Trying to Locate M85 transit case

[Gil9713]

Morning all from the new guy on the block,
I am trying to locate an original Parker Hale M85 sniper rifle transit case in green alloy as issued to keep my rifle company.
Anybody got one to sell? or even better if you have one let me know who made them for Parker Hale please

 

[Badgerord]

Never seen one and I have seen a lot!

Any Pics?

Marty
Badger Ordnance

 

[TacT-MecH]

Would it be possible for you guys to post pictures of your m85's. I have most of one but am missing a couple parts for my sight, and the scope. I also need to see what kind of finish is on the reciver. Mine is unfinished, but all the holes are tapped and the bolt ways are smooth. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Gil9713]

Hope these two are what you want
Gil

 

[Gil9713]

Receiver area picture hope this helps you. My rifle was built by Parker Hale on the 17th January 1990 and sent to 16 PARA Brigade of which I was a member

 

[Gil9713]

Marty,
Here is the case I am looking for. Often ditched in favour of what was a new technology then,ie the green plastic PELI cases, which have their place. Therefore the aluminum ones were discarded by many sniper trained lads as they looked antiquated at the time, however, I want to have my rifle the way it was issued, and therefore seek the old aluminum case.
If anyone finds one or more please let me know as I will make it worth their while

 

[Gil9713]

Misfire apologies

 

[BasraBoy]

Gil9713, Not sure where you are located or if you want to deal outside the US but, if you're OK with this, I'd recommend you contact Norman Clark Gunsmiths in the UK.

They have three M85's in stock right now and a great inventory of PH parts.

They may be the guys to help you?

 

[Gil9713]

Basra Boy,
I deal with Norman Clark all the time as many ex Parker Hale employees work for them on a part time basis.
Norman was my first port of call and only a few miles away. Sadly many of the M85's for sale currently are in the same predicament.......no original cases.
My local Police Force sent them to the tip only 2 months ago after being fed up falling over them all the time in the armoury............grrrrrrrrrrrr I remember it clearly, we had a choice of using the original case, but because it had sharp corners and often snagged in vehicles the move went the way of green PELI cases with more rounded lines and of course lighter, and basically it was seen to be moving with the times................Plastic!!!!!
Could have put a nice lump into their Police Pensioners Fund had they kept a few back! I have a few feelers out currently on other sites and Police and Military friends who work at Ordnance Depots around the country, where these type of cases sit covered in dust in a corner somewhere. Only to be found after the war in Afghanistan relieves the pressure a bit and then they will be skipped I'm sure.
Thanks for the thought.
I have just finished a piece on the background to Police/Military sniper shooting here in the UK and why I believe the Accuracy International L96A1 won over on the M85 which came a very very very close second when tested to replace the L42A1 in the middle 80's. Alongside others tested were the Remy 700/and SIG. The Remington 700 is still used by several Police Forces here in the UK. Several Police Forces including my own in which I served had the M85 for a long time then moved over to the L96 when Parker Hale started to disappear!
The L42A1 is still a remarkable rifle in its own right and still used by many countries as their favored weapon of choice.
Sad day for professional shooting in my view

 

[BasraBoy]

Gil9713, looks like you have all the bases covered in the UK.

One thought...maybe a long shot and maybe something you've already done...have you tried contacting Peter Laidler? He's normally not far away if you are a member of milsurps.com and a very approachable and helpful bloke.

 

[Gil9713]

No never met Peter, but know Ian Skellerton who now lives in Aus.
I have a real problem logging onto Milsurps for whatever reason, and as my other rifle is a 4T it would be nice to be able to get back on, but there's no response to my change of password request so I can't.
Ian may have Peters email address I'll check, thanks for that. I can't believe no one has a redundant case sitting around amazing..........now thats what I call rare as rocking horse shit!!

 

[BasraBoy]

If you get stuck, let me know.....Peter isn't that far from me and helped me out a lot on my No32 scope....I may be able to dig up some contact details for you.

Sounds like the M85 cases are going (gone?) the same way as the L42 transit cases and the old Chest No15!

 

[Gil9713]

You could always ask him for me, you never know.

 

[BasraBoy]

PM inbound

 

[Gil9713]

Roger received Cheers Andy

 

[rgg_7]

Do you know the manufaturer of the M85 case?

 

[ChrisF]

To me it looks exactly the same as the cases that came with the AI AW rifles , so I would look at maybe getting one that takes the AW & modify the inside , in short , I have seen these cases with the AWs sent to NZ Army , and I had the option of getting one for my AW in 2007 , but when I saw the price , and as far as i am concerned they are not worth the price asked ( Opps I think they are crap , compared to say the Peli etc ) .
About the only thing they have going is they are seen in pics of the rifles on flyers etc , as to completeness , BUT donot bring anything really worth while to the party .

AI will be happy to sell you one at a crazy high price .

I maybe wrong , BUT I was under the impression , that the 3x M85s that Norman had , where NON-firing prototypes etc , and as such collectable , BUT in no way a real shootable rifle , so just a wall hanger ONLY .

Later Chris

 

[ChrisF]

To me it looks exactly the same as the cases that came with the AI AW rifles , so I would look at maybe getting one that takes the AW & modify the inside , in short , I have seen these cases with the AWs sent to NZ Army , and I had the option of getting one for my AW in 2007 , but when I saw the price , and as far as i am concerned they are not worth the price asked ( Opps I think they are crap , compared to say the Peli etc ) .
About the only thing they have going is they are seen in pics of the rifles on flyers etc , as to completeness , BUT donot bring anything really worth while to the party .

AI will be happy to sell you one at a crazy high price .

I maybe wrong , BUT I was under the impression , that the 3x M85s that Norman had , where NON-firing prototypes etc , and as such collectable , BUT in no way a real shootable rifle , so just a wall hanger ONLY .

Later Chris

 

[BasraBoy]

I maybe wrong , BUT I was under the impression , that the 3x M85s that Norman had , where NON-firing prototypes etc , and as such collectable , BUT in no way a real shootable rifle , so just a wall hanger ONLY .

Later Chris

Chris, two of the three are indeed wallhangers. One is shootable if you have £5,000 to chuck at it.

You are right re: AI cases. Identical but for the fit out. Suggested to Gil by PM that he maybe try to find out who makes them for AI....

Speaking to a well-informed source recently...the PH was at least as accurate as the AI in trials but lost out due to the fact that they were not serviceable/repairable in the field and would have had to go back to PH if there were a problem.

On the upside Norman Clark carry a complete inventory of spares if anything were to go wrong with one these days

 

[twincamharley]

Do you know the manufaturer of the M85 case?

It was made by Accuracy Intl, it is almost exactly like my L96 case