Parker Hale M82/84/85/87 and C3/C3A1

[sandwarrior]

On the Scout site, we had a Parker Hale thread and it had a lot of good info...even if I did steal some shit from other hiders. Anyhow, it was lost to time with ten pages because I didn't go back and "just keep it alive" I love the Parker Hales and wanted to start this thread again. It was in bolt actions but since most of them are gone now in the sniping world I thought I'd put it in Vintage this time.

Any pics and stories of the use of these would be great.

 

[RWSGunsmithing]

Took a single shot Parker Hale M84 action and made it a repeater. Uses a CDI DBM system fitted in a mcmillan A5 stock. Brux barrels made a custom contoured barrel similar to the original PH target barrel.

 

[RWSGunsmithing]

While not a complete build a new stock was inletted, bedded and fnished. Barrel was threaded with a cap and then cerakoted.

 

[aam]

http://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/forums/5516-vintage/13956936-old-school-parker-hales

http://www.scout.com/military/snipe...78811-parker-hale-m82-c3-one-piece-scope-base

Found a couple

 

[sandwarrior]

Guys,
Thanks for chiming in and getting this thread going again. RWS, I love those pics and the work you do on the Parker Hales. I've been to your website a few times when you had a M82/C3 up for sale. It was all I could do not to get myself in financial trouble buying it....because I would have.

ChrisF had the M85. My favorite of all the P-H's. The square heavy receiver and the escutcheon for the rear iron sight. That's the pic I stole for my thread. Unlike Mescabug, I didn't even ask. I just asked for forgiveness later. Fortunately, he was good with it I may owe him royalties, now that he's famous for owning a M85.

BTW, civilian P-H's are welcome here too.

 

[2c1fr]

Some great looking guns in here guys great pics as well!

 

[Emouse]

Guys,
Thanks for chiming in and getting this thread going again. RWS, I love those pics and the work you do on the Parker Hales. I've been to your website a few times when you had a M82/C3 up for sale. It was all I could do not to get myself in financial trouble buying it....because I would have.

ChrisF had the M85. My favorite of all the P-H's. The square heavy receiver and the escutcheon for the rear iron sight. That's the pic I stole for my thread. Unlike Mescabug, I didn't even ask. I just asked for forgiveness later. Fortunately, he was good with it I may owe him royalties, now that he's famous for owning a M85.

BTW, civilian P-H's are welcome here too.

Approx 1300 L81 CTR are being serviced ready for military cadet use during this years target rifle season. They are still very much in use and used to engage targets out to 1,000 yards.

 

[sandwarrior]

Here is my Birmingham Safari Deluxe:

 

[packratt]

Old Western Scrounger has some M82 stocks in stock.

 

[sandwarrior]

Old Western Scrounger has some M82 stocks in stock.

Thank you! I will look into that.

 

[packratt]

What's the parts availability for a build?

 

[S12A]

Nice work getting this going again,
contacted OWS to see if they will ship me an M82 stock to Australia , can't see why not it's under the $200 part restriction but might be to hard for them to do as a one off. You can purchase from o/s on the site but it doesn't give any shipping options. Fingers crossed!

 

[sandwarrior]

Nice work getting this going again,
contacted OWS to see if they will ship me an M82 stock to Australia , can't see why not it's under the $200 part restriction but might be to hard for them to do as a one off. You can purchase from o/s on the site but it doesn't give any shipping options. Fingers crossed!

I hope you have no problems getting it. Getting one home where it belongs!

 

[S12A]

No luck unfortunately , they will sell one to me and post it to anywhere in the USA but they don't do international .
Considering a freight forwarder but my experience with them has been even if its firearm related they won't do it!

 

[Casbah]

No luck unfortunately , they will sell one to me and post it to anywhere in the USA but they don't do international .
Considering a freight forwarder but my experience with them has been even if its firearm related they won't do it!

S12A, if you need someone to split the shipping and costs, grab two I'm in!!

 

[sandwarrior]

Awwweee man?!? I forgot about this. I was waiting for my check to come and and passed this up.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

C'mon yall lets see some more P.H. pics

 

[sandwarrior]

My dream sniper rifle...
M85
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/47\/Parker_Hale_M85_prickskyttegev%C3%A4r_-_Arm%C3%A9museum.jpg"}[/IMG2]

Not sure if this is ChrisBCS':

And a couple from somewhere else:

Once again, looks like ChrisBCS' But this time it's a C3A1/M87:

Coyote, don't hesitate to post a few of these off the internet if you find new and interesting versions of them, or in use.

