Modified P 13

[WR1894]

i have a few guns and most i can sort out a value on this one it is hard to fiquire out, not that i have any thoughts of selling it but looking for some ideas of value
It is a P13 serial number 34 and has been modified and to many changes to it that i don't believe it could be restored. I know there was an article in a older Guns Digest that talked about the enfield series of rifles and mention that some were modified after the war and cut down and used for testing on armor piercing ammo but i have no idea what they looked like. The engraving calls it a 276 British Rifle Sporting converted model 1 1925 as shown in the pictures and also show the rear sight has been modifed. Opinions on value would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[kjohn]

That's neat! Thanks for sharing. Any good story? How does it shoot?

 

[Potashminer]

That would be very interesting piece! A few things that I noticed - my books show that a P13 had angled finger grooves along the wood stock - do you see any evidence of that? It could easily have been set into a P14 stock at some time, as well. I do have a P13 receiver here - it has been quite worked over and does not have near the remnants as you show - however the receiver front ring and the bolt handle are both marked "765", so I believe they went together. I have read that the 276 Enfield was the cartridge the British were going towards, prior to WWI - interesting to read on your piece that there was still interest in that cartridge in 1923. You might want to drop that wood stock and just do a quick verify that what you have is not actually a P14 - I see nothing on the outside that shows what is different - see pictures below for the very characteristic P13 underside.

 

[jtaylor]

Hi WR. I have a complete original P-13. First of all your rear sight is not altered at all. What you meant to say was that the body ears protecting the rear sight have been machined straight which is a rather common sporter conversion feature as is the removal of the fore sight
protecting ears to make a slim hunting rifle. The brazed on sling eyelet on the barrel is typically English. The only unusual thing is the engraved designation on the left side which again is an English gunsmith thing. I guess he wasn't too proud of his work as he didn't put his name on it. Uncommon as they are P-13s were obsolete stores and perfect for trials of all kinds. Yours is a private conversion and not government. A hard up collector could realize that an Eddystone P-14 stock could be used to restore the rifle to full military configuration but some metal magic would be needed for the long range sight dial, the body ears, etc. JOHN