Building a Classic Sporting rifle

No its not really to late. Im even going to turn the knob a bit upwards to get a better handle on it. So ill have to repolish it anyway

Whats your reasoning for not having it moved ahead like the factory LEC bolt?

I like the top bolt handle more then the bottom

50634144727_8da25f6a84_k.jpg
 
I wonder if a reproduction of the classic standing leaf, plus flip ups, plus ladder rear sight could be fabricated by using a NECG express sight insert, plus a MLE leaf in a new made base? This might be the only reasonable alternative to finding an original rear sight. The NECG express sight, without the added ladder, wouldn't be inappropriate, all by itself.
 
Evanguy said:
also these are the pics of where im getting my inspiration for this build. none of these are my rifles but seeing these pics made me want to build one to that level of awesomeness. its a combo of the 3 lol

i like the bluing color and shine of the first pic
i like the lines of the wood and rife it self also that shine in the second pic
and the third one just oozes awesomeness, full rib, tang safety. its a real beauty


50638788531_edc7f3f3bc.jpg


50067818093_16c2496ce4_b.jpg


50068373341_b90807ee60_b.jpg
Click to expand...




What is this Enfield picture on top that looks like a straight pull?! And tang safety?!

Oh, dust cover. Not familiar with those, the tang safety looks like some nice work!
 
Last edited:
Evanguy said:
No its not really to late. Im even going to turn the knob a bit upwards to get a better handle on it. So ill have to repolish it anyway

Whats your reasoning for not having it moved ahead like the factory LEC bolt?

I like the top bolt handle more then the bottom

Back in the days of when I and a few buddies were making our own renditions of "Bubba masterpieces" I was using all P14-17 actions. They were cheap, as they were considered the "ugly duckling" compared to the other options (03's & Mauser) with those big ears and massive crank for a bolt handle. The ears were easily made "beautiful" with a side grinder or milling machine.
But those bolts...what to do with those... I started to make some into "butter knife" bolts with not a lot of work, and they became actually quite pleasing to the eye. The Enfield bolt knobs have a hole in them ( you could pre drill any of yours as well) With a hacksaw, I used to cut through the top of the bolt to the hole and then also cut 1/2 way thru the knob at the end of the hole in the bolt ( the two cuts make a T and join where the bolt knob turns into the dog leg handle. Now take a torch and open the sawed petals up. Now you can grind the edges and corners into whatever shape that pleases you (including that crooked dog leg handle) and finish up with an hour or two using a Dremmel to achieve the "shine & smoothness" you want. You can open those petals up so that your thumb fits inside the "hollow" like glove and the underside easily gripped by first finger...they are a nice touch.

Now to finish your "creation off", continue to "Dremmel polish" the bolt body to a bright white stage...tear an old typewriter apart, leaving the advancing mechanism usable (both radially & bar travel), jig up your bolt in er' and using your drill press, jewel her up to your hearts content. Absolutly as good as factory gunmaker results easy to do.
Click to expand...
 
chuck nelson, yeah i was thinking that, there was lots of british gunsmiths building up german rifles. Folks like jon rigby, So yes i will look into the mauser gun smiths

Tiriaq, i agree it should have the ladder sight as well as the express leaf sights , they could work by them selves as the 375 lee speed uses only leaves no ladder but i do like the look of the assembly, thanks for the idea, that's actually a really good one.

jamesharrison, thanks for the info, ill have to take a look for one of these, (you have one for sale right now dont you?)

cody c, that top rilfe is a home built job. yup it has a dust cover covering the action, its a look i really like in this rifles. no charge bridge, no thumb cutout, no safety cut/volley sight out and a dust cover makes for a super clean action

fingers284, yeah i do like the p14/m17 actions a lot. they seems very robust and strong. quite over build, my 500 jeffery will be about 9 pounds with a 20" barrel, iron sights, rocking a crude sporterizeed millsurplus (just like every 200$ p14) stock on my p14 action. the bolt handle will stay as it is and the ears are gone. it now looks like a Remington model 30 express.

my bolt right now ive swept it back a bit, its still ahead of the factory location but not as far ahead as any of the pics, and i turned the ball out a bit, its not more like a knife handle, almost straight down with the bottom kicked out.

ill have more pics on Monday and i assume ill have my CCH parts back this week, so then ill have a complete receiver fully assembled.


i was thinking about making the ball on the bolt handle a tear drop shape but wanted opinions before trying it as it would be a pain to fill and reshape and nearly im possible to make it that round again.

