New to us P14's usable?

[Surpmil]

We've also seen some rifles on here, from NZ for example, that were probably DP'd not because of mechanical condition, but because they were considered "obsolete" or were not available in sufficient numbers to be considered suitable for more than training.

The thousands of near-new Ross MkIIIs that were DP'd in India for the same sort of reasons also suggest there was more to it than simply mechanical condition or safety.

That said, it's wise to be cautious. Thousands of early production Eddystone (ERA) P14s were DP'd from new because they reportedly were off-spec metallurgically. The account of how the piece-work paid employees kept turning up the heat on the furnaces and bringing the receiver blanks to near burning temps so they could do the forging in two heats instead of three has been reproduced in another thread.

So there is no hard and fast rule, but for P14s there are so many sporterized examples around, why waste time with a boltless DP receiver? The pipewrench marks on the barrel of the Winchester receiver don't bode well for the straightness thereof either!

If you're going to sell the rifle built on such an action to a customer do you really want to take chances?

The receiver could be magnafluxed and sent to a specialist for reheat treatment, but simply not worth the money or time.

[Flying10uk]

I think that both barrel/receivers are well worth saving with the hope that someone may build them into a complete wall-pieces or ornament rifles. I am curious as to how common "official" D.P. P14 rifles are and I suspect that they are something of a rarity? I don't recall having seen a D.P. P14 before. I have 2 U.K. deactivated P14s, a Winchester and a E.R.A., but a deactivated P14 is not quite the same thing as a D.P. P14.

How rare or common are D.P. P14s?

[browningautorifle]

How rare or common are D.P. P14s?

Vast quantities are DP'd...

[Flying10uk]

Are there any Forum members who own an official D.P.'d P14?

I wonder how many have survived because it's not that often that deac P14s of any description seem to come up on the U.K. collector's market.

[mwells72774]

X2 here

[Salt Flat]

I think that both barrel/receivers are well worth saving with the hope that someone may build them into a complete wall-pieces or ornament rifles. I am curious as to how common "official" D.P. P14 rifles are and I suspect that they are something of a rarity? I don't recall having seen a D.P. P14 before. I have 2 U.K. deactivated P14s, a Winchester and a E.R.A., but a deactivated P14 is not quite the same thing as a D.P. P14.

How rare or common are D.P. P14s?

I think many were broken down to parts and sold off piece by piece on EBAY etc. I think a complete unmolested P14 DP is a nice collectible in its own right. It might not be worth a lot but can fill a hole in a "manufacturer" collection. I have a nice non-DP Winchester shooter, a DP Remington and a DP ERA. It's a low cost way to have all 3 manufacturers. The DPs don't show up like they used to but I still see them around here ocassionaly. Salt Flat

[browningautorifle]

I think many were broken down to parts

That could well be what happened in this case. The DEWAT guns that came into Canada were mostly broken down too, that's why you'll see Ross wood or M1917 or more often P14 wood with a huge round hole at the chamber area. That was the chamber vent. Many have no idea what that's all about now.

[Richardwv]

I think that both barrel/receivers are well worth saving with the hope that someone may build them into a complete wall-pieces or ornament rifles. I am curious as to how common "official" D.P. P14 rifles are and I suspect that they are something of a rarity? I don't recall having seen a D.P. P14 before. I have 2 U.K. deactivated P14s, a Winchester and a E.R.A., but a deactivated P14 is not quite the same thing as a D.P. P14.

How rare or common are D.P. P14s?

CAI brought thousands of them in from India in the late 1980s. These appear to have been DPed by class as obsolete and not based on obvious faults. CAI used many of them to build their line of Century sporters using the original actions and rebarreled in .303, 7mm Mag and 300 Win mag. I know they sold some of the DP rifles as imported, but have no idea how many. Since they made their Century sporters for a number of years, I assume most were used up in that rebuild program.

[browningautorifle]

Excellent, but we don't know for sure why they were DP'd. Just that they're out there now.