more P-14 range time

303 p-14

I told him about the load and he said they would not comment on any load data. He merely pointed out about the brass being comparable to other calibers and the brass thickness is not an issue.
I have tried the loads out and like I said before it's not something that I will be shooting all the time. If I was to Epps the 303 then the shoulder on the brass would be better suited to higher pressures.:cool:
I am going to reload to where the rounds can be fired from my 1922 Aussie and the P-14 and not have to worry about brass integrity or mixing up ammo from one rifle to another..:dancingbanana:
If I need a bear gun then the .338 gets to throw some big slugs around.
 
Sorry to hijack, I am happy with pedestrian factory loads in my 'factory' bubba'd Ross M10. I have heard its action is rated at about 100,000 CUP, almost as much as a Garand(?) I don't reload for the .303 British right now, but is it reasonable, if I concluded the rifle was in good shape mechanically, to use load data for the .308 Winchester in my Ross(should I ever want to try it). Regards. I only ever seen and handled a P14 up close that was bubba'd, never issue.
 
p-17 said:
I think everyone will acknowledge here that the P-14 is built like a bank vault. It is considered one of the strongest military actions ever
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Actually for the record the Arasaka Mausers (early models) hold that title. :D

At least when 303 blows up his P-14 he will have room in his safe for an SKS...which is a great Island brush/Bear gun. :D
 
Calum, I just turned down an sks, it was the one with the mag that was attached to the rifle by a pin on the magazine.:runaway:
He wanted $50 for it and I still said no.:)
No, Im not going to tell you where it is.....
 
What title, Calum? I said "one of the strongest".

I do agree, however, that the Arisaka is generally considered unbreakable, and it has been proven to outlast a Mauser 98 or a P-14 in torture tests.
 
The thing is - all these older rifles were manufactured before non destructive examination, such as x-rays, were invented. Proof tests were used instead. While these are the best that could be done at the time, they are not infallible,
It is entirely possible that these older rifles have a flaw or inclusion in a highly stressed area of the receiver or bolt. It is benign up to a certain pressure, then can/will fail catastrophically above that pressure. There is a recent example of a Swedish mauser bolt failing in such a manner, somewhere on the web - and the Swede rifles are considered better than average for steel quality!
I personally dont take the chance with overpressure loads - you can bet your bottom dollar that all modern actions, (and perhaps barrels) endure some form of NDT during production.
 
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The CIP (Europe) standard for .303 British is 3650 Bar (~53000psi).
QuickLoad software estimates the chamber pressure for the load cited to be in the neighbourhood of 4000 Bar. The best analogy is driving too fast, it is great fun sometimes to go like Hell. If you keep doing it, it is likely that you will eventually deselect yourself from the gene pool.

If you want to push 150 gr bullets faster, go with a cartridge/rifle designed to do so on a reqular basis. A P-17 in the orifginal 30-06 chambering would give you the exact same reults, but with a far larger margin of safety. Going to a modern rifle in 30-06 like one of the Husqvarna 1600s that Trade Ex is selling
is an even bigger step in the direction of longer life.

Back to the driving analogy; your P14 is a good old pick-up truck, safe up to 90kph or so, a P17 is a 30 year old sedan, a little better on the highway, but after 110 or so... A Husky is like a 20 year old Saab, everything depends on how it has been mantained, but it is still safe to take it to the track once in a while when you want to try driving at 140 kph.

If you REALLY want to go fast, buy a 30 cal magnum, belted, unbelted, it makes no never mind, except to the survivors!
 
Canuck44 said:
If you want to go faster why not just buy another caliber rifle?
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Or get the old barrel replaced.

I have recently had my P14 rebarreled / chambered to 7mm rem mag, and machined to the original contour. It is sub minute of angle and comfortably shoots 130 grn bullets at 3300 fps with minimal recoil. The only downside I can think of but one I can easily live with, is that the mag box ( now 1917 ) holds only four rounds.
 
Spencer said:
Or get the old barrel replaced.

I have recently had my P14 rebarreled / chambered to 7mm rem mag, and machined to the original contour. It is sub minute of angle and comfortably shoots 130 grn bullets at 3300 fps with minimal recoil. The only downside I can think of but one I can easily live with, is that the mag box ( now 1917 ) holds only four rounds.
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Which is one more then the remmington, browning or winchester magnum's anyway!:)
 
Gibbs505 said:
Which is one more then the remmington, browning or winchester magnum's anyway!:)
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Well I guess it's a plus after all:)

I had always wondered why the P14 action was so overbuilt, that is until recently, when I discovered that the P13 was chambered for a 7mm cartridge of a similar performance to the 7mm Rem Mag. I just accidentally had it chambered to the nearest thing available to what it was designed for.

I have now floated the barrel on my P14 and it has tightened the groups even further. I shot two 1/2 inch groups today from a bench at 100, with 120 grn noslers and 72grns of H1000. With the right ammo and set up right these are VERY accurate rifles. It's the most accurate rifle that I have ever owned, and the most accurate milsurp I have ever heard of.

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thanks for the great info in this thread. i've got a P14 in the cabinet i don't know what to do with, this gave me a few ideas.

i have been thinking of a long range hunter for a while, it sounds like the P14 action could handle a stiff load like a 300 weatherby. or a 303-300 weatherby.

it would be nice to see and hear of a few more P14 projects.
 
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