Correct. There were also significantly more manufactured and deployed in US service than the ‘03. Post WWI, probably because of Springfield Armory and also that the ‘03 has better measured course of fire sights (but not practical accuracy) the US Army decided to keep the ‘03 and surplus the 1917.
The rest is history.
Seem to recall some 1917s were reissued in WWII at least for training purposes and many were sent to the Brits which ended up mostly for home guard units and were painted with a red band around the upper hand guard and fore end to distinguish them from the P-14s.
And, for what it's worth, I recall reading that when the U.S. was in the process of having the P-14 converted to the M-1917 some were suggesting it would save time to just have P-14s made for U.S. troops and use the .303. Common sense and logistics won out and even though the conversion process took more time, it was approved.