P14 Sporter - Submitted For Your Approval

[Sonny B]

Pattern 14, 303 British, 1916 ERA, sporterized by UNKNOWN. Silver 1944 dime; possibly an important date in it's life. Shoots great, so I had a Gun Smith mount the Swift 4x12x40 Scope. The action seems to work fine, but WILL NOT feed a second round. Could it be a simple fix, or must I continue to only take one Deer at a time (Just Kidding)? This is my first and only P14. I'm anxious to learn more about it, so any comments would be most welcome and appreciated. Sonny B., Oak Hill, WV Thanks.

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[Promo]

Aah, why do always the really early pieces get into the hand of bubba.

[highpower3006]

At least that one was done nicely. In these days of high dollar original unaltered military rifles, it's hard to remember that from the 50's through the 70's they were viewed as cheap alternatives to 'store bought' hunting guns.

I remember in the late 60's buying a perfect Remington M1917 for $35 and installing a sporter stock on it and using it for hunting.

[Sonny B]

Yeah, I know, it is a shame the "Original" is no longer with us. But, whoever did the work did so with obvious love and respect for this great old rifle. I'm sure that, at the time, it was the right thing to do. The Wife's Grandfather, Max, at age 85 in New York, left it to me in 1994. I wish I knew what Max knew about it. Though it's quite heavy, I do enjoy having it along on hunting trips occasionally. Don't worry "Highpower", I still carry my 30-06 mostly. This P14 is in good hands, and should be around for many, many more years. I wish I knew what to do about the feeding problem. Sonny B., WV, USN, Retired 1987

[Promo]

Did you ever tried to make a Lyman 48C fit as I now noticed the holes on the rear. And is the bolt also matching S/N?

[Sonny B]

Promo, When I got this rifle, it had the pictured "Armstrong" on it. The Gun Smith removed the peep to mount the Scope. I can't remember how well the Armstong performed 18 years ago, but it sure looked cool. I've never thought about trying a Lyman, as I didn't know what a Lyman really was until last year. I've got the Lyman on my Springfield Armory 1922 (Sorry: also sporterized when I got it), but I've never shot for accuracy with that either; I only fired it three times into a backstop to see if everthing functioned, which it did. The Armstrong doesn't appear to be as good as Lyman, with respect to quality. Was the Lyman original equipment on the P14 Rifle? I think the one on my SA 1922 is original. Yes, the bolt is stamped with 6654, same as on the receiver top. Thanks for your questions. Sonny B.

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[Promo]

Sonny, the M1922s look anyway always like Sporters . They were originally equipped with Lyman. I just mentioned this sight as they are about the most known/used rear sights on US military rifles. I wasn't aware that there was also a Company named Armstrong doing rear sights, but ist looks pretty cool.

Did your gunsmith polish the bolt or did you already get the rifle that Way?

[Chuckindenver]

hmm, likely issues with the mag spring and follower, maybe someone tried to use a 1917 mag box ect..would need to see them to say,.
i dont mind the sporter idea...whats done is done... sell the scope, spend the same money on a good US made scope,, Leupold, Burris, or even an older Redfield..
buy some Burris Z rings, since this rifle has already been drilled for Weaver bases..goind to a Redfield one piece base is more work then its worth.
i used to sell Swift scopes...80% failure rate on them...still have a few in inventory,,wanna buy em?
optics, and field of view are bad, no fine adjustments,,,and they break easy EBAY it...and get a good scope.
iv seen so many rifles lilke this. heres my advise... if you value the rifle at say 600.00 spend half that amount on good optics and mounts, and youll be happy you did.
iv had guys bring me a 1500.00 Weatherby with a 50.00 Bushnell scope and wonder why it wont shoot worth a crap...
then the guy that brings me his granddads 1903 or 17 that was sporterized, and has me mount a Redfield 3x9 US made scope with steel base, and steel rings. and it shoots in a dime at 100 yards.
you can take a poorly done sporter job with good optics and mounting system and make it shoot better then most out of the box varmint rifles...
Savage sells a rifle with scope and sling package, most the scopes fall apart and wont stay tight, i have a box of 4 pounds of those rings, and bases they used on those rifles that iv replaced over the years, sold all the crap scopes on Fleabay over the years...

[Sonny B]

Hey Promo, The only thing I've done to the P14 was cleaning with oil, rag and elbow grease. The Gunsmith only mounted the scope. I really don't know who did any of the other work. I wish I knew the story, though. Check out the SA 1922 photos. Sonny B.


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[Sonny B]

Hey Chuck, I haven't taken any game with my Swift, and I haven't worked at it hard enough to get the dime group, but I feel pretty solid and capable with it. I believe and respect what I'm hearing from you, which is quite different from what the Gun Store Salesman had to say, but I quess I'll just keep using the Swift until it gives up on me. It's so pretty! I do value your advise, so I will keep my eyes open for a more suitable scope. As for the Bushnell, Don't be talkin bout my Bushnell! From that, you can see that I am a Bushnell believer. I bought my Ruger 77, .243 in Long Beach, in 1977. The guy mounted the 3x9 Banner at that time. I've dragged that gun through deserts, woods, swamps, car travel, shipboard travel, and loan to friends, and I've never had to adjust or do anything to the Scope, except for replacing one of the adjustment cap/covers, which Bushnell sent to me for free. I harvested a Turkey with it during each of the last two seasons, so I can live with that. Is it the Bushnell you don't like, or just the lower priced Bushnells? Again, I would value your opinion. I don't know what to think about the box on the P14. I like the way the action looks and works, until I try to shove that second round into battery - not even close. The box looks great; it appears to receive, hold, and present rounds properly, until the round moves forward toward the chamber and "can't find the hole". That's OK, I'll just continue to use it as a single-shot. I'm sure you can tell by now that I don't possess a lot of technical knowledge about firearms, and I don't know much about the fine points of collecting, but I have several nice firearms and I very much enjoy learning about them. Thanks for your comments. Sonny B., WV