My Old school Parker Hale

[ChrisF]

Hi Guys ,

Here's a few pics of my Parker Hale M85 , and its getting a make over , ie a thread for suppressor done at the moment , should have it back soon , and also will drop a 30mm scope on to her for the 1st time , hopefully using Sportsmatch PH rings , looking forward to getting her back from smith .

Some old pics of her , anyway .



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[geoff3]

Nice rifle I like the iron sight set up ,do yo just shoot with the iron sights , geoff3

 

[jbell]

I have always liked the PH rifles! Very nice!!

 

[HD-Ghost]

Thanks for sharing; nice piece. We don't see too many of those. If it puts holes where you want them (which I'm sure it does), then it's a great piece.

 

[Mister Ridge]

I want you to know that you will have cost me money in the future. I am going to have to buy one of these at some point.

 

[nashlaw]

Always liked the McHale stock. Nice rifle and good looking pics.

 

[pmclaine]

Is this what the C3 sniper is based on?

If so Lazy21 can help you out with some glass right here....

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/optics-sale/254266-offical-2014-us-optics-mst100-sale.html

 

[ChrisF]

NO ,

The C3 is basically a Parker Hale TX1200 target rifle with a repeater floor plate ( ie a M82 ) , and uses a wood stock , basically a Mauser M98 with out the thumb cut out on the LH side , & uses a Kahles ZF69 6x sniper scope , barrel tunion std Mauser .

The C3A1 is basically a Parker Hale M87 ( Police/Marksman rifle ) , in a wood TX1200 target stock , and a semi enclosed square top Mauser actionw/std tunion lenght , & special Unertl designed steel mount for Unertl 10x sniper scope , mags are long action size .

The Parker Hale M85 has a number of special features over the M82 & M87 , it has a enclosed squaretop Mauser action , and has a longer barrel tunion to better support having a heavy barrel fitted ( this feature is now a std thing , back in the early 80s it was anything but std .
Has a special 2 stage trigger , which is fantastic , runs modied 10rd M14 magazines , ie double stack/feed .
Had back up irons , before they where trendy , and had a PH designed wood stock ( mainly for prototyping & use on the M87 Police/Marksman rifle ) , and this shape was made in fibreglass by McM ( most M85s have Fibreglass stocks made by McMillan , McM still make the stock & its called the McHale ) , colours are , solid black , solid green , 3 colour camo ( USMC ) , and desert camo .
The M85 used Swaro fixed 6x & 10x sniper scopes of the period , ie mid 80s etc , not MST-100s .

I have 2 rifles that use MST-100s , a M40A1 build thats almost done , and my C3A1 clone ( Parker Hale M87 ) .

So in short the M85 is very special & quite a bit different from all other Parker Hale rifles , its a shame they only made a few before the company closed its doors .

Later Chris

 

[ChrisF]

Here's a couple of pics of a stripped M85 action , & a pic of the excellent 2 stage M85 trigger

 

[socalmarine]

Beautiful rifle, Chris - I keep coming back to this thread. I too have a M40A1 build in the works. Now I want a PH M85 to find a place in the safe as well. Seems like quite a rare piece you got there.

I got relatives in Warkworth - give me a holler should you ever want to let go of that beauty! It would make a good red stag blaster

 

[Dark Angel]

Parker and Hale have always build great weapons. Trouble is they are 'shooter' weapons. You must be a skilled marksman to use one. They are not for the novice. Had a friend, just had to own a P&H, found a 'Safari Grade' in .308, in a pawn shop for a good price. Either it was too much gun or he wasn't enough 'shooter'. Couldn't hit for crap with it. Blamed it on the gun. But, isn't that always the case?

 

[Mister Ridge]

Parker and Hale have always build great weapons. Trouble is they are 'shooter' weapons. You must be a skilled marksman to use one. They are not for the novice. Had a friend, just had to own a P&H, found a 'Safari Grade' in .308, in a pawn shop for a good price. Either it was too much gun or he wasn't enough 'shooter'. Couldn't hit for crap with it. Blamed it on the gun. But, isn't that always the case?

Could he shoot any weapon well?

 

[Dark Angel]

Nobody Important (seriously). Anyway, to answer your question about my friend with the P&H. He was a tolerable marksman. Always managed to put venison in the freezer during 'deer season'.
Used a 7 mm Mauser that I had previously turned into a sniper rig, glass bedded, tuned trigger, fire lapped barrel, throated and polished breech, etc. Probably, if I'd worked over the P&H, he would have had the same luck. He was pretty good with a shotgun firing slugs, but then, who isn't? I did shoot his P&H, never tried to group, but I did manage to put meat in the freezer with it, and never missed, never had to track a wounded animal. Where I hunted in Okla., longest shot I ever took was about 150 meters.

 

[Macca]

I was too slow on that one S12A.
Good on ya!

 

[ChrisF]

As to the accuracy , I am happy with mine , during the brit Army trials , the Parker Hale M85 , was slightly more accurate at all ranges tested against the Accuracy international PM rifles , so YES the M85s shoot real good .

In short IF you are happy with a AI rifle in terms of accuracy , you will be just as happy with a Parker hale M85 rifle , as long as the barrel has not been shoot out .

Later Chris

 

[S12A]

Your m85 is an awesome bit of kit Chris, this 1200tx will eventually become an M82

 

[gewehr]

Sweet, the m85 is a very cool mauser variant that we just don't see enough of anymore.