Even back in the day, Johnathan Ferguson, the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history, was helping make awesome content on RU-vid for us old gun nerds. What a boss
I actually own one of these with the volley sights that I found (!) in a wall of my summer house that I was renovating in Estonia. I was amazed firstly to find it then to see the condition of it which was used but in fine condition. When I dismantled it for a thorough cleaning, I discovered that it retained about 90% of it's original bluing with wear only on the muzzle where the bayonet would be attached, the butt plate and trigger guard. After cleaning the hardened grease from the bolt and receiver, the action was as smooth as any would expect from a modern Mauser sporter. Marked RE and '17, this 99-year-old weapon still raises eyebrows on those that have seen and held it. Thanks for this thorough and entertaining video that filled in all the blanks on a, for me, previously unknown rifle.
No kidding. I wish I knew something about how and when Estonians received these weapons. I'm guessing it was during the second war to use against the Russians but the house is from the 1800's so maybe the first WW as well. I have no idea. It was obviously hidden during the Russian occupation but maybe from an earlier time as well.
munched55 The Baltic states received a lot of aid from Britain and most of the P14's went to Latvia/Estonia. It was likely secreted in the wall when the Soviets attacked.
I appreciate the responses. Thank you very much. It's my in-laws (I call them the outlaws) that are Estonian and they are as a nation, very liberty minded, which I admire, but with a population of only about a million, they've tended to get pushed around a lot and under the Soviets, about 20,000 people of social influence including my father-in-law, were sent to Siberian gulags. In our family, the P14 is now a symbol of their resistance and asked that I pass on to you their appreciation as well for the background info.
@@munched55 Estonian army went partly over to the P14 Enfield, and the Latvians went fully. In 1939 when Kaitseliit was mobilized the soldiers were given the P14 rifles
Othias and Mae, another fantastic presentation. Top quality and effortlessly watched. One thing came to mind as it went along was the adage that an Army prepares for the next war by planning for the last one.... The P14 really was the product of the Boer War and your video brings that to light as it explores the background of this rifle. Here's an interesting point. The rifle is a product of being the recipient of long range and damaging rifle fire.. i.e. something that would better match what they had faced in SA... The British soldier shot out to 800 yds in his annual qualification before the Boer War.... By 1914 he was only shooting to 600... Perceived combat ranges diminished while they worked on a weapon that would make it easier to engage at longer ones.... Interesting paradox. As usual, great clip. Nice to see Matt out with his Mk IV...
It always seems like the left and right hands are separated on these things. Like the long barrel requirement on the RSC 1917 in case they wanted to fire in lines....
Both this & the SMLE were products of that war. The Indian Army lobby took one set of lessons from it (short, handy, medium range rifle), the 'Bisley lobby' took another (Mauser-inspired, long range target rifle). See Matthew Ford's PhD thesis online.
britishmuzzleloaders I believe I found it in Proud Promise, although some of that is mixed in with Honor Bound and a French title on bolt actions. All by Jean Houn.
~0:50 _"it chambers the .303 cartridge" [the cartridge listed on the white screen as this is said is 7.2x60mm, implying that .303 = 7.2x60mm and/or that the Pattern 14 is chambered in 7.2x60mm] .303 is 7.7x56R .276 Enfield is 7.2x60mm AFAIK, the P13 is the original rifle, chambered in .276, and the P14 is the version which is chambered in .303.
I, as a token Brit here in North America will nominate myself as 'fan', great stuff you do and we really do appreciate the understated humour you chaps put into these productions. So thank you, what!
For a second when I heard "Long Lee" I expected to see the Ghost of Sam Hughes to visit and say it is the best rifle ever, despite carrying it for miles.
You guys are turning into my new favourite channel after Mr Harrell's. Forgotten Weapons no doubt is an equally great channel but you offer significantly more detailed insights by comparison. I feel it's because of your unique and immersive format. Great job, guys! 👍
Yet again outstanding, simply the best channel on RU-vid bar none. Both witty and informative at the same time and with the best two presenters on the web. What more can i say other than please never stop making these videos. I love you guys!!!
Proud to say, I've got a P14. The OEM stock was broken beyond repair, but at the time, Gun Parts had some originals in stock, so I got one. I can therefore honestly say that mine is a true, original P14, even though I finished the bare-wood stock to my own preferences; a bit lighter in color with more shine, since I didn't have to hide in a trench knee-deep in water while being shot at.
