The forgotten Remington pump centerfires

Guns Magazine, May, 2004 by Charles E. Petty

This is a test. Quickly now, what's the first thing that pops into your mind if I say, "Remington?" For me, the first thing would have been the legendary Model 870 until I recently discovered a couple of pump rifles from the teens that have brought a whole new dimension to plinking for me. The heck of it is that when I started to look for one, hardly anyone knew what I was talking about. Of course I didn't either until a friend told me how much fun his was.

Firearms manufacturers must have some way to tell things apart and the most common way is to use model numbers. Sometimes a model will get a name or even a combination of name and number--the 870 Wingmaster comes easily to mind, And in the scheme of identifying similar models it is very common to have a letter stuck on the end like the Winchester Model 52: A, B, C or D. But it is rare to have the number plus a fraction. Smith & Wesson did it once, Stevens a couple of times and Remington did it once. Which brings us to their Model 14 1/2 slide action--or pump if you prefer--that has me much enamored.

Keeping Up With The Winchesters

Back in 1908 Remington wanted something to compete with Winchester's famed Model 94 but the faster, smoother operation of a pump gun had a lot of advantages. Remington was already making pump shotguns (the Model 10), and .22 rifles (the Model 12) that were designed by John D. Pedersen. Most of us know his name because of the Pedersen device of World War I, but he was a gifted designer who was the backbone of Remington guns during the early years of the 20th Century.

Pedersen was given the assignment to design a high-power pump to compete with Winchester's lever actions. That he did and the Model 14 was launched in 1912. It brought with it a whole family of rimless cartridges that were counterparts of the rimmed family of Model 94 rounds. There was the .25 Remington, analogous to the .25-35; the .30 Remington (.30-30) and the .32 Remington (.32 Winchester Special). Later they would add the .35 Remington.

The Model 14 was butter smooth and Pedersen cleverly designed a magazine tube with a spiral groove that allowed pointed cartridges to he loaded in the tubular magazine without fear of unexpected noises.

It is logical to conclude that competitiveness led Remington, in 1914, to offer a pump chambered for the cartridges that were synonymous with the Model 92 Winchester. They elected to offer the .38-40 and .44-40 chamberings in a rifle only slightly different from the Model 14. Maybe that's why they called it the 14 1/2? The two cartridges were known to be popular with law enforcement and were widely used as guard guns.

A Better Design?

Both the 14 and 14 1/2 offered substantial advantages over the lever actions in speed of operation and ease of loading. The Pedersen design had a loading gate on the bottom of the magazine tube with a cover that lifted a bit to expose the magazine follower. After the first round was inserted the bullet of the next pushed the rim of the preceding cartridge up the tube. To me it is ever so much easier to load than the lever action. The loading gate doesn't scrape off brass or skin.

One of the things that gives the Remington such a smooth action is the fact that the action bar and magazine tube move together. It a little startling to see the magazine tube move, but it slides freely within one or two barrel bands, I always thought that contributed to the easy, reliable feeding. Some of the magazines have a part called a "brush guard" that is present to deflect debris from getting between the magazine tube and barrel.

Chinese Puzzle

One of Pedersen's less glowing claims to fame is that his designs tended to be complicated--maybe excessively so. Ingenious absolutely, but manufacture was sometimes difficult due to the complex interaction of parts. The 14 is that way and while it is beautifully easy to take apart for storage or cleaning--there is a single screw--woe be unto the unwary guy who takes the bolt apart.

There are pieces in there that remain something of a mystery after more than a little study. The good news is that you don't need to take it apart either. The bolt can get by nicely with a drop of oil now and then. All the cleaning you need to do can be accomplished by removing the stock and then carefully removing the bolt as a unit. The connection between the bolt and action bar is a hook on the bar that engages a slot on the bolt. It takes a bit of manipulating at first until you learn how it goes and then the bolt slips on easily.

In the beginning the Model 14 sold briskly with a total production of 71,440 between 1912 and 1919. The problem is that both the 14 and 14 1/2 were lumped together in a serial number range that ran from number 1 so there is no way to precisely know the production of any caliber or model variation. After 1919 things slowed down, and the 14 1/2 was discontinued in 1925 after a total of 93,586 rifles of both models were made.

The Model 14 continued in the line until it was replaced by the Model 141 in 1936. Total production was 125,052. To further complicate things Remington offered both rifle (22") and carbine (18.5") barrels. On the carbines you could have it with or without a saddle ring at no extra charge. To indicate the carbine styles the letter "R" was appended to the model number.