I'm getting ready for final assembly of a target rifle I'm building on a Parker-Hale sniper receiver (Mod. 86)
I'm wondering if I should have the receiver heat treated like a Mauser or is that not neccesary with this steel?

I have seen M86 receivers on sale from time to time and described as "cast". I don't know if they all were or how that would factor into heat treating or not. Just thought I would mention it.

I bought this one off GB a few years ago so I not know it's history. I have seen similar models for sale as unfinished castings. My sample is finished and has a serial number.

I'm not familiar with that rifle but there was an old steel making method called "cast steel " which is not a casting as we know it. I don't know if that's the case with yours.

Be very careful with this. You need to have the hardness checked. When these were sold there was a disclaimer to heat treating. If not ht'd then it will have to be sent to a reputable firm to do this.All the M series receivers were the left overs from various manufacturing op's either at Parker Hale or Gibbs. SN were applied prior to ht. Ron(Canada0

If it is one of the unfinished receivers being sold, it does need to be heat treated, but since no one knows what alloy is made from, that might be a challenge. You need to find out what steel was used. Bad things happen when you treat 4140 steel like 1018. I believe I read that these were investment castings but I never heard what the steel is.

Well, I was able to contact Val Forgett this was his reply regarding a similar but unfinished casting presently on Gun Broker;

"These were made by Yeovil Precision Casting in England out of EN9, they have not been hardened and would need to be."
I tried a small file on couple inconspicuous spots on the receiver and was able to cut, so it's off to the metal processor for this receiver.

Investment cast means cast in a mold made from a ceramic slurry around a wax pattern. Cast means cast into a mold, none of which could be as precise as investment cast ones. Ruger was not the first to use investment castings. But they certainly are the biggest. Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, what is EN9 steel? Another thing; just because you can cut it with a file, means nothing. You can cut any current alloy steel receiver made, easily, and nickel steel Springfields too.
OK I just looked up EN9; it is 1055 steel, which means it is a medium carbon plain steel (no chrome or moly). They won't case harden that; it already has plenty of carbon in it to make it hard (.55 percent). The heat treat place will know what to do.

On the left of the front receiver ring.

Where the s/n would be on a Nazi 98K is there a snall stamped crown symbol with BNP under it?

If so this receiver has already been proof tested in the UK.

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
On the left of the front receiver ring.
Where the s/n would be on a Nazi 98K is there a snall stamped crown symbol with BNP under it?
If so this receiver has already been proof tested in the UK.

There is no proof mark.

Thirdbite; You are correct "Lost Wax Casting" and "Investment Casting" are the same thing.

Strength is the same as for steel milled from bar stock; well proven over the past 50 years by millions of Ruger rifles and handguns, all of which are damn near impossible to harm. Now, you can't compare "regular cast steel" to the investment process as no one makes gun parts from "regular" (and I assume you mean sand casting) cast steel. Investment casting is not an expensive process and you get very precise parts; as good as your wax pattern. I have made the patterns and the molds for it.

I finally found a testing lab that primarily inspects welds but they were able to test this receiver.

The machine they used put a very small diamond shaped mark on the receiver and then they measure the mark to determine the hardness. The receiver in question is 40 Rockwell.

That's about what you need. The typical standard ,at least in the USA , is 4140 but hardened to about 40 HRc also.