P14 Eddystone Fatboy?

[wkato]

Ran across this rifle and need your help value wise. What about the "EY" stamp, should I be concerned? I've read so many different things about the "EY" stamp I'm not sure what to think.

What should I expect to pay for this rifle?

Rifle is in the US, not Canada.

Information

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[A square 10]

i like it , it looks a very nice example , ill leave the EY to others more knowledgeable on that than i am , congrats

[wkato]

Thanks A square for the reply. Didn't get any answers I needed so went ahead and made the trade so the rifle will be here in a week.

So now that I own it I'd appreciate and info the board may provide.

[Promo]

Wasn't the EY for Emergency Use only?

[browningautorifle]

I'm surprised that several individuals didn't answer here actually...we have a few that should have jumped on this. I'm not one though...I thought Emergency only also...

[Patrick Chadwick]

You have a well-marked Eddystone with apparently original volley sights. Good P14s are much rarer than M1917s, and the vast majority had their volley sights removed during later overhauls.
I don't know your market, but that looks to me to be worth at least 50% more than a "normal" example. OK, maybe I'm an optimist, but it is certainly above average.

As for EY - a century later it is not easy to tell why it was marked thus. The EY indicates that it was "iffy" in some respect, but not a hopeless case. Maybe nothing worse than a bore worn beyond normal service acceptance limits. If it was dangerous to shoot, it would surely have been simply scrapped or marked DP (drill purpose only). The only sensible thing to do is to proceed on the basis that you know nothing for sure - as you would do anyway for an old service rifle!

BTW, the EY marking is mentioned in several posts on the Lee-Enfield forum. It was apparently used for grenade-launching rifles - but these were usually (???) wire-wrapped as well, to provide extra stability. Nevertheless they were fireable, whatever defects they may have had.

So give it a thorough examination for barrel damage and wear, rusting beneath the wood, excessive head clearance, rust in the chamber etc. etc. Your photos reveal that it has been removed from the stock since the trigger guard screws were staked a century ago, so you will not be disturbing any original setup, which would in any case no longer apply after a century. And don't waste time and money on headspace gauges on such an old rifle. Over and over again it has been demonstrated on these pages that the typical gunsmith has no idea of how to properly evaluate these old rifles, and will avoid any conceivable liability by condemning it.

To get the best results out of ancient service rifles, you need to use cases that have been fire-formed in that rifle, especially since the rifle may well have been downgraded to EY because of bore wear. In which case, first test shots with newly formed cases are likely to be disappointing for accuracy. Please take the trouble to search for "head clearance" in the forum contributions, and you will find the matter described in detail on more than one occasion, with test methods that may not measure to the millionth of an inch, but are quite accurate enough to determine whether a rifle is usable or not. Correctly sized bullets and cases can transform the performance of old rifles.

Study the forum advice, go carefully, and enjoy it

[browningautorifle]

One other thing here is the fact it's a "Fat boy" and we discussed these a couple years ago or so. I'd never heard of them at that time...and it's hard to describe them if there's no pic. Well, here it is...

[mannparks]

that is wounderful example. sure would like more photo closeups

i have the same rifle but the wood is not as nice as yours
charles

[wkato]

Sorry I've be absent, but nothing much to say until the rifle was actually in my hands. Guess what? She arrived today. WOW! Absolutely gorgeous, not a flaw. I don't believe the rifle has ever been out of her stock since the forward barrel chamber screw is still staked, I can't turn it. Bore is beautiful with strong rifling, wood is perfection with beautiful color. I think this rifle proves the EY definition for the Fatboy I found on the "All About Enfields" website.

http://www.allaboutenfields.co.nz/history/markings/

Sold out of Service but over EY, now I will happily be corrected here, but that means that at some stage in the rifles life it was for either emergency use only or it was used as a grenade launcher / line thrower. Emergency Use only could be due many reasons, barrel wear etc through to nothing wrong with it like a P14 fatboy, just not enough to be put into normal use and held back for emergency use only.


Someone mentioned pics! What is it you wanted to see?

[Patrick Chadwick]

I don't believe the rifle has ever been out of her stock since the forward barrel chamber screw is still staked, I can't turn it.

Oh yes it has, as I mentioned previously. Take a careful look at the 5th/last photo in your 1st post. The stake mark should be right on the screw slot, the idea being to drive a bit of metal into the slot to lock the screw. A stake mark that is not on the slot will merely increase the turning friction a bit, but presents no problem to a well-fitted screwdriver, properly applied. The slot itself has been marred at a later date as a result of using a poorly fitting screwdriver to remove the screw - look at the burr on the left side of the slot, towards the stake mark. When the screw was tightened up, the slot then turned past the stake mark, as you can see in the photo. This is not surprising, as even the best matured wood will still shrink a tiny bit over a century!

"I can't turn it".
It may well have been overtightened on the previous re-assembly - look at the burr on the right side of the slot, away from the stake mark. A trigger guard screw should be tightened so that the wood still has some elasticity, not crushed to death!

If you want the best possible shooter, then it is anyway necessary to remove the barrelled system, clean everthing, and oil the stock with linseed oil on the INSIDE (not just the outside) - which is where the wood dries out more than anywhere else - make any bedding adjustments that are appropriate, and re-assemble the rifle, thereby tightening up the trigger guard screws to a torque that is correct for a stock that is now a century older than when it was first assembled. And like the wheel nuts on an automobile, you should check the torque after a few weeks (time) and a couple of dozen shots (stress) as the freshly oiled wood will also need to settle down.