Great video, as always. I continue to be impressed by the level of detail and breadth of information you provide to your viewers! The disclaimer about history vs. fun shooting was appreciated.
Smellie is not amused at these shenanigans! I swear I heard my 1916 BSA ShtLe yell out the colonies are rowdy today followed by the P14 belting out the star spangled banner.... and the ross in-between the two is making sure they don't come to blows. But seriously great work Othais and crew, y'all do good!
Kudos on the thoroughly enjoyable nature of this and the following companion 1917 episode. These are hands down my favorite rifles of the bolt action battle rifle era, followed closely by the 03A3 and No4 Mk1. Y'all have made such a habit out if excellence.
I got my first Patt14 when I was 15 yrs old. Am 57 now , so do the math. Anyhow a schoolmate's dad was a B17 pilot in england. He traded an old english homeguard fellow some whiskey and food for that Patt14 rifle and promptly mailed it home. I bought it for a princely sum of $165 dollars . All my buddies thought I paid too much for any 303 let alone that one. But I had enough reading under my belt that I knew a patt14 in unmolested original trim without import marks was a rare bird. I still have this 12k serial ERA made rifle. It's wood is in superb unsanded finish with a bore so clean..and brother it can shoot !. I even used marbles cartridge converters in it for 32 S&W and it brought many a squirrel back to the frying pan !. At the feb'24 SOS a dealer had a patt14 asking $3250.00...I shit you not !. He claimed minty gun, and matching. Bolt matched but the blue seemed darker than my example and the wood had for sure been cleaned and refinished as its pores were opened , stain applied and the shiny sheen nowhere near original. I pointed this out the "knowledgeable" dealer and he got rather arrogant and told me I dont know squat. Then I pointed out the wood putty repair to the toe at butt plate that was oddly under the finish. He tried to pontificate out of that conundrum like a thief caught. Cant stand these fraud profiteers !. In the end I am ever more confidant in my $165 purchase many years ago has paid off.
The statement is incredibly coherent, he's saying he said "yes, wait no" when you pulled out the SMLE. SMLE in this particular context stands for Standard Military Lube Ewer.
Every episode is welcomed like a surprise visit by an old friend with a new toy. My club has a 600 foot rifle range. If you're ever in Mid Michigan look me up!
This series should be required curriculum in elementary school. Historical firearms education FTW! That whole part of Mae talking about the fat belly might have to be edited out for schools though, sounded like she was talking about love handles.
I love how Othais ribs a bit at the SMLEboys...😂 Also the fact that eventually both the US and UK ended up adopting or planning to adopt the Mauser system reaffirms that the Mauser system is the king of bolt systems...👍😜
@@jerrywood1582 The 7 mm Mauser killed the bear after it had been shot twelve times before? That's not conclusive evidence in favour of its killing ability. Did the unfortunate chap shoot the bear, or at the bear?
Hi from South Africa, i recently bought a P14, specifically ERA. A beaut that shoots perfectly. Has Parker Hale volley sights and a new Musgrave barrel. Cheers mate.
YES THIS EPISODE IS FINALLY HERE! I've always enjoyed your look at these interesting weapons. The ross rifle video if done by almost anybody else probably would've been a bit bland (and this is coming from a gun and history enthusiast!) but the Ross Rifle video was intensely entertaining while still being informative. Same thing for all your videos. Keep up the good work you guys are one of my favorite channels!
YAY! I've been waiting on this episode for a while now and you did not disappoint (although at this point I don't think you could even if you tried). Also nice to see footage from my country at 18:03, because I'm guessing that is the Irish Civil War.
Great episode can't wait till the next!! An old highschool friend of mines grandfather has an absolutely gorgeous sporterized example of the 1917 action that sits in a nice and comfy monte carlo stock, every time he comes into town for the holidays I try to make a point to visit him at grandparents where we both drool over this rifle and admire his grandpas large game mounts and the hunting stories that accompany them.
Good in-depth history of this rifle, previously only to be found in print. I have several hard-back books dating back to the 70's and 80's that are the only sources other than this video that provide this much information (and this video actually has more than all of them combined). I own one of these rifles (Eddystone arsenal) that I acquired nearly 30 years ago and it has the original bayonet and a heavy, fabric sling with what seems to be adjusters made of some light alloy. I believe these were scavenged at a later date from a P-17 but I could be wrong. It lacks the volley sight pieces. I agree with Mae in everything she said about this rifle except that I am larger and heavier so the recoil is even less of an issue for me and I think of mine as a "soft" shooter. The sight radius she talks about gets even more important as you age and your eyes don't focus at close ranges like they used to. That rear aperture is superb. I can pick up a target with this even more quickly than I can with an AR-15 carbine. Thanks for the piece, I enjoyed it.