thanks guys, im glad for any input i get on this rifle. you all have been at it longer then me, my fist PAL hasn't expire yet. im pretty new to this.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of P'14 based sporting rifles, don't overlook the BSA sported ones. Ears off, contoured, drilled and tapped for Remington 700 pattern bases, drilled and tapped for a side mounted aperture sight, sporting rear sight on barrel, ramp front. Issue stock neatly sported, checkered at the wrist.
I sold a few over the years at my shop, always thought they were good solid rifles. Picked one up at an auction; didn't really need it, but no one seemed to want it. Installed Weaver bases, and a used Bushnell Scopechief 4X scope. Total investment is about $225, all in. Sighted it before hunting season, last three shots grouped well within a 3" disc @ 100m. A friend borrowed it. His nephew fired one shot, eight point buck. Friend fired one shot, large unaccompanied doe. Can't do better than that.
Anyone wanting to do a custom build on an Enfield action could do a lot worse than getting one of these BSA sported P'14s of M1917s. They do turn up from time to time. All the hard work has been done to the action, apart from straightening the trigger guard.
 
yeah the bsa sporterized p14/m'17 are nice rifles for the price for sure, i find most bsa rifles are. i like the cf2's a lot




i did some more work on the bolt, i spent way to many hours on it trying different ways lol, the more i held it while polishing it each time the more i got a feel for it and wanted to change its shape again. i like it now. the handle is only swept ahead to make the end of the ball lined up with the back of the bolt, the bottom is flicked out a bit, the flat is also twisted back a little, and there is lots of bolt handle to receiver clearance.

i also reshaped and streamlined a bolt head a little for this rifle, its noticeably smaller and doesnt stick out so much like the factory one.

so the bolt is done now, im just waiting on the cocking piece and dust cover to be done cch to be able to put it back together.



50744567118_c4ffa402c3_b.jpg

50745289761_bc2b39bebb_b.jpg

50745402372_e176aecf4e_b.jpg

50745409862_6449d2a7d9_b.jpg

50745413732_4d3434f566_b.jpg

50745418147_b6d9b43f47_b.jpg

50745315561_b6686acf13_b.jpg
 
The bolt handle is very "eye appealing" now and Im sure it meets your approval...however if I may have an opinion of the "done" result. "Sporting Rifle" would indicate to me that the rifle is intended to be used in the field, not just a bench rifle. The first thing i noticed is that the knob is super smooth now and the flat spot is sloped back, both would limit the gription of the thumb for bolt retraction and closing, especially with "#### on closing" of the Lee's. the second thing is how tight the bolt head is tucked into and close to the action. Hunting seasons in Canada are mostly cold weather, gloves required operations and I think the tucked in bolt head will be "missable" with gloves in a hurried situation as hunting often is.
Don't take this as anything more than an observation on my part .
 
Thanks, Yup it is coming along.

Still left to do is i have to get sights for the barrel, get the barrel and sleeve blued. Have a stock made for it and machine for the tang safety. The receiver is pretty much done now.

Also yes the bolt handle is smooth. Id have someone check it or engrave it if i knew who could do it. I dont plan on attempting that my self, as im sure it involves artistic skill.

The tipped back bolt handle works as a wedge in my hands when closing the bolt. Its also close on cocking too. So i have excellent grip with bare hands on it that way. Dealing with a stuck case may be problematic as i dont have near the grip when pulling the bolt back


Also i do plan on using this rifle in the field for sure. But i have not really thought about using it in the winter. I was picturing a summer rifles this whole time. So i never even considered it whilst wearing gloves. Gloves will suck. Unless i treat it like a single shot and dont count on a fast second shot

I like hearing opinions and thoughts on this build.
 
Evanguy said:
Thanks, Yup it is coming along.

Still left to do is i have to get sights for the barrel, get the barrel and sleeve blued. Have a stock made for it and machine for the tang safety. The receiver is pretty much done now.

Also yes the bolt handle is smooth. Id have someone check it or engrave it if i knew who could do it. I dont plan on attempting that my self, as im sure it involves artistic skill.

The tipped back bolt handle works as a wedge in my hands when closing the bolt. Its also close on cocking too. So i have excellent grip with bare hands on it that way. Dealing with a stuck case may be problematic as i dont have near the grip when pulling the bolt back


Also i do plan on using this rifle in the field for sure. But i have not really thought about using it in the winter. I was picturing a summer rifles this whole time. So i never even considered it whilst wearing gloves. Gloves will suck. Unless i treat it like a single shot and dont count on a fast second shot

I like hearing opinions and thoughts on this build.
Click to expand...


I think of this as in the spirit of a traditional British stalking rifle, and those were never made with winter conditions in mind, so it's natural that there should be some challenges as a result of the design. The nearest a British rifle would get to arctic conditions would be a bad winter day in the Highlands - when a proper gentleman would have the common good sense to stay indoors by the fire. It's billiard season, don'cha know!
 
tiriaq said:
I fished the remains of a Lee Speed sporter out of the shallow tide water of Hudson Bay.
Click to expand...

Thats pretty cool then. I restored a LEC rifle that probably looked similar to what you found. ( well maybe not that bad but rough)

h ttps://www.enfield-rifles.com/mk1-lec-restoration_topic8030_page1.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom