Hi, a friend (not a close friend) wants to sell me 3 P14 drill rifles. He said that he thinks all 3 are ERAs. They have a hole drilled through the chamber. What are these rifles selling for these days. I know a while back that they were plentiful, but, the supply has pretty much dried up. What should I offer him for all three. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Roger.

Last time I saw them offered they were $25 apiece. FWIW - Dan

interesting...

are these usable? I would think they could be tig filled, and threads redone... but ....

jeffe

The actions are unharmed. The only thing damaged is the barrel. Everything else is intact. ie...stock, handguard, all hardware. They are complete rifles with a hole drilled through the chamber area of the barrel with a plug installed. ( which can be driven out). I wouldn't want to reuse the original barrels anyway. Bores are usally shot. I just figured that someone more knoweledgable could help me put a price tag on them. Being fair to both parties. Thanks, Roger.

Well....current price from Sarco for the action over the counter (not shipping, not FFL holder fee), is $74.50, each. But you can get them from Sarco with the ears ground off and drilled and tapped for $90.00 (not many left, the ad says). So fair is $90.00, plus shipping and FFL holder fee, less the gunsmith charge to grind the ears off and drill and tap (if that matters to you)....the actions are safe, but there is a slim chance you will desire to replace the bolt owing to an off-center firing pin hole. Seems like more than a few of the drill rifles have slightly off-center firing pin holes, but they go bang just fine. The ad I was looking at was in Shotgun News for Nov. 20, p. 141.

I looked at that ad hard, but unless you gotta have a P-14 for the size or the dogleg bolt handle (who wants that?), it seemed like a losing proposition to me. When you can get a whole rifle from Savage for $300 (?), the cost of taking an action and barreling it and then stocking it is a big hit. People keep saying that unless you are building something on a case bigger than the .460 Wby, The CZ550 is perfectly adequate and the most affordable way to go. If you are going to do your own work, you might save a ton of money over the off-the-rack cost of a .505 Gibbs (maybe $2000-$2400 counting Ruger plus Hamilton Bowen's work?), but your time has to be nearly worthless, because it will be a long, long time before you finish stocking your barreled action and debugging the feeding.

Hello;
It seems to me that anything the British regarded as Drill and Practice, marked DP, was regarded as worn out and beyond any other use. I would think very carefully about trying to rehabilitate one of these,unless I was desperate.
Grizz

Thanks for the replies. I knew someone would know the answer. I realize how time consuming and expensive it can be to sporterize a P14. I've done 2 in the past. A 300 Winchester mag. and a 7mm Remington mag. If done right, they make into a really nice rifle. I also have a sporterized 1917 30-06 that is the smoothest rifle that I own. A bit on the heavy side, but, it sure tames the recoil. I don't build guns for a living so working on these gems is very satisfying. It is one of the better hobbies a person can have. To me it is better than smacking a little round ball all over the countryside or hanging out in the bars. Anyway, thanks for the replies. I appreciate everyones input. Later, Roger.

Hi, Well, the rifles turned out to be 1 Remington and 2 Winchesters. They are complete and all matching. It is a shame that the barrels are ruined, because the bores are excellent. One looks absolutely mint. Maybe I can find replacement barrels and put them back in service. The guy wanted 75.00 apiece so I bought all three. Now what do I do? I think I'll set on them a while 'till I make up my mind. later, Roger.

Believe it or not, if the rifles are in good shape, they have some value as a drill rifle. Especilly the Winchester.

I think you will find that replacement barrels are rather pricey. I've gotten to where I won't mess with any military bolt action that has not already been buggered up, I mean "sporterized".

Unless the cartridge is something out of the ordinary, the manufactured rifle would be more economical than a customized military rifle.