Parker Hale rifles

lhump1961

lhump1961

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Recently picked up a 1971 Parker Hale 1200 super 24" barrel in .270. Very nice shape with a mauser bolt. Everything I have researched said positive things so I would be interested in what you folks have to say.

Considered all the current production rifles and there are some nice ones but felt compelled to step back in the past a little and get something different. Sako gets my attention but so does there price tag! Off to the range tomorrow with my new old .270.:)

Any thoughts?
 
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They had a good reputation and I liked the look of them as they had decent wood stocks.
 
That was my dad's favorite rifle--in .308. I gave it to his best friend when my dad died and he bawled like a baby. One of his sons still has it and shoots it regularly. They are outstanding rifles.
 
I think they used more than one type of Mauser 98 action, some from La Coruna Arsenal in Spain.


I had a .270 briefly and liked it okay. I preferred the BSA as far as British rifles go.


The brand is solid, if better known for making sporters from surplus LE and P-14 rifles.
 
Actually Parker Hale also did conversions of the #4 series of Lee Enfields, p14 and model of 1917 enfields in different grades. I've a Long Branch #4 MKI* that was done up as a sporter. Bbl cut back, forend also shortened and Parker Hale sporting front sight base that uses the #4 sight blades. Frank
 
I think the Parker Hale 1200s are a great value. What is there not to like about a rifle built around a solid, classic Mauser 98 action.
 
My brother-in-law got a 7mm Mag Parker-Hale for his graduation present. He killed a good number of deer and elk with it, as well as a few antelope. When he passed my sister asked me to keep it in my safe, where it holds a place of honor and always will.

I've always felt like the Parker-Hale rifle line was underappreciated. Although I'm as guilty as others and don't own one at this time. If I were to locate a good straight one in 7mm Mauser (unfortunately I'm not sure that was an option.) I might change that.
 
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Have a 1973 vintage Parker Hale 1200 in .270. Paid $125 for it new in the box. Closest thing to looking like Weatherby wood without the price tag.

Have since put a Leupold 3x7 4 plex scope on it. Use it every year for deer and antelope. Found the 4 plex works as a range finder for whitetails, between the strata at 2x = 100 yards, 4x = 200 yards, 6x = 300 yards. Have mine set with a 300 zero, prints 3.5" high at 100, dead on at 300, 4" low at 360.

Nice shooting rifle. Never had any issues. Gun will typically shoot less than 1" at 100 yards with the right loads. Mine likes the Nosler ballistic tip ahead of 54.5 grains of IMR 4350 seated about .040 off the lands. Gives me 3000 FPS and .75" groups all day, Speer 130 boat tails, same load .020 off the lands shoots just as well.

Never seen the need to go heavier than 130 for what I hunt / shoot. Good shoulder shot, never had a deer go more than 10 yards, most drop in their tracks.
 
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The Parker Hale 1200 and similar commercial mausers from that era, the FNs, the store brands, Harrington, Husqvarna, Interarms etc... are generally all great guns and a tremendous value. Parts will never be a problem, stocks, triggers or barrels all easy to find, but it will probably last for generations without repair.
 
In the 70's my sisters new husband found he had married into a family of hunters.he had shot very little and decided to buy a deer rifle. The local pawn shop gun shop put PH 270 Win on the rack. It had beautiful wood, cut rifling and double trigers. A GI HD bought it overseas and lost it on pawn. It was scoped. My BIL bought it. I told him if he did not want it I was buying it. I told him if he sold it I got 1st chance or I was buying it. He said ok.

I zeroed it in for him, under an inch at a hundred. I had a pretty 64 Win in 270 and did not need another 270. But the gun was so nice I should ha e bought it and lent it to him.

Did I mention he was a dead beat?

Next deer season he asked if I had a deer rifle he could borrow. I asked about the PH,he would not respond. My sister us a good person who did not, vett, this yoyo.

I asked her and found out he pawned it right after deer season and lost it. I told him I did not have one and was ticked he did not sell it to me. He did not hunt with us or any one else again. A few years later he took a huge check from my brothers company which killed the company. He went to the bank and applied for a loan on a new truck, took the papers home for my sister to sign, forged her name and left the state.

My brother wanted to make guitar strings of the thief innards. Later the bank repo'd the truck. Since he was employed by my bro and it would have caused many problems he was not prosecuted. My sister divorce ed him and laid some back but bro made her quit.

PH made a great gun. I looked for a twin over the years but never saw one.
A dealer told me it was probably built for the European market.

Today PH raised a long dead skeleton. He melted his innards on drugs and alcohol and was dead before 40. In death he cheated a guitar of new strings.
 
Now that's an authentic dead beat! I owned a Parker Hale 270 Weatherby Magnum a few years back, lost the sight in my right eye so I could no longer see the scope, sold all the rifles except a few .22s and shotguns. The PH was a beautiful rifle and shot good too.
 
I've owned more bolt action rifles than I can count. I have had
Paker Hale in 243-270-30/06. I must have owned 10 of them in
30/06. Being a bit of a rifle snob, I was into Pre 64, m70s and a
few Browning Safaris, Sako, Styer, ect. But I will tell you this,
without mentioning names I would rather have a Parker Hale
or any other good European name brand built on 98 actions, than
95% of the B/As on maket today. One of the last ones I had was
imported by Interarms, and was marked made in England on
the action.
 
Drm50 said:
I've owned more bolt action rifles than I can count. I have had
Paker Hale in 243-270-30/06. I must have owned 10 of them in
30/06. Being a bit of a rifle snob, I was into Pre 64, m70s and a
few Browning Safaris, Sako, Styer, ect. But I will tell you this,
without mentioning names I would rather have a Parker Hale
or any other good European name brand built on 98 actions, than
95% of the B/As on maket today. One of the last ones I had was
imported by Interarms, and was marked made in England on
the action.
Click to expand...


The rifle was made in England but I bet the action was made in Spain. Probably a real surprise to Sir Walter Raleigh's ghost...
 
Figured y'all needed photos of some sort!

I have two P-Hs:

jmoorestuff033.jpg

M85 (7,62x51. Uses 10rd M14 mags as designed, but 20rd work, too.) The spigot protruding from the front of the forestock is for the P-H bipod, a good design that's been copied since Parker Hale's closing.

With the drop box mag., closed top receiver, and long barrel engagement, the M85 may be the ultimate evolution of the basic 1898 action. (BTW, the McMillan "McHale" stock is just a fiberglass version of P-H's wooden design.)
b9214043-e3b7-4cc6-a31d-dc3a56914bb9_zps0c3baa2c.jpg


jmoorestuff001-1.jpg

C3a1. Also 7,62x51.

But not nearly as refined as the M85. Action bedding at the rear left a fair amount to be desired!
 
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Pulled the action out of my PH 1200, .270 for some deep cleaning and noticed ( for the first time) it came from the factory with front and rear pillar bedding posts.

Have had it part before but have never really paid much attention to that level of detail.
 
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