Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing What's your opinion on Parker-Hale rifles quality/accuracy ?

I ran across a 300 WinMag made by Parker-Hale with model marked Foremost 6500. It is a Mauser action and has been well taken care of.I did a search here and didn't find much.I did find a reference to a 30-06 and .243 Win with feeding problems.I can get it cheap and don't have any magnums so I'm interested.
So,what say ye gentlemen?

Thanks
Neil

Didn't Parker-Hale use FN actions? I'm not certain anymore as I haven't seen one in a long time but I believe they are very good rifles.

I have a P-H 1200 Safari. It is built on a Mauser action. Nice wood and shoots very good. Adjustable trigger. I hope this helps.

The Parker-Hale you describe is most likely built on a Santa Barbera action. Most were. Some were built on a BRNO ZG47 action but these are very rare and I've never seen one in 300 Win. Only 308 Norma. I've never seen a Foremost 6500. The common models were the 1200, the 1000, and the 1200C (detachable magazine).
The actions are pretty decent commercial mauser. Not quite the quality level of the FN but functionally, quite good. Bolt handle is homely. The triggers were adjustable but were a bit of a turkey. Some one once commented that the best attribute of the trigger was that it was reasonably areodynamic so it flew well out when you threw it into a lake and was heavy enough that it sank quickly. While this may have been a bit harsh, it wasn't a long way off the mark. The zinc alloy housing, fragile safety lever and chinzy gold plating on the finger lever didn't add up to quality.
As a Canadian-based gunsmith, I worked on and shot a lot of Parker-hales and most shot very well. I disliked the detachable magazine models which were prone to feeding problems.
I didn't much care for the stock styling but the wood was of good quality and well fitted and finished. GD

Thanks guys for the replies.
greydog,it is stamped made in Great Britian with a crown stamped on it.I'll go back Monday and check all stampings.

Neil

I have seen a few that used Husquarvina (sp?) actions, but were barreled and stocked in England.

A friend has one in 7 MM Rem. Mag.

I have a parker-hale 1200 in .270 and it is very accurate. With factory remington 130g I can usually keep 5 shots right around an inch. Seems pretty well made - but I have'nt had to mess with the trigger as it is right at 2.5-2.75 lbs and crisp (maybe lucked out???).

Just my two cents,
PennDog

My sis has had a 1200 in 30-06 for many years. It is now accurate after we bedded it and floated the barrel. Rather light in weight for a wood stocked gun but the stock is reasonably welldesigned to handle recoil.

The trigger is a bit odd and I can see where it is fragile. I would likely replace hers but she doesn't hunt as much as she used to.

Oh yes, the original recoil pad took a set in the gun cabinet and grew quite hard. It has a Decelerator on it now.

There was a test on one not too long ago that essentially said the same. It went on to say that the 1 in 10 twist didn't help accuracy with heavier bullets.

Foremost was a J.C. Penny brand back in the day. Yes, they did sell guns at one time. They worked it the same way that Sears, Wards, Western Auto etc. did. They would work a deal with a firearms manufacturer to produce a model to their specs with their brand stamped on it. Mossberg, Savage, Remington, Winchester, Marlin, Parker Hale and many others were involved in manufacturing guns for the major U.S. catalog outlets. Usually the catalog store models were just a little different from the normal model and sold just a little cheaper. Most of the differences were only cosmetic. Still a quality gun but it wouldn't quite look the same as the manufacturer branded gun.

My Mauser-based .30-06 P-H Safari came from England in a friend's suitcase in the early 60's - well before P-H started making model numbers like 1200, etc, and using BSA actions, and IIRC before Santa Barbara actions were made/available.

Mine is Mauser 98 based, it has the thumbcut in the left receiver wall - so I don't believe the action to be FN, which AFAIK all have the thumbcut deleted.

(top rifle below)




P-H quality was excellent, and if you want a .300 mag, it's as good a buy as any.

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