Just bought a P-14 Enfield and I've tried to research this rifle with no success. It's story is that the seller believes it went through the Weedon repair and then was put away and never used again. It appears to have been completely refinished. There is no wear on any blued parts and you can see the old pitting in spots that were blued over. Unlike examples of Weedon refurbished rifles I've seen, this rifle appears to have received a new stock and it further appears to be a 1917 Enfield stock as the finger grooves are the same length and there is no evidence there were ever volley sights or a disk on this stock. The only markings on the stock are what appear to be an eagle or falcon head and 339 stamped just forward of the magazine on the underside, a large R on the forend, a W on the inletting between the trigger and magazine and several stampings under the buttplate. In spots, it looks like it may have been sanded, but then the eagle/falcon stamping seems untouched.

Another thing that I noticed is there is a thin gap around the barrel forward of the receiver. It looks like it was ground along that like and there is some sort of filler in there. I haven't shot this rifle, and I don't know if this gap is anything to worry about. From what I can see without a bore light I don't see this gap in the chamber.

So far, the broad arrow and GR proof marks are the only marking I've found meanings for. I haven't found any way to look up the serial number or ID any other markings. If anyone recognizes any markings please let me know what they mean.

Rifle





The barrel / receiver:



I don't know why the barrel is stamped 49552. The SN is stamped in a different spot.











The bolt has a serial number that was struck and the opposite side is restamped the match the receiver SN.





Why would someone bother to restamp the bolt?



This is the W on the stock



The falcon / eagle 339 on the underside of the stock



The R on the forend



Butt





Receiver markings







There are Eddystone E's on everything this looks like an H6



H1?



H ? and what is the hole in the receiver here for? I've seen pictures of other P-14's that have it so I assume that's normal. It's too small to be demilled.



If anyone has any idea what the markings mean, or any guesses on

Your rifle was made by Ebbystone a subsidiary of Remington.

The hole in the receiver is for gas escape if a case ruptures.

In looking at the pictures of the receiver I'm guessing that your rifle was made up from a de-milled one. My reason for believing that is the spot on the side of the receiver that looks like a weld melted the metal and the joint line in the barrel in front of the receiver. I've looked at a lot of those rifles and never seen one with that line. To me it looks like someone sleeved a barrel to a barrel stub.

I'd be hesitant to shoot it. You should have a gunsmith that is familiar with old military rifles look very closely at it.

Regards,

Dennis

There is some sort of ting brazed around your barrel shank; where are you located?
This is a cobbled up piece; It does need to be inspected properly.

Yes, I thought the same thing about that mark. It looks like the mark an arc welder would leave if it had been struck there. If the barrel was replaced it obviously wasn't welded on, so that mark is a mystery.

Cobbled together? Possibly, the question is by who. Someone reblued or reparkerized every inch of this gun. They also took the time to restamp the bolt and barrel with the sn on the receiver as well as all the other markings. I tend to doubt some bubba pieced this together from parts. Taking into account that a lot of the parts are supposedly not interchangable, even from the same maker, my guess is this is an arsenal refurbishment. It just doesn't look like it was Weedon. There are no import marks on this, so at least whoever did it, it was done before 1968.

It's going to my gunsmith on Monday, to at least determine if it's safe to shoot.

This was a drill rifle of some sort and the barrel was welded on; they are easy to cut off. Most parts are interchangeable except the magazine boxes, so don't go by that. The part that concerns me is the barrel has that brazed or soldering ring on it. If you are in the US, I can look at it for you. If not, I can't.
Arsenal refurbishment? Definitely not in the US, and not from England. It would be marked with FTR or other markings. My vote is some place like SARCO or Springfield Sporters, who used to do such "work".

And the mixture of P14 and 17 parts and the welded on receiver proves it was not done by any government repair program.

Interesting point.....I guess like the company that used to chop No.4's to look like No.5's. Can't remember the name right now. If that's what I have, I hope it's at least useable. Yes, I live in the US, about an hour from Sarco in the peoples republic of New Jersey.

Century arms used to build rifles from misc parts, Golden State arms, National Ord; Interarms; there were others.
I used to go to Sarco and buy parts, in the 70 and 80s, now they have moved to Pennsylvania.

How many grooves and lands in the barrel?

I agree it was a DP rifle cobbled together. The 9riginal barrel was tacked to the receiver.

That barrel looks like a stub job to me.

Is it still .303?

Well, went to my gunsmith today. Bore is so pristine he thought it was .30 cal it first. Bolt closes on a field guage which he said is marginal. He recommended not shooting it, but said the only way we'll know is strap it down put a lanyard around the trigger, get away from it and fire it. Still, theres no guarantee that it won't come apart after in the future. Yes, it is .303.

If you elect not to shoot it with the current barrel, new barrels are available: http://www.dgrguns.com/0-main-page-barrels.htm

Be advised that Enfield barrels can be hard to remove and receiver rings can crack in the process. Eddystones are said to be particularly susceptible.

I removed a 1917 barrel once, and it was uneventful, but YMMV.

I don't suppose you are in so cal?

My old gunsmith used to build sporters on P-14/17's. He always cut the barrel off about an inch or two in front of the receiver, and then turned the barrel down about 1/8th of an inch where the barrel screwed into the action. IIRC, he also bought them that way back in the 1960's-70's.