Recently recieved this .30-06 Parker Hale. All it says on it is Parker Hale Ltd Birmingham England. It has a detachable mag that feeds flawlessly with my dummy rounds. Are these decent hunting rifles? haven't taken it out to experiment with handloads or groupings yet. I topped it with a Leupold M8 6x for now. When it come to bolt guns i'm a Savage guy at heart.

Nothing wrong with them at all. It is most likely built on a Santa Barbera commercial barrelled action made in Spain. I never had a SB barrel that did not shoot great, I used to buy them locally for $40 and rebarrel military mausers. I never had a problem with an SB action either and ZI have several with lots of rounds through them.

For hunting, they are as good a FACTORY rifle as you are gong to find.

They have a Mauser copy for an action. Some have adjustable triggers, Some do not. Wood is not fancy, but is usually well laid out and strong.

They are not target rifles, but I have had several of them and none grouped larger than about 1-1/2" 5-shot groups with factory ammo...and generally half an inch tighter groups (1 MOA or thereabouts) with selected handloads.

if you're a Savage guy.....you'll dump them all after owning a Parker-Hale!

quote:

Originally posted by thirdbite:
Do you really think a cast Spanish action is that good? Just wondering.

Yes it well kill all kinds of game.

Let's leave out the nationalist pride, and consider what you asked.

Yes, I think a properly made cast action is just as good as a forged one...for a hunting rifle. Ruger uses cast actions amd their castngs are designed to last a minimum of 50,000 shots. No person I have ever met will fire a centerfire rifle that many times at game other than perhaps jackrabbits or prairie dogs, or the two combined.

Investment casting is done just as well in Spain as in other countries, so I see no problems with that.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
For hunting, they are as good a FACTORY rifle as you are gong to find.

They have a Mauser copy for an action. Some have adjustable triggers, Some do not. Wood is not fancy, but is usually well laid out and strong.

They are not target rifles, but I have had several of them and none grouped larger than about 1-1/2" 5-shot groups with factory ammo...and generally half an inch tighter groups (1 MOA or thereabouts) with selected handloads.

Alberta Canuck has the measure of these rifles.

There were various models of Parker Hale rifle produced by the great firm over the years with production sadly culminating in the Midland models which represented a low point in terms of fit and finish. These later models were built up from a rough sand cast receiver matched to a job lot of Springfield 1903 bolts PH managed to obtain cheap. On these models feeding troubles can arise with short action cartridges like the .243 and .22-50 as the mag box and feed rails were not at that were just made to 7x57/8x57 intermediate length original specification.

The earlier models often had excellent bluing and good wood for what was a lower cost rifle.

Pretty much every one I have encountered has had a good adjustable trigger, the later Timney trigger is suspiciously similar...

The adjustments are easy to do:

PH were known for their excellent hammer forged barrels and you would be unlucky to find one that doesn't shoot. Parker hale made some excellent mauser actioned target rifles. My club at Bisley has two, one straight forward NRA Highpower type rifle and a rather tasty M85.

Enfieldspares on these forums is extremely knowledgeable about English guns and the trade, perhaps a nicely worded PM to him ought to net you the exact model number.

quote:

Originally posted by thirdbite:

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
Let's leave out the nationalist pride, and consider what you asked.

Yes, I think a properly made cast action is just as good as a forged one...for a hunting rifle. Ruger uses cast actions amd their castngs are designed to last a minimum of 50,000 shots. No person I have ever met will fire a centerfire rifle that many times at game other than perhaps jackrabbits or prairie dogs, or the two combined.

Investment casting is done just as well in Spain as in other countries, so I see no problems with that.

Isn't there a difference between investment cast as used by Ruger and the regular cast steel used on the SB? I have a commercial forged Spanish action and my understanding is it likely isn't as strong as other Mausers such as a Mark X.

It's strong enough.

There were some Parker Hales built as push feeds instead of CRF. Those guns are considered not as preferred. None the less, they are solid rifles that shoot well. I have a "truck gun" Parker Hale in .30-06. It shoots great with a cheap Burris scope mounted.

The 25-06 PH I played with had a fancy pot metal trigger that broke. Other than that it was a pretty decent hunting rifle.

If you're a "Savage guy", you've moved up considerably on the quality list with the PH. But then, if you're a "Savage guy", you had no where to go but up.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
If you're a "Savage guy", you've moved up considerably on the quality list with the PH. But then, if you're a "Savage guy", you had no where to go but up.

Yeah but did I move "up" as you put it, in the accuracy department?

Only an amount of time and powder will tell.....

quote:

Yeah but did I move "up" as you put it, in the accuracy department?

accuracy is of no value when the gun is not functioning.....