help with a weird P-14 situation

louthepou

louthepou

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Hi everyone,

Long story short:

A shoirt while ago I got a spare barrel to replace a shot-out one on one of my P14 Enfields.

Leadbeater was kind enough to perform the swap for me. But in my typical absent-minded way, I forgot to ship the bolt along with the other parts; so he tried with a bolt he had and it worked fine but we both agreed that it would have been better for my bolt to be there :)

Now the parts are back here, and Pblatzz helped me figure out what was happening (thanks P.).

The bolt handle can't come down fully and stops half way down. I stripped the receiver, and I stripped the bolt (removed cocking piece, firing pin, extractor) to eliminate as many possibilities as I could, and still the same. I figure that the only remaining reason that could explain what's happening is that when I bring the bolt handle down, there's contact between the bolt face (or the front part of the bolt "lug" that protrudes forward the most) and the rear face of the barrel. Could there be other probable causes? What are my options? Change the bolt?

Thanks for input!

Lou
 
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The "star" mod was the addition of a tiny projection on the front of thr bolt ahead of the left locking lug to improve feeding and relieving the breech face of the barrel accordingly. Sounds lke you may have a I* bolt and a I barrel. A I* bolt should have * stamped on the handle IIRC.
 
I think your barrel will need to be removed. You will need a spacer ring to be installed if the bolt head is touching the barrel. P-14 barrels often had the rear section removed via lathe to relieve the tension and allow the barrel to be removed with ease. They were torqued in so tight, that damage might happen if removed with too much tension.

BTW

What shape is the barrel shape at the chamber? Is it tapered in towards the muzzle, or flat / flush with the bolt face?

Pete
 
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Thanks for the input guys.

Looking at the barrel and at the bolt, I think the "*" hypothesis makes sense. If that's the case, can it be easier to un-star the bolt (i.e. machine the excess metal off), or is it simpler (or possible) to find the other type of bolt? Or will I indeed be stuck going to the gunsmith for the barrel removal and modification? (Hopefully not)

Pete, I took a look at the chamber and the chamber looks quite flat at the back (from what I can see).

Leadbeater told me the previous barrel came off without too much trouble and that one got in easy without hassle for indexing.

Here's the bolt:
HPIM1832.jpg
 
The star modified barrels were relieved on the breech face to accomodate the extended left lug - its a fairly substantial cutout, shouldnt be hard to tell if you have a star barrel.
Tough call for a possible remedy - Milling the existing barrel to star spec would be a finicky (read expensive) job - perhaps the easiest thing is to find an intact sporter with a star barrel, and hold on to the existing barrel for your next (inevitable) restoration. Bear in mind that the majority of surviving P-14's were star modified.
 
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my mistake i think. i went and looked at the old bbl Lou, and it does have the groove cut in the face of it.
i do remember putting the new one on, and seeing that there was a diff, and it didnt have the groove cut in it im pritty sure.
so, im not really up on my P14 stuff, but if you remove the tip on the bolt it should be ok. however, im not sure how this will effect feeding?
probably will be fine.... but

lou14bbl.jpg
 
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Nah, it's my mistake Beater - I should have sent the bolt along with the rest of the parts :)

So I wonder what's the cheapest solution that will still allow the rifle to work safely.

1. Grind the bolt I have (would this work?)
2. Find a replacement bolt that works (do they exist?)
3. Have the barrel I have machined to match the one that was removed (expensive?)
4. Find another barrel (again, spend more?)

Fun unexpected development. That's the refurb project that's lasted the longest for me :D
 
Probably what I'll do, thanks Hitzy. Great reason to drop by anyways and give a doggie treat to the local mascot (Max the Vizsla Pointer).
 
I would like a couple of measurements here if some one would.From the bolt face to the forward end of the lug on a unmodified bolt and same measurement on a star modified.
Please
Rich
 
On my bolt, the lug extends about 2.25 mm forward from the bolt face.

There's some sort of rim around about 2/3rds of the bolt face; from this rim, the lug extends about 1.05 mm.

Indeed if someone with the other type of bolt could provide measurements, I could figure out if I can remove some material, and how much of it...

Lou
 
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now i guess if i was to measure the depth of the groove on the original bbl, you would have your answer.
ill do that tomorow for you
Or maybe today.

IMG_2785.jpg
 
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Sorry Lou
I just checked all my spares that still have the dogleg bolt and they are all star modified.
Remove the tip of the lug.As long as you don't grind off the CRF rim you can't hurt a thing as it doesn't affect headspace.
Rich
 
Thanks Rich, for your time and the tech tip.

I've checked around with other potential sources and I haven't found a bolt so I shall reduce the lug length.

Stay tuned for development (and - dare I hope for - conclusion?) of this exciting story!

Lou
 
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