P1917 bubba special to 35 Whelen AI ?

[DanM]

Greetings....I am looking at a totally bubba'd P17 Eddystone as a project gun. If I can get it for a fair price, I would want to make it into a dedicated cast boolit rifle in 35 Whelen AI. I need some input on my decision to rebore or rebarrel. Is there enough meat in these barrels for a rebore to .357? If I send it off for a rebore, would the service likely include the chamber cutting? I know there is a go to guy that most here use for reboring, but I don't know who he is. From what I have read, 35WhelenAI with a 14 twist sounds like an ideal cast boolit chambering, and a good choice for a bubba P1917. Sorry for my ignorance, this will be my first full on project rifle. Thanks....DanM

[Larry Gibson]

Is it a "P14" in 303 or "M1917" in 30-06"? Same looking actions but 2 different bolt faces, magazines and feed rails. The "P14" is not readily compatible with the '06 based 35 Whelen cartridge, the "M1917" is.

Larry Gibson

[DanM]

Well, it is marked 'Eddystone', and my buddy has been shooting 30-06 in it. Am I right in thinking that only the M1917s were marked Eddystone? Otherwise, you are right in that I might not know the difference....DanM

[Larry Gibson]

A google search would probably turn up if Eddystone made any P14s, I don't know.

Larry Gibson

[skeet1]

If your buddy is shooting .30-06 in this rifle it is a 1917 and the bolt face is correct for 35 Whelen AI. You might want to call JES and ask them about re-boring as they would be able to tell you if there is enough barrel thickness for this caliber.

Ken

[DanM]

HMMM....I see that Eddystone did indeed make some of the P14 Enfields. So no help there. Looking at the SAMMI specs for the 303 and 30-06 it seems unlikely that the bolt on a 303 rifle would close on a 30-06 cartridge. The 303 chamber would have to be worn at least 0.158" at the shoulder for the bolt to close on a 30-06 cart. This rifle has a fine bore that is sharp and shiny, so that much wear in the shoulder area seems unlikely. I do want to be sure, so I will try to post some pictures that might help with the ID....DanM

[UBER7MM]

About 10 years ago, Brownell's was selling new P14 actions as "Magnum" bolt faced.