Parker Hale

[sikadog]

Does anyone know how to check the age of a PH 1200.
I have just purchased one from a member on here and it is shooting 1 moa with PPU 180s?

 

[Kalahari]

Doesn't really matter how old then. It will do the job. We need Kevin back for this sort of stuff.

David.

 

[VSS]

. We need Kevin back for this sort of stuff.

David.

+1
Perhaps he could be held back on a cyberleash, and only released when the phrase "Parker-Hale" crops up?
I know Brithunter drove a lot of folk mad, but he was a fount of knowledge on old rifles, and helped me a lot.
I wish I still had his email address, but sadly lost it when my old laptop died a death.

 

[reiver]

+1
Perhaps he could be held back on a cyberleash, and only released when the phrase "Parker-Hale" crops up?
I know Brithunter drove a lot of folk mad, but he was a fount of knowledge on old rifles, and helped me a lot.
I wish I still had his email address, but sadly lost it when my old laptop died a death.

 

[mereside]

Look him up on google he is still on many hunting/ shooting forums abroad, he always helped me out so much with my older rifles, Atb Wayne

 

[old man]

Look him up on google he is still on many hunting/ shooting forums abroad, he always helped me out so much with my older rifles, Atb Wayne

Try the Hunters Life Forum? (USA)

 

[enfieldspares]

Does anyone know how to check the age of a PH 1200.

Yes. But you may have to take it out of the stock t do that. If it is bedded that may not be what you want to do.

When you have pulled it from the stock use the "sticky" of Proof Date Codes I have posted on the Forum.

The letters in the "X" crossed swords will tell you year it was proved. Which for a P-Hale will usually be very close to the year it was made.

 

[enfieldspares]

Perhaps he could be held back on a cyberleash, and only released when the phrase "Parker-Hale" crops up?

No. That was "Beetlejuice"? Although it'd probably be hard to tell which was which. Or was that Catweazle?

Anyway, come to think of it, you never saw the two, or three, of them together...

 

[Kaardal317]

Anyone try taking the bolt Apart? I know they are basically Mauser 98 surplus. But the safety being removed from the bolt is throwing me a bit of a curve. Can't find anything online about dismantling the parker hale bolt.

Sorry to change your topic. But thought you might be interested as well. I just acquired my rifle last week. 30-06 caliber 1200c.

 

[8x57]

Anyone try taking the bolt Apart? I know they are basically Mauser 98 surplus. But the safety being removed from the bolt is throwing me a bit of a curve. Can't find anything online about dismantling the parker hale bolt.

Sorry to change your topic. But thought you might be interested as well. I just acquired my rifle last week. 30-06 caliber 1200c.

It's a long time since I owned a PH 1200 but if I remember correctly after ensuring that the rifle is unloaded you cock the bolt while still in the rifle and insert a small pin or screwdriver in the hole that appears in the tail of the bolt as you are closing the bolt in the rifle. You can then withdraw the bolt and unscrew the bolt shroud after depressing the small spring loaded plunger.

That should be sufficient for checking and cleaning. I wouldn't attempt to take the main spring off the firing pin.

 

[finnbear270]

Yes. But you may have to take it out of the stock t do that. If it is bedded that may not be what you want to do.

When you have pulled it from the stock use the "sticky" of Proof Date Codes I have posted on the Forum.

The letters in the "X" crossed swords will tell you year it was proved. Which for a P-Hale will usually be very close to the year it was made.

One of Kevin's posts#

Ahhh yes the Safari name was dropped when they went to numbers like the Model 1000, 1100, 1200 and later M81 in the sporting/stalking line up. we won't go into the military and target models here. many Safari models are not marked so which causes confusion and this non marking of models is what caused me to start collecting the Parker-Hale catalogues of which I now have over 20 of them. yet still have many years missing. The switch over from the name safari to the model numbers seems to have been 1968-71 as in the #70 catalogue the Standard Safari is also labelled as the Model 1000. The Models 1100 deluxe and 1200 Super are also listed in this one.

1969 is one of the years I am missing but I see the #68 lists the Super safari also as the model 1200.

IMHO I would avoid any that have Gibbs Rifle company on them as they were very shoddily put together if so bad that the American Gibbs outfit closed very quickly being in operation for less than two years. It seems the whole set up and running of it was very shady from the start.

The Midland 2100 was a fine rifle and was not a yank model. The yank one was the 2600 and quality was lacking in an awful lot of them.

