The iconic American rifle of World War 1 is the 1903 Springfield, but most of the Doughboys were issued a different gun. The US Rifle, Model of 1917, also known as the Enfield or P17, thanks to the vagaries of history, was the most prevalent US rifle by far. Over two million were made in a two-year span. So how does it stack up today?Reviews @ TFB: TFB Review: Aimpoint ACRO C-2 TFB Review: Meprolight MPO PRO-F Red Dot and MPO Backup Sights TFB Review: 2,500 Rounds On The H&R 635 9mm Subgun TFB Review: Mesa Tactical Beretta 1301 Furniture TFB REVIEW: Meprolight MVO 3-18x44 FFP M3, MRAD HistoryHeading into World War 1, the European powers were busy equipping their militaries with bolt-action rifles using smokeless powder. The Brits turned to the US to supply rifles to meet this demand. The Pattern 14 rifle in .303 British was manufactured by Winchester, Remington, and Remington sub-brand Eddystone, which together produced 1.2 million rifles in a few years.As those British contracts were finishing up, the Americans were realizing a similar need for infantry rifles. The P14 was adapted to fire .30-06, and three factories began producing the Model 1917 rifle. In just under two years, the factories produced 2.1 million rifles. This is an abbreviated telling of the story, but Bruce Canfield's book on the topic covers the whole tale thoroughly.My M1917 was made by Remington. It came into my possession like many other guns do, by being a good deal on the shelf in Gallenson’s Guns in Salt Lake City. My grandfather owned an M1917, and he showed it to me when I was a boy. I could not immediately place the gun, but I eventually figured out what it was with the help of various “guns of the world” type books bought on the sale tables at Borders. He told some pretty tall tales about his hunting exploits with that gun. Overall, it is in very good condition. All of the parts appear to be original. The wood is still tight and free from any major problems. Mechanically, the function seemed flawless. The bore looked a little rough, but the price was such that I decided to grab it anyways. The sights of the American Enfield are, in my opinion, superior to the 1903 Springfield. With the sight folded, the rear is an aperture near the shooter's eye providing a 400-yard battle zero. With the ladder extended, a second aperture is adjustable from 200 yards out to a very optimistic 1,600 yards. Both apertures would be better for target use if they were a little smaller, but as combat sights they are just about perfect. On The RangeThe day I bought it, I was already planning to hit the range after work, so I snagged a box of the cheapest .30-06 on the shelf and shot the Enfield too. It produced some very underwhelming accuracy, even for an over 100-year-old rifle. But it did function!Back at home, I cleaned the barrel thoroughly and found it heavily coppered. What had looked like pitting or wear on the rifling was actually just decades of filth and shooting residue. One mountain of dirty cleaning patches later, the bore looked very nice! Back to the range for another outing, and it started shooting respectable groups.The rear sight is not windage adjustable. All windage adjustments are made by drifting the front sight in its channel. The sight is retained by staking in place. With a punch and a hammer, I made some adjustments and centered the group. I staked the front sight in its new position, and it has not moved since. The lack of windage adjustment meant that the M1917 never really caught on in competition shooting. There were experiments with different rear sights that added that capability, but the Springfield reined supreme at places like Camp Atterbury and Camp Perry.One criticism of the Enfield was its length and weight. It has a heavy profile 26-inch barrel, and it handles with noticeably more momentum than the slimmer Springfield. The actual size of the gun was most noticeable when it was lying on a blanket next to a PSA Sabre-10 with a 20-inch barrel and silencer attached. The lengths are almost identical! I did some simple load development to see what ammo my rifle liked, with some surprising results. After some respectable but uninspiring groups with some 168-grain and 175-grain boat-tail hollow-point bullets, I went back to 150-grain options. It shot Winchester Power Point 150s surprisingly well, so I loaded up a bunch of 150gr FMJ ammo from the section of the reloading manual dedicated to M1 Garand loads. Just like that, it came to life. Groups are a little over 2 inches at 100 yards.On steel targets, a 10-inch coffin at 200 yards is easy, and an 8-inch plate at 300 yards was a consistent victim. I even made some hits out to 550 yards, but picking out the steel while looking through the sights was the limiting factor. I lobbed some shots at 1,050 yards, and came very close to a C-zone target several times with the sight ladder set to 950 yards, but I was not able to connect. With a little practice and some more forgiving wind conditions, it seems possible to luck into a couple hits. ConclusionWhen I was a young boy listening to my grandfather’s hunting stories, I figured that, like any good fisherman, there was a fair amount of embellishment in the tales. As I learned more about guns and gained experience shooting in competitions and at long range, I figured that the stories were more embellishment than truth. How could an old surplus rifle with no scope and basic hunting-grade soft point ammo have possibly picked off deer at several hundred yards? Now that I have an M1917 of my own, I think his stories were probably all true. It performs surprisingly well with the kind of ammo you can source at the local hardware store. The sights are simple yet precise. The long sight radius and heavy barrel help facilitate accurate shooting. While it may not produce the kind of accuracy necessary to win a PRS match, it is absolutely capable of landing hits in an 8-inch circle at 300 yards. That translates to a successful hunt in most situations. The doughboys may not have appreciated the M1917, and it always played second fiddle to the M1903 Springfield. But there is a lot to like about this rifle, and it can sometimes be found at competitive prices because it lacks the allure of the Springfield. What it fails to have in mystique it makes up for in shootability. Mine is staying in my collection for the forseeable future.