MY Dad and GrandDad's Model 14s

[flyball54]

The top Model 14 in the first picture belonged to my Grandfather Cecil Smith from Elk County PA. It is missing the breechblock. It seems to have been made extremely early in the production run. The bottom Rifle belonged to my Dad, Oliver Smith. He received it when he was about 17 in 1931 or 1932. I am wondering just how early my grandfather's rifle was made. The photo of the boy with the Bear is from about 1920. The boy is my dad. He is holding his father's rifle. As you can see in the photos, the last patent on my Grandfather's gun is from 1910. My father's rifle made in 1931 carries 3 more patent dates after the 1910 one, the last being Sept. 1913. The older rifle has matching numbers (4294) on the receiver, the trigger assembly and even the wooden stock. Will a later breech block fit in the older gun? I am going to try the breech block from the 1931 gun if someone on this forum tells me that it may be OK. If it works, I will buy a later breech block to restore my grandfather's gun to working order. I know the lack of matching numbers will lower the value, but my adult son and I will never part with these guns anyway. If we have two that work we will try for matching Bucks this fall. I have been digitizing old negatives from my father's farm in PA, and the oldest rifle shows up in many of the pictures.

2-14s-1.jpg (3.25 MiB) Viewed 1699 times

Dad Bear.jpg (3.15 MiB) Viewed 1699 times

GPas14-1.jpg (3.35 MiB) Viewed 1699 times

GPas14-2.jpg (3.55 MiB) Viewed 1699 times

[admin]

The old rifle serial number 4294 dates to 1912.

[dieNusse1]

As it now stands your older rifle is reduced in value due to the missing breechblock. Replacing it will only add a bit of value as the gun would then be functional.

[nambujim]

The 1931 breech block will not fit in the early rifle and in fact will jam in the stock when you try to shuck it back because of the extension on the bolt. There were probably 30 modifications to the bolts between the time the early rifle was manufactured and the later one for which you did not provide the serial or caliber. The earlier the rifle the more difficult it is to find a part that will work..................they were essentially hand made and hand fit with a specific set of parts. I have several complete early bolts but even with that many to choose from your chances are about 50%.
The rifle may also be missing other parts you don't know about like the cartridge stop. Assume your rifles are 30's or 32's which would to some degree improve the odds that a complete early bolt would fit.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC