yeah.I kneel before the master.
I have seen a few 1917 that have been sporterized in to .458 Win mags. ... The ears are always cut off.
If your were around in the great days of surplus WWI & II bolt action when they could be had for under $10.00 you would have seen it the same way that all the guy & gunsmiths did too. The Brick Shithouse was a fine gun to build cheap dangerous game rifles in .458 out of. Not all 1917 are of that high quality to build a .458 on.The M1917 is built like a brick shithouse. I find the quality higher than my 1903.
Sporterizing is heresy
I have a 1917 Eddystone.
My great uncle bought it when he got home from WWII. Not sure if he had it sporterized, or if he bought it that way.
It has a nice monte carlo stock, and Redfield peep sights. He hunted deer, bear and elk with it until he wasn’t able to hunt anymore. It was given to me nearly 20 years ago. I’ve hunted with it a bit, and shot it at the range quite a bit.
It’s a darn nice rifle. The recoil pad is so hard it’s not at all helpful, I need to get a new one installed.
I’ve looked at, but never shot a 1903, so no real feedback there.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...
Henry David Thoreau