scope base for a p-14

[351 power]

want to use a one piece base. wondering if a savage shot action or a remington long action base would be best. or something else? thanks for any ideas

[gunnut69]

I prefer the Leupold one piece for it's contures and don't know the number. Just look it up in the Brownells catalog.. Conturing the rear bridge is one of the worst tasks to scoping these rifles.. the second is filling those miserable holes under the rear sight..

[351 power]

thanks for the reply sir. what do you recommend for that hole filling? i thought about jb weld

[parkergunshop]

351 Power,

Not all of the P14's have the hole under the rear sight, I have a Remington P14 without the hole.   Another P14 that had the hole which I left unfilled,  A 1917 with the hole that I took a great deal of time fitting a piece of steel in the hole and the epoxying it in place.  the hole didn't bother me enough to fill it after all the time I spent on filling the hole on the 1917. 

I contour the rear bridge to use the Model 70 one piece base by Leupold or Redfield.   It is much easier if the barrel is not on the action when doing this.

1.  You need a level place to set the receiver on when contouring the rear bridge to check for level.   I use a 360 degree swivel vice that I set to level.
2.  Grind on the rear bridge, then place the receiver on the level surface, place the scope mount on the receiver, place a short level on the top of the mount, keep checking and grinding on the rear bridge of the receiver until the level shows that the base is level.
3. once you are level, drill and tap.    On these I modify the base to use 8-40 vs the supplied 6-48 screws since they hold up much better under recoil with the calibers I used on these actions,  .338, 375, .458 for example

Be careful and don't grind too much off at one time, if you grind too much you will have to shim the rear of the base on the bridge.  Don't do any grinding on the front receiver ring period.

I have installed two piece bases on a P14 just for my satisfaction and I got a perfect job, but the one piece base is much easier to install.   Since I do this for a hobby I don't have to worry about paying $60 per hour for the work.

Tools needed, Hacksaw for rough shapeing, grinder with course stone, polishing wheel for final finish.   Actually you can do it with a grinder alone, and hand files.

Note:  If you use two piece bases for any heavy recoiling round like the  .375 and .458, absolutely use the 8-40 screws to hold the bases on the receiver, the 6-48 screws are just not up to the task, particularly if you use some of the heavier scopes on the market today.   The heavier the scope the more stress on the base, screws and rings.   As I said earlier I perfer the 8-40 screws on all the P14 or 1917's since these are actions for the big boomers.

[351 power]

thank you for the good details. mine is a winchester p-14 with the hole. i have cut and filed the rear down some but i will get a machinist to drill and tap. also is that a long or short action base?

[parkergunshop]

The base I use is for the long action.

By the way the Winchester is the best of the P14 and 1917 Enfield Actions, first class workmanship, excellent heat treatment, when properly converted the Winchester Enfields are just as good as the Model 70's which share many 1917 features.

It is amazing at how close the bolt to receiver tolerances are on these actions made almost 100 years ago.  And I really like the safety design.   I also use the Dayton Traister trigger with their cock on opening cocking piece.   My Enfields have a 2 1/2 to 3 pound trigger pull.

I also drill another gas port on the left side of the receiver opposite of the existing gas port hole on the right side of the receiver and drill three gas relief holes in the bolt body in line with the ejection port.  This makes the action safer if a case head separates or if you have a blown primer.  Keeps gas out of the shooters face.

Good luck with your Enfield.

[gunnut69]

Parkergunshop - do you have any problems drilling the receiver ring or the bolt body for those vents? Do you reconture the rear of the action to do away with the 'box car' look? I've done a couple that way. Trimming the bolt stop is also a good alteration that adds a lot to the looks of the rifle.  I've filled the hole with a piece of steel MIG wekded into it but there is always a problem with color change if bluing using a hot salt process.. The Rust blue does a lot better.. The Custom Makers Guild made a heavy a few years back and after the reconture it was truly hard to see the differences between the Enfield and a mauser,. Of course the size would have been obvious with the rifle in hand..

[parkergunshop]

Ok,  I trim the bolt stop down and use a coil spring loaded ejector.    I haven't had any problems drilling or tapping the receiver or bolts on the Enfields, the part that is super hard is the sear piece, it is so hard that you cannot drill it without annealing it.   In any case since you can buy after market triggers why modify the military trigger to be adjustable.

I try to contour the rear bridge to look like the model 70 to fit the scope base.

Note some of the Eddystones are harder than the Remington and Winchesters, the receivers on these may not blue the same color as the barrel and other parts due to the hardness.

[gunnut69]

A few years back I bought 9-10 Enfields actions (no bottom metal) for a ridiculusly low price.. I'm gonna make some haevies from them.. First is the 375 H&H!!! For ME!! Now if I could find a need... maybe just to shoot casts slugs with..

[parkergunshop]

I bought five P14 Drill Rifles that had a hole bored through the barrel with a plug inserted  to prevent a round from being chambered for the low price of $25.00 each.

The rifles appeared to have been unfired.  I got two Winchesters, Two Remingtions and one Eddystone for $125 plus shipping.

So far I have a .338 Winchester, a .458 Winchester and a .270 Winchester on three of these actions.    I already had a .375 H&H on an Eddystone 1917.

Tip, To drill and tap an Enfield or Springfield  start your hole with a center drill then switch to the proper drill size for the screw size you are using.  The surface can be pretty hard on these.

[351 power]

those are great deals. i just got a "sporterized"  rifle that was dropped on the front sight hard enough to split the forestock on both sides of the barrel. repairs so far have allowed me to see it can shoot. love the .303 and will leave that as is . thanks for the advise.

[parkergunshop]

Gunnut,

My .375 H&H on the Enfield Eddystone 1917 Action shots .608 groups with the 235 Grain Speer and .910 groups with a 270 grain cast bullet at 2193 FPS Both loads are great deer killers.

This is with a Shaw Heavy Sporter Barrel.