I recently purchased a Remington Model 14 1/2 rifle from Cabelas. It came out of a Denver store and is chambered in .38-40. I can back out of the deal and need to decide whether to keep it or not. I am a stickler for all of my old guns to be OEM, as they came out of the factory. So when Bubba gets ahold of them and starts to butcher and modify them, that is an instant deal breaker for me. I have all of the model 8's and model 14's in all 4 calibers already. And I have a model 14 1/2 in .44-40, so this would fill out my collection. I also have the 2 Model 25's as well. So this would be the last piece of the puzzle for me.
The problem is that Bubba got ahold of this one already. Someone chopped about 3/4" off of the stock and removed the steel buttplate with the Remington logo on it. And replaced it with a thick, black plastic buttplate. It is professionally installed, but it is not factory. The rear sight is a replacement also. But it looks to have had a receiver peep sight on it at one time. So it may not have had a rear sight to start with. I could live with that. The deal breaker is that, it is the rifle with the 22" barrel on it, but it has a short , or carbine length magazine tube on it. My online research doesn't find any full length rifle that left the factory with a carbine magazine tube on it ?? The barrel and the magazine tube are weathered about the same and the patina matches fairly close on both of them. Every screwhead on the entire rifle looks like it has never seen a screwdriver. The screws have never been touched. The bore is nice and shiny and looks great. And the best part is that the wood is pristine with no cracks or splits. That is unheard of, the fore-end is usually always cracked around the screwheads. And the wrist of the stock is always cracked at the receiver and working back into the wrist of the stock. Usually in several places. So this rifle is in beautiful condition except for the chop job on the stock.
My question is, is there any chance that this rifle could have come from the factory with the 22" barrel AND a short carbine magazine tube. Chambered in .38-40 ?? Or was the short magazine tube the result of Bubba modifying it at some point in it's life ?? I have a picture that I will try to attach to this message. Any input will be appreciated.
Need some advice on a Model 14 1/2 rifle
Need some advice on a Model 14 1/2 rifle
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- REM 14 12.jpg (4.82 MiB) Viewed 57 times
Re: Need some advice on a Model 14 1/2 rifle
IS IT CONGRATULATIONS OR CONDOLENCES....?
You have possibly found a rarity.... it could be original, i have never seen the small 'filler" under the barrel at magazine end though. That area is where the second magazine hanger normally is slid into a dovetail. Remington would do some "off the wall stuff" to make a rifle order. The factory would mix up serial numbers by as much as a decade, use a barrel with A front sight boss from a model 14 on 141 and all kinds of antics so I would say..... it could possibly have came from Ilion, N.Y. that way.
BUT the likely history of this little sweetheart is that the magazine end was damaged, the owner took it to a Smith and there it was ring cut and fitted for the end plug screw. To keep it from hanging up on the front hanger, the hanger was removed and the Smith very thoughtfully machined the ring off and reinstalled the dovetail and peened it. Some evidence to back that up is the patina wear at the very end lightens up like it was cycled through the ring.
I added a two comparison pics below that show a short mag compared to a normal 11 shot mag. Notice the short mag has no second hanger. "The classic Remington Model 14" and 14 1/2, model 25, and 141 book by KEN BLAUCH is a wealth of knowledge on these rare little darlings....
Those 14 1/2's are hard to find, you might use this information as a bargaining tool and buy her to keep for a few hunnerd less.. just sayin'.... a modified 14 1/2 in 38 is better than no 14 1/2 at all there were so few made that in my opinion all of them are precious........
In my humble opinion that repair isn't a Bubba fix, it was just a Smith making an old gun useable again as parts for 14 1/2 dried up after being discontinued.
"Historical Details & Specifications:
Calibers: Chambered in .44 Rem. (.44-40) and .38-40 Rem.
Magazine Capacity: The rifle holds 11 cartridges, and the carbine version holds 9
Magazine Variations: A half-magazine rifle was available at no additional cost
. Some special smoothbore variations were also produced in .44 caliber.
Grades & Models: Available in Grades A, C, D, and F. The carbine version was designated as Grade R."
The above quoted information from the internet but referencing the REMINGTON SOCIETY
Ray Watson
You have possibly found a rarity.... it could be original, i have never seen the small 'filler" under the barrel at magazine end though. That area is where the second magazine hanger normally is slid into a dovetail. Remington would do some "off the wall stuff" to make a rifle order. The factory would mix up serial numbers by as much as a decade, use a barrel with A front sight boss from a model 14 on 141 and all kinds of antics so I would say..... it could possibly have came from Ilion, N.Y. that way.
BUT the likely history of this little sweetheart is that the magazine end was damaged, the owner took it to a Smith and there it was ring cut and fitted for the end plug screw. To keep it from hanging up on the front hanger, the hanger was removed and the Smith very thoughtfully machined the ring off and reinstalled the dovetail and peened it. Some evidence to back that up is the patina wear at the very end lightens up like it was cycled through the ring.
I added a two comparison pics below that show a short mag compared to a normal 11 shot mag. Notice the short mag has no second hanger. "The classic Remington Model 14" and 14 1/2, model 25, and 141 book by KEN BLAUCH is a wealth of knowledge on these rare little darlings....
Those 14 1/2's are hard to find, you might use this information as a bargaining tool and buy her to keep for a few hunnerd less.. just sayin'.... a modified 14 1/2 in 38 is better than no 14 1/2 at all there were so few made that in my opinion all of them are precious........
In my humble opinion that repair isn't a Bubba fix, it was just a Smith making an old gun useable again as parts for 14 1/2 dried up after being discontinued.
"Historical Details & Specifications:
Calibers: Chambered in .44 Rem. (.44-40) and .38-40 Rem.
Magazine Capacity: The rifle holds 11 cartridges, and the carbine version holds 9
Magazine Variations: A half-magazine rifle was available at no additional cost
. Some special smoothbore variations were also produced in .44 caliber.
Grades & Models: Available in Grades A, C, D, and F. The carbine version was designated as Grade R."
The above quoted information from the internet but referencing the REMINGTON SOCIETY
Ray Watson
- early 44-40 DCP 14.5
- 44-40 magazine full.png (1.06 MiB) Viewed 10 times
- Early 44-40 Short mag 14.5
- 44-40 magazine half.png (1.27 MiB) Viewed 10 times