P14 Enfield value please!!

icehunter121

icehunter121

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Buddy has a p14 sporter he wants to get rid of. I had a quick look at it this morning and here is some info. I believe it is a Winchester cause of the W prefix before the serial number on bolt and barrel. There is a star inside a circle on the receiver which I was just reading is some kind of Weedon repair or something like that. Bolt and receiver match,cant find a number on the barrel unless its underneath. Barrel is uncut with the guard still around the front sight. Adj sliding rear sight is there. Overall metal condition itself ( no rust/pits etc) is good to very good. Bluing is thin and worn.Rifling is good to very good.

Of course its not a full wood rifle. I am thinking in the $175.00 range. Am I out to lunch on price? I would buy it and maybe be able to restore it back to original config. Of course it wont be full original but just a representation of one. thoughts??
 
Part way through the P14 manufacture run, the left bolt lug was altered to be longer. I believe most previous rifles were retrofitted - this required that the "new improved" barrels required a groove cut into the breeching face - you should be able to verify the longer bolt lug and it's proper recess by looking into the breech with the bolt removed. A "shorter" original bolt will fit into a rifle with the grooved breech, but results in a lot of "air space" in there. Worth to take a look.

from a discussion forum - "the bolt lug revision was around december 1916 well before the wheedon rehabs but that is when the mkI* designation occured , the designation will be a star[*] on the reciever ring , top of the bolt handle , extractor , and on the buttstock right and above the manufacturers rondel which is a stamp in the stock"

from Charles Stratton "Pattern 1914 and U.S. Model of 1917" - p. 57 & 58 - the first variation of P 14 bolt had left lug .625" long. The second variation bolt lug was .725" long - marked with a star or asterisk on bolt body, shank of bolt handle and extractor. Rear face of barrels had groove to go with the extended locking lug
 
Just saw a full wood example listed online by a local store, $600. I'm assuming numbers matching, but there's no mention of manufacturer.

If I remember correctly reproduction stocks are available from Numrich as well as all the bits and pieces to make her whole; but that's going to cost something like $500US.
 
I can confirm that Numrich has reproduction walnut stocks and hand guards for those rifles - I just bought a set for an M1917 - better part of $500 Canadian delivered to me in Manitoba - and that is a bare wood stock and hand guards - nicely finished and reasonably, but not perfectly, matching. Still needed the butt plate, butt plate mounting screws, rear sling swivel base plus its mounting screws, cross screw and the sling loop. The repro stock is not drilled for the reinforcing pin that the original had just above the trigger. The stock is drilled for the rear band retaining pin, and for the front band cross bolt - none of those parts included. Almost all of those bits were listed on their site, although many are also reproduction pieces.
 
October 2018, I bought here one on CGN for $110 mailed to me from a guy in Nova Scotia. I thought that was an extraordinarily good purchase. Shooter grade sporter with the ears removed, but full length barrel. Several are posted on EE right now - you can review the condition and asking prices.

An acquaintance in Ontario bought a full military P14 action - complete with rear sight, bolt, magazine, bottom metal and screws; but no barrel or stock - in May 2019 for $110 mailed to him.
 
nowarningshot said:
Under appreciated. Better rifle than the enfields, IMO. I would think $150-300 for a rough sporter. In the age of crap entry level rifles, a 100 yr old rifle capable of taking a African caliber, thats a undervalued bargain.
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Exactly, these rifles aren’t as finicky when it comes to bedding, and stocking up as the Lee Enfield ,and it’s aperture sight and long sight radius is much superior to the SMLE in sighting , and
it wasn’t a mistake that the P14 rifle , manufactured by Winchester was the official British sniper rifle , up until the No. 4 T sniper rifle was developed and issued , I have seen photos of Brit Snipers using the P14 in Normandy as late as 1944 , perhaps individual preference over the No.4 T
 
Not sure on that. Your first answer seems knowledgeable. All of mine were sporters, usually the maker is on the top of the receiver, covered by the front scope base. IIRC, there were three principal makers, Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone. Win the best, Eddystone to be avoided. The problem was with heat treatment making receivers brittle, prone to breaking if you rebarreled.
 
the winchester srial dose in fact have the w before the serial number and are located on the barrel and the receiver and also on the very top of the rear ladder site and bolt.
the winchester was used as a sniper rifle both in ww1 and 11,they are very well made with mauser style actions.
 
