When the US entered WWI we didn't have enough Springfields. Remington and Winchester had already been making this rifle for the British in .303 as the P-14. The Army simply took over the contract and had it built for them in .30-06. Most of the Doughboys in France fought the war with this rifle. Sgt York used a M1917 when he won the MOH. They were produced by Remington, Winchester, and Remington-Eddystone. Remington continued production of the gun in a sporter form after the war, as the Model 41 I think, I'll have to check.
Bolt disassembly sounds complicated, but it's not too bad:
Clear the rifle
Open the bolt and engage the safety
Close the bolt, then start raising the bolt handle and stuff a nickel or some coin between the end of the cocking piece and bolt sleeve
Remove bolt from rifle and unscrew the cocking piece/firing pin assembly
Rest the tip of the firing pin on a piece of wood and force the sleeve down, compressing the spring and removing the coin
Turn the cocking piece 1/4turn clockwise and remove
Slowly relieve the spirng pressure and remove the sleeve (watch out on this, there is nothing holding the sleeve back now but your hand. You can launch it pretty far if you just let go)
Rotate the extractor until it covers the gas escape holes and push it off the bolt body.
Reassembly is reverse of disassemly.
Sounds complicated, and it probably is more complicated than a military rifle needs to be. Just don't use any tools, other than a coin, so you don't break anything. Once you start taking it apart though, you'll understand better.
HTH
Ross