Mingbogo They were converted from regular rifles and made availible to cadets etc for drill purposes.I picked up a couple several years ago for $ 25 ea.I went thru a pile until I found a pair made by Remington. One now has a 7STW barrel and the other a 416 Rem. They work just fine.

I just bought one from a local guy and want to know more about this rifle. This rifle has a big hole thru the chamber but it looks to be in good shape so I thought I would use the action for something else. The rifle has a letter DP stamped all over on the metal parts. Did they make these drill rifles from the factory like that or did they covert them from regular production rifles? Did they have the same heat treat, etc. as the regular ones? Please shed some light and insight if you know anything about these rifles. Thanks in advance for your info.

Thanks snowman for the reply! Unfortunately, I paid $175 for my rifle but it has zero pitting and all the parts seem to match as Remington made parts. It sounds like you found some very good deal for your rifles. For $25 a pop, I probably would buy every one of them just for parts if not for anything else. Anyhow, it's good to know that some of these drill rifles are in good service as custom units. Happy New Year!

MB don't worrry about paying $175, in my opinion you got a great deal, and pretty much can't go wrong if the rifle is complete. The 25$ must have been years ago cause, a nice all matching rifle like these go for at least 500+$ check to see how matching your gun is, there should be all sorts of markings on your gun, the first thing you should do is look for parts stamped R obivsously this means remington, but you might also find parts w=winchester and e=eddystone, these are the 3 compaines that made these during WWI.

these where the main battle rifle for wwI, some call them enfields cause american factories where already making these guns in .303 for the brits when the US entered the war, rather than changing over things for the 1903 they mearly changed the barrel and a couple minor things and produced them in 30-06. I have a minty eddystone that is all matching orginal blue etc. These have been going up in value with an all matching good condition rifle worth up to about $550. There have been quite a few sporters made from these actions and the actions are second in strength only to the ariska. the only thing that kinda sucks about them is the cock on close bolt. also after the war remington produced guns with the 1917 action and called them the model 30, CMP is selling these guns usually mixmasters and some even with poor bores for $425. depending on what you have do some research you may find that you have something worth 1)more than you paid and 2)it may not be worth chopping up cause of this. there are several sights to find info on your gun, to see if your date on the barrel is close to your manufacture date etc. let me know if you need more info

cummins cowboy,

Hey thanks for the reply. No I am not much of a collector nor do I care much about the value of this rifle. It has a big hole drilled thru the stock and chamber from the side so it is unusable at this point without replacing the barrel and the current barrel has the same matching serial number as the reciever. However, I was just curious about the strenght and the difference between the drill version versus the regular production version but it sounds like they are the same. I have no specific plans to turn it into something else but thought that I would want to have it just to have it. By the way, I am always interested in buying Mauser like actions that are in good shape and at a GOOD price. Thanks.

Ah, P-14 and P-17 Enfields. I have a mint all matching P-14 in 303 and a mint all matching P-17 in 30-06, both are Remingtons. Fun to shoot,especially at 500 yards with the ladder peeps. Would not dare think of stripping them for the actions.

Also have about 2 dozen various P-14 and P-17 Rem and Win actions left over from my days a long time ago when I fooled with converting them for various cartridges. Put the work into the action and it makes into a very nice rifle, but the labor and expense adds up to $$$$$. Nope, not for sale, they are reserved for my "retirement" years.

I recall the days when I could buy a nice complete Remington for $100, those days are long gone.

P-14s & P-17s can be converted into some very nice large calibre rifles but like Mr Ricks has pointed out ,it takes$$$$$$ and lots of them if you have to have a smith do all the work. Just to clarify a point about the P-14. They were not the main battle rifle of WW1.That rifle would be the Short Magazine Lee Enfield #1 Mk 3 or abbreviated SMLE #1 Mk3. Prior to WW1 the British had been experimenting with a short fat 7mm cal rifle after seeing how sucessful the 7x57 mauser had been in the Boer war. Since just before a major conflict is a bad time to start changing rifles and calibres the British stopped that project and kept making SMLE's in 303. They then contracted Rem & Win to convert this experimental action to work with the 303 Britsh cartridge.This rifle was named the Enfield Pattern 1914.This was shortened to P-14. Accuracy with the P-14 was considerably better than with the old SMLE so they quickly became the favored rifle for sharpshooters. When the US entered the war in 1917 they took over the plants Rem,Eddystone (a subsiduary of Rem)and Win and converted the rifle to handle the 30-06. This was the P-17 that gained some fame in the hands of Alvin York! Rem and Win marked receivers are the most desireable for conversion.Eddystone made the vast majority of the P-14/P-17s. Apparently they used more heat in forging and many of the Eddystone actions are very hard. So hard many require a carbide drill bit to drill holes for scope bases.