quality of parker hale rifles

[indian]

hi everybody recently came across 2 parker hale 30-06 rifles.one is model midland and other is safari 1000.they r not expensive but i would like your opinions on their quality and drawbacks or problems if any

[Vikram]

Hi Indian,

As Grumps will shortly elaborate on it,Parker-Hales are nice rifles.Nothing fancy, but well built and functional.P-H barrels and actions are known for their quality. Our,mine and Grumps', sporterised .303 is a Parker-Hale. 30/06 is a fine calibre and probably the most versatile.It can be your best all round rifle for Canadian hunting.Do let us know if you buy either of them.More details will help better.All the best and good hunting.

Best-
Vikram

[indian]

thanks vikram garu ......waiting for grumps reply

[herb]

Hi Indian, Parker Hale are good rifles, from what I know they used M98 actions from different sources including FN Belgium and Santa Barbara Spain. FN's are good actions but the quality of Santa Barbara actions are debatable.

Herb

[Grumpy]

Parker Hales are nice rifles - usually built on Mauser 98 actions although Vikrams utilises an Enfield No 4 Mk 1*. The P-H Magnum Mausers are very desirable in the US but not often seen. Good barrels as well. The stocks are invariably full Monte Carlos - which I like........but the Yanks don`t.
The Midlands are also invariably built on M98 actions. Stocks are not as nice as the P-Hs and usually made of inferior wood. The P-Hs invariably have Walnut stocks.
The last P-H model made - the Scout - was only available in .243 and .308 Win and had a brown laminated stock.
Both makes are excellent value for money but I`d go for the P-H unless it`s a scruffy one. If you can, take the rifle to a range and check it out. Even with ammo they really hate, P-Hs, Midlands and BSAs should knock out sub 3" groups. Fed the right diet, a good P-H or BSA can produce MOA groups.......or better.

[indian]

thanks herb and grumpy i will check out those rifles....

[herb]

Any particular reason why you are considering the PH rifles? If the asking price is above $400 then a new savage or stevens would be a better value for money. It is a different matter if you are specifically looking for a Mauser 98 based rifle, many of us do.

[indian]

hi herb im not specific about PH but came to know about a couple of them with accuracy plus in peterborough.....just wanted to know about them.basically,i wanted to go for a decent 30-06 in place of my .303 sporter

[herb]

Check out how the rifle shoots as Grumpy suggested. As mentioned by others PH's are excellent guns but if you are only looking for a hunting rifle in 30-06 then look at some of the new synthetic stock guns like the Savage, Remington or Weatherby Vanguard as they are more suited to draging thru the snow & rain which is a constant fixture of Canadian hunting. I too love the old wood stocked guns but come hunt time and I will take my Remington XCR.

[indian]

thanks herb i really had a vangaurd in my mind but just waiting for a decent used one...but as per your suggestion,i think a vangaurd is the best

[herb]

Vanguards are very good rifles based on the Howa 1500 actions. Check out the vanguard sub-moa's which are guaranteed to shoot inside .99 inch at 100 yards. They are a bit pricy but for all hunting purposes a standard vanguard is fine.

[Grumpy]

The Howa 1500 ( Weatherby Vanguard ) is an excellent rifle. I can`t say that I care for the plastic stock on the Weatherby Vanguard ...... but at least it`s better than the really rubbish basic plastic stock that the Howa US distributors put on the 1500. Of course you can now buy the Howa with a Hogue Overmolded stock which is really excellent.
Another alternative would be to buy one of the P-Hs and fit a Hogue Overmolded stock ( M98 style. ) The pillar bedded version is more than adequate for a hunting rifle and at under $140 ( US ) is a stonking bargain.
There`s little doubt that a fine wood stock looks better than any synthetic stock but there are decided advantages with some synthetic stocks - especially for a hunting rifle: The bedding is already sorted-out, the grip is better when wet, there is much less chance of damaging the stock on thorns/brambles/rocks, the stock won`t swell if it gets wet and, because of the bedding, accuracy is improved.
As I`ve said before, the Hogue Overmolded stocks have to be just about the best bargain in shooting accessories available.

[indian]

thanks grumpy......i will go for a vangaurd sometime next month and may get it started with wild boar hunting

[herb]

Where are you planning to hunt boar in Canada?

[indian]

quebec.....there is only one guy doing this in ontario(he is challenging the government)but he is expensive...his website is www.bigtusks.com