Model 14- Butt Plate & Ammunition needed

[Oldguns10]

I have a Remington Model 14 chambered for .32 Rem. Serial number C-32###. Following the guidelines on the RSA site, it appears to be manufactured in 1914. i have disassembled and cleaned it. What a great old rifle!!!

- I need a butt plate and would like it to be correct. Was the original made of metal or bakolite or could it be either one? The butt stock measures 4-5/16" X 1-7/16". Any idea where I could find a replacement?
- I am also interested in finding a few rounds of ammunition. From reading past forum posts, it sounds like this rimless ammo is hard to find and must be good quality. Can anybody suggest some resources?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

[nambujim]

Your rifle would have either a bakelite logo butt plate or a steel shotgun style logo butt plate. There is precious little room on the steel plates to make a good fit to your rifle if the toe of the stock is worn............as it probably would be if it is missing the original. You can find spot on repro nylon plates from Vintage Gun Grips in Florida ................. specify that you want Remington butt plate "12a". It of course will require fit to your rifle and original screws for these plates are really hard to find.

I have some steel shotgun plates with screws but they may well extend beyond the toe of the rifle. As far as ammunition goes for the .32, it is not only hard to find but expensive. You might try Buffalo Arms, they are forming 30 & 32 brass using new 38-55 brass and the stuff seems to shoot OK. Be sure to use ONLY ammunition with RN bullets and these rifles are very fussy when it comes to OACL and the older the rifle the more fussy they are.

You mention that you cleaned up the rifle, if it was the first time you did it I might mention that these rifles have parts that will just fall out and you won't even notice it until it won't feed.............or if you put a pin in backwards it might jam, the short version is that "the Model 14 has a lot of issues" until you get it working correctly.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC

[Oldguns10]

Thanks for your response Jim.
When I took the gun down I was very careful since I had read your previous posts on all the small parts that can go missing. I did not break down the breach block, trigger package or action bar beyond removing them from the receiver. Hopefully it will load correctly. I checked the magazine follower position as it relates the loading door and it looks good.
- I need to check the carrier dog spring tension. If a new spring is required, do you have one?
- Thanks for the information on the butt plate. Did the original butt plates carry a part number?
- Thanks for the ammunition info. I wanted to have a few rounds to function test the rifle.

All your information is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

[nambujim]

I have new made springs and a batch of old used ones. The new ones are expensive, I can't get anymore, and they are made from 4140 wire that will last until eternity.

The actual part number (off an old Remington factory spec sheet I have dated 1935) for the steel shotgun butt plate was 418. However on the owners manual that came along with the Model 14, its listed as 218S for the steel shotgun plate and 218-1/2 for the steel curved butt plate. Trust me, those numbers aren't going to be any help to you.

Your best bet is to order the Nylon repro and have it fit to your stock. Good luck finding the screws.

Jim2

[Oldguns10]

Hello Jim,
I am about to order the Vintage Grips #12A repro butt plate. I was interested in the comment you made about finding the correct mounting screws. Numrich sells screws for the Model 14 & Vintage Grips sells screws for their reproductions. Do you think either one of these options would provide a reasonable reproduction of the original?

I also gave my carrier dog spring the "thumbnail test". Has decent pop with a little sting but not too painful. I might change it out if I can find a replacement. Let me know if you have any leads in a replacement spring.

Also ordered a box of .32 Rem RN ammo from Buffalo. On back order. Let me know if you hear of any leads on ammo.

Thanks,
Jim

[nambujim]

None of the screws from Numrich or Vintage Gun Grips even come close to the originals! The originals have a head not much bigger than the thread, hard to find. I have some carrier dog springs...............more tricky to install than you would think.

Jim

[Oldguns10]

Hello Jim,
I want to report back on the results of my Model 14 work.
- I received a replica butt plate from Vintage Gun Grips. It fit the stock great with exception of the toe area where I had to trim, sand and polish it to match the stock contour. Turned out pretty well.
- Received .32 Rem ammo from Buffalo Arms. Cartridge OAL is 2.51" w/ RN bullet.
With the action closed, the rifle accepts the first round smoothly through the loading gate. When the action is cycled, the round is transferred, chambered and ejected smoothly. When loading the magazine with additional rounds it's a little sticky but with a little fiddling it will accept additional rounds. All rounds are chambered and ejected smoothly (unfired).

- I appreciate this vintage rifle may not provide a totally smooth operation. Is the magazine loading operation usually a little sticky?

- Can this rifle be dry fired to relieve spring pressure? Is there a need to relieve spring pressure for storage?

Thanks again for the help.
Jim M.

[nambujim]

Yeah, the early guns in particular seem to be annoying to load. It can be for a number of reasons which include a dent in the tube, dirt/crud inside the tube, a lack of lubrication, and God knows what else. In a 100 year old rifle the tube accumulated a lot of residue along with some corrosion so the tube isn't nice, clean, and smooth. The Model 14 is truly fussy about the ammo so the crud or whatever will restrict the load along with the feed, you will never get it totally clean inside. I use a chamber brush with T/M bore cleaner to clean the tube and it can only really be done efficiently with it completely off the rifle and removed from the action bar...............very tricky!

Yes, you can dry fire it to relieve the tension on the spring.

Behave!

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC

[Oldguns10]

Thanks Jim.

I bought a Model 81. Do you have much experience with is rifle?

[nambujim]

The only Model 81 I have belonged to my dad's police department, took it apart back in 1964, and managed to get it back together but haven't touched it since.............and don't plan on it. Actually its a Model 8 in .35.

On the dry fire thing, its perfectly OK to do it every so often to relieve the tension on the spring but I wouldn't do continually. Those damn firing pins are pretty damn hefty (as are the springs) and the only one ever sent to me for repair was on a 141 where I think they over heat treated it. The metal on the Model 14 pins is far more soft.

Jim

[Oldguns10]

Thanks Jim. I understand the police version of the Model 8 is very desirable. Especially the history that yours has.

Understood on the dry firing. Never feels good doing it.

Cheers!