Not wishing to be contentious but what constitutes a classic British rifle? I know that Brithunter is a great fan of Parker Hale and BSA rifles and I don’t want to upset him but personally I wouldn’t consider most Parker Hale rifles as classic British rifles. My first centrefire rifle was a Parker Hale and I think of them as good rifles in their day and still very good value for money, hey I was even tempted to start collecting them myself a few years back but I can’t think of most of them as typical classic British rifles.
Right the reasons for my thinking.
1. Parker Hale rifles were assembled from a series of parts bins. Originally various military actions were adapted and in later years Santa Barbara (excuse spelling) commercial actions from Spain were utilised.
2. Many Parker Hale rifles resembled horrid mock Weatherby rifles with white plastic spacers and skip line chequering, certainly not what a classic British rifle should look like in my opinion.
Saying that the finest Parker Hale to my way of thinking and the one closest to the classic British style was one of the last models that they produced the M81 classic.
Enfieldsports has a very valid point about rifles based on military Mauser actions being prevented from import in to the U.S.A.
Now I’ll duck out of the debate and go to the garage to look for my grandfathers old steel helmet and await the incoming. Nothing personal Kev it’s just that we all have different views on what constitutes a classic British rifle.
It's OK when I was much younger I didn't look at the Parker-Hales much myself as I was too tied up in the Lee Enfield and it's varients and much prefered the BSA rifles. P-H didn't even start making their line of sporting rifles until they moved to the old BSA Sparkbrook site. Lew Potter told me that when they were sorting outt he place they found in alcoves in the tunnel range thousands of new Mauser 98 actions and that's why they started producing rifles. Unlike BSA P-H never made the actions but they did make the barrels. So far I have not been able to find out who made the triggers the stocks came from Sile of italy who alos supplied the late BSA stocks after the accountants closed dow the stocking shop.
The stock style was heavily influenced by the American market which of course is far larger than the UK market and I am sorry to say that the Californian influence of Roy Weatherby is obvious hence the P-H super styling
and the white line spacers. P-H's American agents/importers and sales folks at Sparkbrook did them no favors in that respect. Ole Roy has a lot to answer for
one heck of a salesman even if he had no original ideas of his own.
Now one must remember that Holland & Holland, Purdy, Rigby and Westley Richards all built on the Mauser 98 action anda re considered
"THE" English rifles so how you can say Parker-Hale is not? begs the question if they are not what exactly is?
The late Sanata Barabra actions do not have any thumb cut out so that is a non point oh and yes it appears the name Sanat Barabra may be a made up one for sales of commercial actions and rifles, Frank De Haas puts forwards the theory that they were in fact made in La Coruana the Spanish Government arsenal.
The problem with "Classic" rifles is that over the centuries it has changed and evolved in style, the long 25" and longer barrels with stand and leaf express sights gave way to shorter 22" barrels and a simple folding leaf rear sight, the stock styles ahve changed firstly to make the used of scopes easier then of course to appease the larger customer base. Not all the changes have been for the better IMHO. If oen has the funds there are those who like Ron Wharton of Rigby's who will build you a classic English sporting rifle.