My first gun a model 1914 P14 Enfield restoration project

Shil

Shil

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I ran a search on CGN and apparently I am one of the rare owners of a P14 Enfield rifle: a USA made rifle, chambered in 303, destined to be used by the British in WW1, and reinstated in WW2. I dedicate this post to future searchers. As you can see, mine was desecrated, and sporterized very poorly. I have already ordered an original stock and supporting rings and I intend to bring this rifle back to its original glory. All the other parts are in great condition, considering they are dated 1916 (early 1916 according to the serial number).

https://imgur.com/a/qQHw3wD

Here's some links and info for the curious:

http://www.vgca.net/education/TheUKPattern13_14USM1917Historyver09_2014-09-17.pdf
  • First introduced after the British changed from .276 to .303
  • British sent many contracts out, but only USA was able to produce a sufficient amount of weapons
  • Remington and Winchester are the final contract recipients, with three factories
  • Winchester in New haven
  • Remington in Ilion
  • Eddystone (Remington subsidiary) in Eddystone
  • A number of initial inconsistencies caused the parts from each facotry to not be compatible with each other, which became an issue for the British inspectors
  • The British were simultaneously developing and producing the SMLE, which became the preferred rifle, so many P14's stayed in warehouses or were distributed to supporting troups and militias
  • In 1918, seeing as the P14 was thought to be more accurate than the SMLE, many were converted into sniper rifles
  • The USA eventually decided that since they had the factories set up, that they would convert P14's to 30-06, which became the M1917
  • My rifle, most likely, because it was among the first, was sent to Britain only to be stored in a warehouse, until a Canadian emporter got the chance to buy a box of them for cheap.
  • Alternatively, my rifle went to Britain, went to the trenches in WW1, was then reserviced and fought again in WW2 in the hands of a Canadian soldier, who eventually sold it right here in Québec. I like that story better.

P14 parts breakdown: https://www.brpguns.com/stock-parts/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_1914_Enfield

Markings: https://www.enfield-rifles.com/first-enfield-now-to-get-educated_topic5956.html
https://www.milsurps.com/enfield.php?pg=ri7a.htm
https://www.gunboards.com/threads/p14-markings.1099105/

I'll post again once I receive the original stock and parts that I ordered. I'm bringing back to life gents!!
 
I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. I recently acquired a P14 Sporter and haven't decided whether to hang on to it and "invest" more in refitting it to original configuration than I could expect to sell it for, or sell it as is. In the former course of action it won't really matter that selling won't recover as much as it will have cost since I wouldn't be doing that to sell it.

Mine looks much like yours, but what can't be seen is that the rear sight is gone - it came with an S&K scope mount installed at that site and the trigger is also gone, it has a Timney instead.
 
Shil: Not rare at all but excellent rifles. Feel very substantial in comparison to an SMLE. I restocked one using an M1917 (the US 30-06 version) stock and, in spite of a relatively poor bore, it is very accurate. Is the stock you've ordered a used original? You have to dig a bit to find out original bedding specs for these but you want a few pounds of up-pressure at the forend tip. Hopefully it will be a good fit as is. Good luck returning it to original form.

milsurpo
 
Shoot it before you start sinking time and money into it
On mine the bolt face is not true to the chamber so fired brass are not true
brass won't stand vertical when on a flat surface
 
Not that rare. They were a dime a dozen in the 1950s and 60s.

They were a common "boat gun." I know of three rust-encrusted examples that I saw on commercial fishing boats in BC.
 
Thanks for the replies. I suppose rare is a subjective term! I just noticed it wasn't widely discussed. I did order a used original stock. Is in an investment? Most likely not :p considering the refurb will cost more than the gun. But hey, with the way gun prices are climbing.. who knows! For now, it's a mix of the emotional attachment to my first rifle, and, my hate for the sporterized stock it's currently in. It's just.. ugly. Can't have that!
 
