanded tenfold by the turn of the century, was no exception. A firearm that actually served harder and saw more combat, the M1917, rarely gets the attention it deserves. Most US firearms collectors are well aware of the legendary Springfield 1903 and the M1 Garand.

Pattern 14 enfield end of production