Thread: P14 extractor issues

Photos to come but here is the issue.
Managed to bolt up the P14 with 308 barrel screwed to it's old target stock with a small spacer and some washers
Found enough scope base screws to mount the old parker hale bases and rings with the tidy Kowa 4x on the top and took it to the coast on the off chance the weather would.let Ben and I shoot it for the first time in years.
Had some CAC handload (fmj) that were made for it and a packet of military stuff I had.
First 3 rounds were smack on horizontal at 25m but were a little to the left but moving to the right every shot.
Moved the scope a bit and tried the target at 50m.
Here is where it gets tricky
The bolt has been made like a remington with a small ring welded around the face to enclose the rim. Single shot now, not controlled feed.
First 3 shots the case would come out but fall out of the bolt.
When we moved it to 50 I thought I would try the proper military ammo.
First shot was way high but the pain started as the case was stick in the chamber.
Disnt have a cleaning rod to get it out either so had some shots out of Ben's rifle and called it a day.
Cleaning rod knocked it out easy peasy.
Did some checking of the case to the bolt face and it isnt.held in there nice and tight like it should.
I suspect the original P14 extractor is fitted and is too short.
It needs a P17 extractor for the 3006 case head possibly to work.
Evan (sadly departed) did comment that it never shot as well as he would have liked but it was so long ago he couldnt remember how bad that was.
He made no comment on extraction
See attached a pic of the barrel markings.
Think it was done by Collings and Brady possibly in late 68
But that is educated guesswork.
Thoughts everyone?
Anyone got an extractor I can try? Might have to by one anyway but good to prove the point

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Photos to come but here is the issue.
Managed to bolt up the P14 with 308 barrel screwed to it's old target stock with a small spacer and some washers
Found enough scope base screws to mount the old parker hale bases and rings with the tidy Kowa 4x on the top and took it to the coast on the off chance the weather would.let Ben and I shoot it for the first time in years.
Had some CAC handload (fmj) that were made for it and a packet of military stuff I had.
First 3 rounds were smack on horizontal at 25m but were a little to the left but moving to the right every shot.
Moved the scope a bit and tried the target at 50m.
Here is where it gets tricky
The bolt has been made like a remington with a small ring welded around the face to enclose the rim. Single shot now, not controlled feed.
First 3 shots the case would come out but fall out of the bolt.
When we moved it to 50 I thought I would try the proper military ammo.
First shot was way high but the pain started as the case was stick in the chamber.
Disnt have a cleaning rod to get it out either so had some shots out of Ben's rifle and called it a day.
Cleaning rod knocked it out easy peasy.
Did some checking of the case to the bolt face and it isnt.held in there nice and tight like it should.
I suspect the original P14 extractor is fitted and is too short.
It needs a P17 extractor for the 3006 case head possibly to work.
Evan (sadly departed) did comment that it never shot as well as he would have liked but it was so long ago he couldnt remember how bad that was.
He made no comment on extraction
See attached a pic of the barrel markings.
Think it was done by Collings and Brady possibly in late 68
But that is educated guesswork.
Thoughts everyone?
Anyone got an extractor I can try? Might have to by one anyway but good to prove the point

Attachment 200230

Greetings @csmiffy,
There is a P14 modified for target shooting in my safe that sounds similar to yours. I will fish it out later this morning and have a hard look at it and report especially on how much of the rim the extractor grabs.
Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings again @csmiffy,
Fished the bolt out of the safe and compared the extractor with the photographs of the M17 and P14 bolt faces in the de Hass book on bolt action rifles. My extractor is not the P14 but more like the M17 with a little relieved at the bottom edge to clear the bolt face. Extractor width is 14mm. I measured the extractor groove and rim of a CAC .308 case and the body dia of a PPU .303 case and found that an extractor that reached the head dia of the .303 would only have a grip of 0.33mm on the .308 rim. I also slipped the .308 case rim under the extractor and into the bolt face. The extractor seemed to reach the bottom of the groove and the case had to be snapped out. Some current .308 cases may have smaller dia rims. Finding a M17 extractor may be a big ask at this stage, and may need to be modified to fit, so this would leave building up the existing one with weld and machining to fit the only option. Not a job for the back yard gunsmith.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac thanks for that. On a normal P14 or mauser bolt the case is held very snugly against the left hand side by the extractor.
It is quite a satisfying click if you put them in by hand.
This one is very loose in comparison