The later Parker-Hale rifles were built, models 1000, 1100, 1200 and M81 upon Spanish made Mauser 98 clone actions. often the word "Spain" can be read on the side of the rear tang. So decry these actions but I can honestly say that I have found no problems with them and own several with thsi marking. It was rumoured to be "Santa Barbera" of Spain which made them for Parker-Hale.

The Model 1200 came is several variants being the "Super", "Varmint" "Super Clip" Super magnum" and "TX (which was the target version).

 

[Kaardal317]

It's a long time since I owned a PH 1200 but if I remember correctly after ensuring that the rifle is unloaded you cock the bolt while still in the rifle and insert a small pin or screwdriver in the hole that appears in the tail of the bolt as you are closing the bolt in the rifle. You can then withdraw the bolt and unscrew the bolt shroud after depressing the small spring loaded plunger.

That should be sufficient for checking and cleaning. I wouldn't attempt to take the main spring off the firing pin.

Thanks 8x57, I will give that a try

 

[bewsher500]

Thanks 8x57, I will give that a try

Easy enough to strip
As above to pull the pin and shroud assembly

once unscrewed to remove spring hold shroud and push tip of firing pin into a wooden block or something soft like a rubber mat
compress spring until shroud is clear of the cocking piece
twist cocking piece 1/4 turn slide off end of pin and release shroud slowly

i would always strip a newly acquired rifle, grit inside the spring is common and a source of significant wear of both spring and pin

 

[Kaardal317]

Easy enough to strip
As above to pull the pin and shroud assembly

once unscrewed to remove spring hold shroud and push tip of firing pin into a wooden block or something soft like a rubber mat
compress spring until shroud is clear of the cocking piece
twist cocking piece 1/4 turn slide off end of pin and release shroud slowly

i would always strip a newly acquired rifle, grit inside the spring is common and a source of significant wear of both spring and pin

Thanks. The bolt is the last part for me to strip. Then gonna make a little project of refinishing the stock. I haven't looked up the date code yet to see how old this rifle is. I think its older as the stock has not been pinned. I think parker hale started pinning the stocks on their later models

 

[bewsher500]

Get some photos up and also ask Norman clark, they have good records

 

[sikadog]

Back to the original Question I took the action out of the stock and checked the number and its proofed in 1977 and with PPU 180s its shooting MOA.

 

[Conure]

So where are the photos? as I have seen mentioned on here by some one ..................... no photo means it did not happen. Plus I would like to see photos of the rifle please?

 

[Kaardal317]

I'm having trouble uploading pictures from my phone. The stamp underneath the barrel with the swords has a u3b in it. If I'm correct in reading the date code that would mean march 1969?

 

[Conure]

If I remember right the 3 is the inspectors number so the proof house knows who did the inspection. I think there is an old thread on the Birmingham prrof marks and the view mark somewhere on these forums. Am fairly sure that is where I read this.

 

[Adamant]

Yes. But you may have to take it out of the stock t do that. If it is bedded that may not be what you want to do.

When you have pulled it from the stock use the "sticky" of Proof Date Codes I have posted on the Forum.

The letters in the "X" crossed swords will tell you year it was proved. Which for a P-Hale will usually be very close to the year it was made.

I have a special order Parker Hale 7mm Rem' Mag', built on of a batch of pre-war Mauser Obendorf 98 actions that PH acquired in the 60s. The rifle was ordered as one of 3 in 1980, put into dry storage by the customer for 30 years and not proofed until it was sold 2011 - due to laziness on my part and having too many other rifles to hand, it has still never fired anything other than the rounds used at the Birmingham Proof House.

In addition to the 7mm RM 'special', I currently have several other Parker Hale rifles in my possession - .308 Superclip, .223 Superclip Varmint, 7x57 1200 Safari, .270 1200, another 7mm RM 1200 Safari Deluxe, .243 1100 and a .22-250 1200 - all shoot approx' 1 MOA at 100 yards with factory ammo and I can usually reduce that significantly with careful home loading.

Sometimes the aesthetics are a bit challenging - a couple of mine are little slices of the 1970s with turd coloured varnish finish and ugly squared-off forends but the 1960s-built guns from the Safari and Safari Deluxe ranges are lovely, with classic shaped oiled walnut stocks, great bluing etc. I'd hate to think what an equivalent rifle would cost these days.

A.