I have a couple of P14 questions

[GUTS]

A friend of mine just bought this Winchester P14 and asked if I could find out a few things. Why does the receiver ring seem to have been sanded or finished above the W stamp and serial number? The barrel, receiver, and bolt all match but that is about it for Winchester parts. He was also wondering what the double D stamp on the band is. The bore looks nice and he paid $450 for it.

Information

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[Chuckindenver]

the sanded the DP off the top of the receiver, after they sandblasted to metal.
the same mark on the band, DP Drill Purpos...this is a receovered Drill rifle.

[vintage hunter]

The rifle was probably sporterized at one time and had the scope base screw holes filled in when it was returned to military trim. This would be one reason why the rest of the parts are'nt Winchester. Any signs of holes under the rear sight?

[Chuckindenver]

you can see part of the D if you look.

[GUTS]

I guess that would be the little piece of straight line on the left. When the rifle was designated for drill purpose only, was it done because the rifle had reached it's service life or becausse it was considered obsolete? I almost hate to tell him it's a drill rifle, he was pretty exited when he bought it, he wanted a shooter.

[vintage hunter]

Chuck, you may be right but the bolt and barrel should have DP as well. If fact all the parts should be stamped DP, including the stock. Guts, did you notice any other parts of the rifle that were marked or notice any signs of it being removed? It's important to find out. Any guns marked DP are considered unsafe to fire.

[GUTS]

I called my buddy and told him that DP meant Drill Purpose and he was a little displeased because the rifle was not advertised as such. He took the stock off and looked at the barrel for any markings and all he can find is a serial number that is the same as the receiver and bolt that is electropenciled and the CAI import mark that is also electopenciled. Is this barrel a commercial replacement? He said that there is no index mark on the barrel at all and there of course is one on the receiver. If this is a replacement barrel the rifle should be safe to shoot if it headspaces shouldn't it?, it does have copper residue showing that it has been shot before. Because the receiver is marked with a DP does that mean it also is worn out or unservicable? He feels that the barrel has been replaced after it was marked with the DP so if the headspace is allright it should be okay to shoot. What do you fellows think?

[gsimmons]

Read the articles and threads on DP and ZF rifles and decide for yourself. I wouldn't but that's me. It may be fine but there is no way of knowing why it was DP'd. Regardless of whether it may have a new barrel or not.

[vintage hunter]

There are importers that sell DP guns as shooters. CAI is one of them. There are a number of reasons why the Brits would mark a rifle as DP and the main reason is that action body failed inspection. Some rifles got the mark simply because they were deemed obsolete. Even wosre than a worn action body are the rifles salvaged from burned buildings or vehicles and refurbished, they looked new and designated for DP. The point is, unless one has access to the proper gages and the knowledge of how to use them there is no good way to determine whether a DP rifle is indeed safe to shoot. They are best kept as wall hangers, like the Nat. Ord. 1903a3's and welded Garands. Check out the Enfield forum, theres a lot of good info about DP guns there. I'd like to see more pics of the rifle disassembled if possible.

[smellie]

In British and Commonwealth Service, the DP marking did not necessarily mean that the rifle was unsafe to fire.

Sometimes rifles would have a problem and were marked DP. Then the problem was repaired and the rifle put back into Service but the DP, stamped there deeply, remained.

SOMETIMES a requirement would be for 20 or so rifles for Drill Purposes, so 20 or so perfectly-decent rifles would be removed from the ready rack, marked DP and issued for Drill Purposes. They were perfectly safe to shoot but, being officially DP rifles, they were not. They also might be used for teaching men how to tear apart a rifle and put it back together, rather a recipe for mixing parts. It would not matter, simply because these were DP rifles. If it became necessary to put these rifles back into Service as working weapons, then each rifle marked DP would be examined VERY carefully by the unit Armourer.

And that is what is required should you run into a DP rifle: a VERY careful examination by someone who KNOWS the rifle. It could well be perfectly fine.... or it might require some small part or an adjustment to the parts already there. An example: my SMLE Mark I*** was DP'd about 80 years ago. I have been shooting it for the last 45 years without incident and with all my fingers intact. In that time, it has digested full-power Ball ammo as well as special MG ammo which NEVER was approved for rifles. Generally, I use fairly-mild handloads to preserve that wonderful 105-year-old barrel, but it still gets shot.

A DP marking is not a death sentence. It can be a warning, though, so you proceed carefully. And the P-'14 was rather amazingly over-engineered for the .303 round.

The later ZF marking is something else: it IS a death sentence to the rifle, usually followed by cannibalisation or a complete deactivation. But a FEW got out.......

Careful inspection, YES.

Leave the weeping, wailing, sackcloth and ashes, heart attacks and all the rest for AFTER the inspection. They well might be unnecessary...... and then everyone is happy.

Hope this helps.
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