A LOVELY WINCHESTER P 14 MK1*........with pictures!!!!!!!

[oldfoneguy]

That's an excellent looking rifle be happy with and shoot it often.

Now for the bad news, a phosphate finish was never originally used on a P14 in fact it wasn't introduced until late in Model 1917 production so the extractor is a refurbished WWII era replacement.

The short bolt lug * upgrades were performed on rifles produced prior to December 1916. By 12/16 all rifles were factory produced with the longer lug so a Weedon process upgrade wasn't required. My point is any rifle with a 1917 production date wouldn't require an * added to it. However your rifle has a low serial number under 100,000 so it would have certainly been in the group of * converted rifles if it was in stores. I see your in the 93,000 range so while early its not early enough to have been condemned so I'm assuming the stock is a replacement. Without question the barrel is a replacement to be dated '17 with a receiver number that low. And I'm going by your sight number assuming its matching to the receiver. Production began at Winchester in April 1916 so by December the serial number range was well over 130,000 and even higher by 1917.

Don't feel bad as any 100+ year old military rifle has been through many hands and situations so plenty has happened to them over the years. Perhaps it was sportered with a cut down barrel and stock and returned to military spec, so be thankful for that.

Also don't put all your eggs in one basket by assuming that just one author is all knowing. Read all you can on the subject including the excellent reference of the 1914/1917 series rifles on the Remington Society of America website which has the actual production information from those who built them and not someone who copied and reprinted it.

Edit: the rifles that were considered doubtful were labeled as so for a parts interchangeability aspect and not the physical condition of a particular unit. Those rifles never made it into service and no P14 was used in front line service by the British military during the war.