I wanted a milsurp to use for hunting, and had originally picked up a Mosin Nagant. I was offered a Winchester P14 in exchange for my Mosin. Doing a bit of research, I realized that the .303 P14 would make a better hunting rifle. It was a BSA sporterized P14, and not original full wood unfortunately, but probably about the same value as my Mosin. So I made the trade.
I'd like to restore the P14 to full wood one day if possible, but in the meantime, I decided to give her sporterized stock a new finish. Here's a couple of pictures comparing the original rifle's state with the new finish. I have a compound to knock down the lustre on the rifle to a matte finish, but just haven't made that decision yet. The walnut stocks on these P14s are remarkable. So much nicer than the birch stocks the Russian use. Would love to own a P14 in full wood, and original condition. Such a neat & interesting rifle.
I'm including a couple of images of the barrel & receiver markings. If someone could fill me in on what they mean, that'd be most appreciated.
The images below were taken with a slightly diffused flash, so the stock appears a little lighter than it does when viewed in more natural light.
For the refinish, I striped the old finish off with 'Circa 1850', which has proven to be a fantastic product. It doesn't harm the wood at all, and leaves the wood neutralized and finish ready. I also used a wet cloth and hot iron to steam the stock, and also very lightly sanded with 220 grit and the finest steel wool available. I used a Minwax dark walnut gel-stain and Tru-Oil for the new finish. Several coat of the dark walnut stain were used on the checkboard pattern, and one very light coat of the same stain on the rest of the stock.
In the next image below, there appears to be another marking partially hidden by the stock, so I'll get a picture of that marking when I next remove the hardware from the wood.
I'd like to restore the P14 to full wood one day if possible, but in the meantime, I decided to give her sporterized stock a new finish. Here's a couple of pictures comparing the original rifle's state with the new finish. I have a compound to knock down the lustre on the rifle to a matte finish, but just haven't made that decision yet. The walnut stocks on these P14s are remarkable. So much nicer than the birch stocks the Russian use. Would love to own a P14 in full wood, and original condition. Such a neat & interesting rifle.
I'm including a couple of images of the barrel & receiver markings. If someone could fill me in on what they mean, that'd be most appreciated.
The images below were taken with a slightly diffused flash, so the stock appears a little lighter than it does when viewed in more natural light.
For the refinish, I striped the old finish off with 'Circa 1850', which has proven to be a fantastic product. It doesn't harm the wood at all, and leaves the wood neutralized and finish ready. I also used a wet cloth and hot iron to steam the stock, and also very lightly sanded with 220 grit and the finest steel wool available. I used a Minwax dark walnut gel-stain and Tru-Oil for the new finish. Several coat of the dark walnut stain were used on the checkboard pattern, and one very light coat of the same stain on the rest of the stock.
In the next image below, there appears to be another marking partially hidden by the stock, so I'll get a picture of that marking when I next remove the hardware from the wood.
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