I have a number of P14 (303 British) and M1917 (30-06) here with the same thought to re-build. From my Dad, these rifles were sold off by the railcar load immediately after WWII, so gave a "cheap" hunting gun for Canadians from coast to coast. I am sure they were "done up" at kitchen tables with hack saw and jack knife from Newfoundland to the Yukon. My Dad did exactly that with his M1917 in 1948. And then spent the next 60 odd years taking hundreds of head of white tail, mule deer, elk and moose with it. I refer to those sporters as "moose guns" - about perfect for bush and swamp - I think they are every bit a part of rural "Canadian" as the Macleod store (or Army and Navy) Lee Enfields and the Cooey .22's!

As I have found, the stock sets are much harder to find these days. Once you figure out the nomenclature that was used, gets harder to come up with "matching wood". And then the WWII rebuilds in Great Britain (P14) and USA (M1917) did not necessarily use WWI made parts, and often received a different finish. So easy to take on a "life of it's own" to research what should and should not go together, for what era...
 
So imgur wont let me access your photos, does your rifle still have the pregnant perch belly magazine profile or, as many thousands of "sporters" were, was the floor plate straitened out. If so your new/old stock won't be usable until you access an unchanged floor plate.
 
Potashminer said:
As I have found, the stock sets are much harder to find these days. Once you figure out the nomenclature that was used, gets harder to come up with "matching wood". And then the WWII rebuilds in Great Britain (P14) and USA (M1917) did not necessarily use WWI made parts and often received a different finish. So easy to take on a "life of it's own" to research what should and should not go together, for what era...
Click to expand...

Yes, these are like hen's teeth now. 10 Years ago a batch was found that was original, Now all that can be found for a fair price is a repro M1917 stock (Numrich "made in Italy" so the wood might be spectacular). You can find originals but the last price I saw was around $400 for an M1917 stock set. However, Liberty tree collectors has P14 stocks in various conditions, all with repairs. They have handguards that are original rear in walnut and NOS birch front handguards. Makes an odd duck of a mix. I would buy a Numrich M1917 stock, They used these to replace damaged P14 stocks after the volley sights were made obsolete anyway..
 
My first rifle was an M1917. Like you, I quickly became very interested in the history of that rifle as well as the P14. Just a couple of yearns go, so was building a house on a farm. The guy showed me his shop where his father has worked on guns for years. Well, there, on his bench, were 4 P14s (3 in pieces, 1 put back together) that had just recently been hot-blued. They looked brand new! The old guy told me that after blueing, he would polish each piece until he could see himself in them! I have never seen such dedication to old rifles. It sure was something to see.
 
Akulrich said:
My first rifle was an M1917. Like you, I quickly became very interested in the history of that rifle as well as the P14. Just a couple of yearns go, so was building a house on a farm. The guy showed me his shop where his father has worked on guns for years. Well, there, on his bench, were 4 P14s (3 in pieces, 1 put back together) that had just recently been hot-blued. They looked brand new! The old guy told me that after blueing, he would polish each piece until he could see himself in them! I have never seen such dedication to old rifles. It sure was something to see.
Click to expand...

What was the color of the frames after re-bluing. Frames from the different factories would come out with much different results. Rem came out blue, Eddystone was a blue -gray and Winchester always came out a vivid purple from the bluing solution the guy that did mine used. Lots of speculation back then as to why but general consensus was that different chrome content in the metal alloy...some folks thought it was from the different tempering hardness from factory to factory.
 
Mine (M1917) was blue-grey, the stamps on it indicated that it was from Eddystone. The ones that I saw in the old shop were very dark, almost black. I didn't touch them, so I didn't get a close look at any of the stamps. They were, honestly, so beautiful though. It blew my mind that 100 year old steel could look so good.
 
Back when a new hunting rifle was $125, and a Lee Enfield was $20, and a Mauser was $30, we sporterised lots of these. They were good for building magnums on. Google Tom Burgess work on these. He's passed now, but was a wonderful gunsmith and a great guy. Was always willing to share his skills and tips for these old rifles. Restoring is likely more difficult these days. I think I have three of these actions still in a drawer, and a couple of rifles in large cartridges. The Eddystone was considered the lame duck of the bunch due to heat issues while hardening, but I've never had a problem with one. Except some of the receivers are hard as hell. - dan
 
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