The US Rifle, Model of 1917 did not have "other models" apart from a tiny handful of experimentals, none of which were ever allowed out.
The rifle itself is an adaptation of the British Pattern of 1914 rifle, an Enfield design which was manufactured on contract at three arsenals in the USA during the Great War. The P-'14 was a .303" rifle using our standard rimmed cartridge, but the action was long enough and certainly massive enough that it was adapted quite easily to handle the US .30-'06 cartridge, a cartridge which operated at almost 10,000 psi higher pressure. The M-1917 has the distinction of being manufactured at the highest rate EVER for a full-power traditional battle rifle: Remington's EDDYSTONE ARSENAL in Pennsylvania (where this rifle was made) actually made the completed rifles at a rate of FOUR THOUSAND PER DAY, plus spare parts, in the late-Summer of 1918.
They are a powerful, rugged, reliable and VERY accurate turnbolt rifle which is built on a very heavyweight action derived from the 1895 Mauser. They have only a single weak part in the entire rifle, and it is a part which may be changed in a few minutes if you have spares. If spares no longer exist, you can substitute a half of a coil-spring from a retractable ballpoint pen for the culprit: the ejector spring in the spring box/bolt stop at left-rear of the receiver. Almost THREE-QUARTERS of American overseas troops in the Great War used the Model of 1917 in combat, even though the rifle was a substitute for the official 1903 Springfield. These same rifles served again throughout the Second World War in American, British, Canadian, Free French, Free Polish and other formations. They are the UNSUNG heroes of BOTH World Wars.
"Hatcher's Notebook" contains an excellent chapter on the manufacture of these rifles and you can find a very complete treatment on the designing and experimentation during which the rifle took shape in "The Lee-Enfield Rifle" by Major E.G.B. Reynolds (1960). Copies of both books may be downloaded for study, free of charge, over at milsurps dot com.
The immediate ancestor of the M-1917 was the British P-'14. The immediate ancestor of the P-'14 was the P-'13...... which was designed to be the ULTIMATE Bolt Rifle.
Historical and interesting enough?
It's one of the VERY best and MOST interesting.
Good luck!