I own an Enfield and I can confirm extraction issues over time. I bought it from a local shop I'm am aquainted witth and the next day shot it with failure to extract almost every shot. I came inb the day after to ask for help and they just gave me a bolt off of the other Enfield they had in stock and swapped it. Next shooting proved bad extraction again. I took it back and we looked at both bolt assemblies and the extracter was worn dorn on both. Had to buy a new one.
I think I have the image and information you are after for prototype. From the Enfield pattern room. Cal looks correct. Essentially it looks very P14 with fancier stock. There is a large paragraph about this weapon. How can I contact you guys?
I have owned an Edison 1916 P14 303 rifle for quite some time, it still has its volley sights. I traced its ownership but only from the 1940's when it was issued to a London Home Guard Unit,( stamp marks on stock disc ). I shoot it on a regular basis on our local rifle range where we are only permitted to shoot reduced powder loads to comply with range velocity & energy. I do from time to time shoot factory ammunition on farm land I shoot over, it still throws a tight group, no doubt the rifle has had little use before I acquired it. It sits in my rifle cabinet with my Army & Navy Martini Henry 303 and my 1896 Army & Navy 303 Lee Speed Sporting rifle. These old rifles who were looked after are well worth acquiring, load your own ammunition, they are a joy to shoot.
I shot my recently purchased P14 at the range today...It's a beautiful gun, just trying to get accustomed to the sights...Your videos are by far the most detailed & thoughtful gun related videos I've ever seen..keep up the excellent work!
I own a model 1 mark3 star and a model 4 mark 1 ...both shoot amazing....I've used the first to hunt for years with great success...I'd buy another one any time
Can't wait to see the workhorse of world War 1 America in the next 2 weeks! loved this video and heavily anticipating the next one, thank you for the awesome videos!
Very happy to be an American Anglophile; I own a Pattern 14 that for some obscure reason escaped the loss of the volley sight. I have been very happy with the rifle and its accuracy. I can’t figure how to fire the volley sights just to see how accurate it is in this mode compared to my SMLEs. My companion piece is a M1917 in the standard US round .30-06. These two rifles are wonderfully accurate and hard hitting service rifles.
Just one point regarding the number of men in the British army, the expansion between the start of the war and the end of 1915 was all through men volunteering to serve, conscription, the draft, wasn’t introduced until 1916.
This is now my favorite RU-vid channel. C&R was tied with Forgotten Weapons but Mae breaks the tie,Sorry Ian ;). After Myth Busters cut Kari Byron there was a void and Mae has filled it and then some as I believe that she really knows what she is talking about firearms wise.The Pattern Fourteen/US 1917 is just about my favorite Battle rifle. I have a Remington US 1917 and an Eddystone Pattern Fourteen. Recently shot my P 14 in honor of it turning one hundred years old(close enough). Thanks for the great videos.
The P series guns are excellent for building custom guns. Built a 458 Winchester with a P 14 and a wildcat 30 Gibbs and a heavy barrel thumb-hole stock 25/06 with the P17. Mae is right about the trigger a little polishing and they become very smooth and easy to control for accurate shooting.
How come every time I find out on another channel a ww1 gun I never heard of I end up miraculously seeing it on here haha? I have a few guesses for the future after the next episode. M1917 revolver, Springfield rifle, lee-Enfield, or Browning. Great show guys and nice new hair cut!
I've been looking forward to this one for a while. I agree that the P14/M1917 is just a little too heavy, bulky, and long to be perfect. Keep up the great work guys!
I wish I had had the foresight to get one of these when they could be had from the US Civilian Marksmanship Program for $300, just a couple of years ago. You can hardly touch one for less than 6 bills now.
Guys I have a image and description of what I think is the C model, but there are others that are trial rifles and even the bullpup and it is far uglier than you can imagine. They are even single loaders. This is directly from the Enfield pattern collection book, one book in which I got 2nd hand and never seen it elsewhere? Please how do I contact you, this has the P13 trials.
