I recently acquired a .303 with a P14 action. In view of the fact that I do own a .22, .223 and a 30-06, I am thinking of using the action and re barrel to a 6mm Remington. I understand that there is some work to be done on the bolt face and and and ...... can this be done successfully without compromising accuracy?

welcome to AR, clive mey... I sent you a pm...

Have three receivers. two have 1917 bolts and one is a P14. Will swap a P14 bolt for a M1917 bolt if you want.

Impinge:
PM coming.
George

PS: After it was all done I looked back and see this was a thread over a year ago. Oh well, still hope.
Thanks, G

I agree, the P14 is best left as a 303..It is a huge action and not a very desirable one..You are, in effect, attempting to make a silk purse out of a pigs ear, won't work...As to Enfields the P-17 is the better route and I only use those commercial made Enfields by Win. and Rem..lot less work to do, but they are becoming hard to find at a reasonable price..

I would argue the desirability issue.

My George Gibbs 505 action is a commercial British P-14. It looks pretty nice, and there are very few actions you could build one of the big weatherbys or a Rigby or Gibbs on.

Sorry Atkinson,I disagree also,the P14s are every bit as good as the M17s, yes they can require a bit more work depending on the case used for conversion......rimmed or not......but thats the point of using ex-military actions.....to make a silk purse out of a pigs arse ( Australian version )......if we wanted to do it the easy way we'd use commercial actions.To me, putting the hard yards in to make something good out of something not so good is the point of this particular part of the forum.
I don't mean to appear abusive or rude, this is just my opinion.

Roger

P14 makes a great 45-70. I never got around to it but 450 marlin might work about the same and not require bolt face mods.

It is a big action. I would not make a 6mm, 308 or anything like that. That said if you swab with a 1917 bolt, one of mine fed 308 slick as could be.

My only gripe is the cock one closing feature. You get used to it though. Converting it to cock on opening is not straight foreward. The Numrich speed lock kit is not a real conversion, mostly a "hack" that only works most of the time.

I'd find a Siamese Mauser if I wanted a 45-70 bolt rifle. They will take a 45-90 or 50-110 round with a bit of fussing.

About 20 years ago I bought five P14 drill rifles for about $20 each. So, I used them. I did not have access to any Siamese mausers.

Here's my version of a silk purse: a .416/300 Win. Mag. built on a P-14 action and stocked by Hal Hartley in 1969, some years before Chatfield-Taylor came up with a similar idea, the .416 Taylor, based on the .458 Winchester Magnum case necked down..

Holland & Holland made rifles on those actions, I think, in the 1950s. I remember seeing one in a catalog and pictures of one somewhere else. If I could find an original Holland & Holland .375 magnum built on the P14 action and in good condition I would just have to snatch it up.

Cock on closing is not a "fault" that needs "fixing". It is just that shooters used to cock on opening don't know how to use them.
Practice.

The Dayton-Traister trigger/cock on opening arrangement worked well enough for me to put four .505 SRE rounds in this Cape Buffalo as he ran past me at about 35 yards:



I have had six converted Enfields. All used this system, and all worked perfectly.

As mentioned by dpcd it is a matter of familiarity and practice.

It can be a very fast system:

xausa, that Hal Hartley P14 is gorgeous.

Oh Gheeeee... Never tire of the non-sense. P14 and M17 Enfields are exactly the same rifles except that the Brits got there first and ordered .303's. When Uncle Sam got into the war and wanted Springfields, well, retooling would cost bunches and take years so the M17 was made in .30/'06...

As said, this is one big heavy action. Now if you want a benchrest 6mm, not bad idea... lots of weight. On the other hand, a "carry" hunting rifle... There are still Mausers around and now some commercial actions are cheaper... Gunsmith buddy of mine told of a .22/250 on a 17. If you worked the bolt too fast, the cartridge would jump out of the action over the receiver ring...

The alternative from long ago, in consultation with Mr. Ackley, Elwood Epps "Ackleyized" the .303 case adding a sharp shoulder and necking to .22, 6mm, 7mm?, 30 (.303), and larger. The monster was the .303 Canadian Magnum, belted case --.300 H&H I believe-- blown out alla the Weatherby in .308 but of the .303 bullets. (My 14 slugged around .307??? if I can read a mike??? Winchester)

.303british.com is all things .303. Has the address to the Epps gun shop now in hands of offspring.

Again, as said, find a 17 bolt and it should just slip in. Magazine work is additional. With the value today, supply seems to be dried up, and the cost of the work... I would not alter, rather collect. Luck. Happy Trails.