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Paul Leverman

I wish I could show you what I see, but unfortunately my optical equipment belongs on the ark. I'll try to describe it starting with the bolt. In comparing the marks on the P-14 lugs with lugs on my Ruger (that I know are lapped) they are very similar. Clean lines, extending into any pits that are present. Bright steel, but not a mirror-like gloss like hammered steel. The edges of the lugs show what I believe to be the original relief cuts. They are rough-ish and discoloured (black) inside the machining marks. Also, the burrs from the "lapping" extend into and over these machining marks. There is some evidence that whoever did this tried to clean it up with something, but it didn't work very well. It probably looked ok from a distance in the dark, but not under magnification. The matching surfaces inside the receiver also show clean and bright, but not shiny. There are also areas on one surface where the process hit some high points and missed a fairly large low point, only to catch the next high point again. Neither of these areas in the receiver show any signs of being hammered (fired) as the fine grinding marks are clearly visible.

There is only one hole drilled and tapped on the top of the receiver, at the rear where the sights would have been. It is between the ears, or what's left of them, and just forward of a fairly deep milled slot. The front of the receiver above the threads is clean, no holes.

My best guess is that someone started to make something with this action and decided that just buying a rifle would be easier. But who knows? I don't even know how far I'll take it. The first thing I have to do is build the detent used in the safety (if a ball bearing doesn't work), and find a suitable spring for it as well.

I really hope this works out as a usable action. The tolerances that are built into it are incredible. This thing is massive, relatively speaking. They didn't skimp on steel, that's for sure.