Page 19 of the above mentioned Charles Stratton book - the receiver ring is marked "E R A" for Eddystone, "RE in an oval" for Remington, and a "W" before the serial number for a Winchester. A Winchester will have the same "W" serial number on the original barrel. An Eddystone has same serial number on the barrel, but no "E". I have not handled an R rifle to know for sure. The various internal components, and the bolt and its components, many of which are stamped, are marked E for Eddystone, R for Remington and W for Winchester - both the E and W can be in serif and sans-serif font. Not uncommon at all to find all three marks on various parts of the same rifle - it did not leave the factory that way. So, "all matching" should mean all internal parts(except springs and small pins) have correct stamp, right down to the floor plate latch - many of these parts have to be removed and cleaned to see the marks. P14's share some similar parts with both the SMLE No.1 and the M1917 - those parts "fit" and work, but are not perfectly identical and usually marked differently - for example, the bolt stop spring and bolt stop spring rest, sling swivels, stock bands, etc.
 
As far as sported Enfields go, I think the best of the bunch are those done by BSA. They use the original stock, cut down, with checkering applied at the grip. Barrel is shortened and a sporting front sight installed. Barrel dovetailed, with a step adjustable rear sight. The receiver is re-contoured and drilled and tapped to use Remington pattern scope bases. Right side of rear bridge is drilled and tapped for an aperture sight. The BSA "Pilarm" mark is on the top of the receiver ring. These turn up from time to time, and don't seem to command a price any higher than bubba's conversion. If one wanted an action to make up a custom sporter, the hard work is already done on the receiver.
Mention was made of receivers cracked during barrel removal...
Barrels tend to be challenging to remove. If the barrel is scrap and is being replaced, cut a relief groove in the barrel shoulder just in front of the receiver ring. This will relax torque and ease barrel removal, reducing risk of cr4acking the receiver ring right in front of the front action screw lug.
Just reading Hatcher's Notebook yesterday. The Eddystone plant was set up to produce 4,000 rifles a day. Long Branch averaged under a thousand over four years of production.
 
Did it the easy way,ran out to his place,grabbed it,slaughtered a pop can with it and brought it back to town. Now I can study it more in depth.
 
A suggestion - in order to "study" it, you will likely need to dismantle it. I have been though many rifles with their screw slots all mangled and screw slots twisted up and "buggered" by well meaning owners who do not own the proper tools. Buy or make proper screw drivers. The Canadian Tire screw drivers for mechanics and such are the cause of the damage - they have tapered sides. You want to buy or grind screw drivers that have parallel or slightly hollow ground sides that fit snuggly into the screw slot all the way down to the bottom of the slot. The tapered ones only touch the top edges, and "bugger" them up when torque is applied. And you will likely need many - I think the Brownell kit that used to be sold for the garden variety Winchester 94 had six or eight sizes to correctly match the various screws on that rifle.
 
Potashminer said:
A suggestion - in order to "study" it, you will likely need to dismantle it. I have been though many rifles with their screw slots all mangled and screw slots twisted up and "buggered" by well meaning owners who do not own the proper tools. Buy or make proper screw drivers. The Canadian Tire screw drivers for mechanics and such are the cause of the damage - they have tapered sides. You want to buy or grind screw drivers that have parallel or slightly hollow ground sides that fit snuggly into the screw slot all the way down to the bottom of the slot. The tapered ones only touch the top edges, and "bugger" them up when torque is applied. And you will likely need many - I think the Brownell kit that used to be sold for the garden variety Winchester 94 had six or eight sizes to correctly match the various screws on that rifle.
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A quality suggestion and duly noted. but...how many guys do you know that have a drill press and such in there gun room in there house? I do, as well as more gun screw drivers, built speciality tools, and such in 35+ years of working on firearms.Dont worry my good man,I know my way around tools and how to use them. I would have a lathe in there,but I don't think the floor would like it!!
 
icehunter121 said:
A quality suggestion and duly noted. but...how many guys do you know that have a drill press and such in there gun room in there house? I do, as well as more gun screw drivers, built speciality tools, and such in 35+ years of working on firearms.Dont worry my good man,I know my way around tools and how to use them. I would have a lathe in there,but I don't think the floor would like it!!
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Ha! Well, maybe you got me on that one. I do actually have a lathe in my "gun room" (a 30'x26' shop) - am still missing a milling machine though, but it will come. All good!
 
So I ripped it apart last night and came up with some matching parts marked with the "W" Sadly the rear sight is a different serial number and the barrel does not have a W on it. In fact on the barrel there are just some stampings like proof marks etc. Was there any marking that was used in place of the "W" ?
 
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