P.14 Military Match 1963 rifle?

[Promo]

Caliber is still unknown, however I found out that this rifle was used in the military biathlon matches in Pilsen/Czech Republic and was presented to a high rank military as a gift. Will get more information as it came from the estate of this person, but it might take some time!

[emmagee1917]

30-40 would be 7.62X2.31R -ish.
Chris

---------- Post added at 09:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 AM ----------

Could somebody have reworked it to .307 Winchester ? That is just a .308 with a rim .
Chris

[Johnny Peppers]

Would be a 7.62 X 51. (51 mm = 2.008 inch) The proofs indicate it was sold commercially after 1954. Could the bolt have been swapped by someone thinking it was original caliber?

[Patrick Chadwick]

The bolt head is identical to all P.14 bolt heads and holds a .303 British perfect, however the .303 is too long for the chamber.

The glaringly obvious thing to do is to ignore the bolt head and see if a 7.62x51 round will chamber.
If it does chamber
AND considering that
- the rifle has been proofed and marked for 7.62x51 (or 7.62 / 2.01" in British style)
AND considering that
- the bolt appears to have been renumbered (see in particular the next-to-last figure 7, which seems to be stamped over a rounded figure, such as 8 or 0)
THEN it may well have had a "correctly incorrect" bolt retrofitted, as suggested by Johnny Peppers.

---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 PM ----------

however I found out that this rifle was used in the military biathlon matches in Pilsen/Czech Republic and was presented to a high rank military as a gift. Will get more information as it came from the estate of this person, but it might take some time!

Which - if true - would rule out use of .307 Winchester, as being a non-military caliber. And unless the above story is supported by documentation, then it is just a family story.

[emmagee1917]

BUT...if it wandered into a place that does not allow military chambering in it's life ..... .307 would be the easy and simple cure.
Chris

[ssj]

Can we get a pic of the bolt face please?

[ssj]

The glaringly obvious thing to do is to ignore the bolt head and see if a 7.62x51 round will chamber.
If it does chamber
AND considering that
- the rifle has been proofed and marked for 7.62x51 (or 7.62 / 2.01" in British style)
AND considering that
- the bolt appears to have been renumbered (see in particular the next-to-last figure 7, which seems to be stamped over a rounded figure, such as 8 or 0)
THEN it may well have had a "correctly incorrect" bolt retrofitted, as suggested by Johnny Peppers.[COLOR=black]

However the bolt head is replacable, hence a re-numbered bolt body (or not) is moot.

If its a 308w, I assume swapping in a P17 head would see it chamber? as I'd expect a 308winchester round for 1963 year target shooting.

regards

[Patrick Chadwick]

However the bolt head is replacable, hence a re-numbered bolt body (or not) is moot. If its a 308w, I assume swapping in a P17 head would see it chamber? as I'd expect a 308winchester round for 1963 year target shooting.

It is a P14 NOT a Lee Enfield !!!

The bolt head is NOT replaceable.

It is NOT possible to "swap in a P17 head". The M1917 bolt is NOT interchangeable with the P14 bolt - for instance, the locking lugs are different.

Apart from that, I agree with you.