Skip23;
You make an interesting point regarding American made firearms being used by the NWMP/RNWMP/RCMP. Actually if one looks into our historic military procurement, we often seem to have ended up with American made firearms there as well. Not always of course, but often enough that it surprised me when I first noticed it.
One of the better thought out mounts for the Mk 4 - in my estimation anyway - was made by Parker Hale and was an aluminum side mount.
Now the sticky wicket with a side mount on a Mk 4 is that they weren't all milled exactly the same and if you only mount on the side, then at times your scope might well be pointing quite a bit to the right.
One that I recall modifying was doing exactly that, so much so that the internal adjustments on a 4X scope couldn't correct it.
If memory serves, and I will warn you that I type pre-coffee here, I ended up moving the rail that the rings attached to forward enough to drill and tap the action and get it mounted straight there. I then shimmed the space between the side of the action and the side mount in with bedding epoxy and called it good.
At last contact with the owner, it was still out killing BC moose and deer, so if that counts as testimony to the modification then it was a success.
The downside of trying to find Parker Hale mounts is that when I did a quick search of Parker Hale mounts, I was only able to find some for sale in New Zealand.
We do see them for sale from time to time up here at our gun shows, but then as you have likely guessed the various SMLE's are as common as grass up here.
Hopefully that was some use to you Skip23, good luck with your rifles and on your upcoming hunts as well.
As to the question posed by the OP, a quick check on the ammo shelf at the local Canadian Tire or these days Walmart will tell one what the locals shoot.
Since we shoot a mixture of wildcat and obsolete cartridges along side the more usual stuff, we'd be a poor sample in a poll.
Good luck on your hunts this fall.
Regards,
Dwayne