 

[sandwarrior]

Way back when we had this thread, before moving to scout, we had a poster named Mescabug. He is a Canadian Sniper and used the C3/C3A1. He liked them, but the Canadians have moved on from them. Not everybody likes the new AI's. They are heavy and no more accurate. Obviously, the big difference is none of the Parker Hales could easily handle the .338 Lapua like the AI can.

 

[S12A]

so i just happened to come accross this gem...
purchased it and its enroute. if it had been listed on the site as a parker hale stock or similar it probably would have been snagged earlier, but thankfully they didnt know.
pretty sure its a cadet trainer stock , same as the m82 but single shot. i'm thinking about getting it duplicated if i can find someone that will do so for a reasonable price as i have plans to build an M82 inspired rifle , not interested in trying to build another clone.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

All the various PH's were traditional Mauser-length actions correct? Even the M85? Far as a dream rifle, you and me both sir! Those M85's are absolutely awesome and considering the popularity of stuff like the Mausingfield and FN SPR, WAYYY ahead of its time as well.

 

[sandwarrior]

All the various PH's were traditional Mauser-length actions correct? Even the M85? Far as a dream rifle, you and me both sir! Those M85's are absolutely awesome and considering the popularity of stuff like the Mausingfield and FN SPR, WAYYY ahead of its time as well.

Don't quote me, but I believe the M85 was a different bolt spacing.

 

[sandwarrior]

The site isn't working for me this morning:...maybe it's my phone?

Anyhow, SA12, are you planning on leaving this as a single or inletting it for a blind mag or DBM? Enquiring minds north of the equator would love to know. Nice find BTW on the stock

so i just happened to come accross this gem...
purchased it and its enroute. if it had been listed on the site as a parker hale stock or similar it probably would have been snagged earlier, but thankfully they didnt know.
pretty sure its a cadet trainer stock , same as the m82 but single shot. i'm thinking about getting it duplicated if i can find someone that will do so for a reasonable price as i have plans to build an M82 inspired rifle , not interested in trying to build another clone.

 

[S12A]

so the plan is to get it inletted for the parker hale BDL type hinged floorplate I have , ideally i would like DBM but the options are basically CDI and PTG and there are no good importers for either here.

The site isn't working for me this morning:...maybe it's my phone?

Anyhow, SA12, are you planning on leaving this as a single or inletting it for a blind mag or DBM? Enquiring minds north of the equator would love to know. Nice find BTW on the stock

 

[sandwarrior]

so the plan is to get it inletted for the parker hale BDL type hinged floorplate I have , ideally i would like DBM but the options are basically CDI and PTG and there are no good importers for either here.

Yeah, same fight you had even getting the stock in the first place. Cool catch though on the stock.

We're about to go through a bunch of rule changes here for sure.

 

[S12A]

Yeah the issue we have here is the ITAR restrictions on gun part exports from the states , our import laws aren’t too bad . We can get stocks and dbm through on this side without any paperwork .

the good thing is that we are starting to see some locals trying to fill the gaps , the sad thing is they often price themselves out of the market or just can’t run a business .

 

[sandwarrior]

One of those stocks in action:

 

[UNCIVILIZED]

You can always get a McHale stock from McMillan, & if they won't inlet it for your particular action, for whatever reason, there are plenty of good rifle builders who will.

 

[sandwarrior]

You can always get a McHale stock from McMillan, & if they won't inlet it for your particular action, for whatever reason, there are plenty of good rifle builders who will.

They inlet for the M82/C3. Those IIRC, are straight up Mauser actions. I can't say about the M87. I'm not sure if the M84/M85 might be different.

 

[OODA_Loop]

Don't quote me, but I believe the M85 was a different bolt spacing.

Id be curious to confirm this. I saw those stocks for sale at OwS and thought maybe I could use a Belgian Mauser action...

 

[sandwarrior]

Id be curious to confirm this. I saw those stocks for sale at OwS and thought maybe I could use a Belgian Mauser action...

You quoted me.... Maybe it was a different inlet.

 

[Dirty8404]

I have a question for the Parker Hale enthusiasts, did some googling and didn’t turn up much.

I’m doing a M82 inspired build using a beat up M82 stock I acquired.

My question is, does anyone know the ring height of the RALS4 bases used with the ZF69 6x42? That scope has a 26mm tube I believe.

I’m trying to get good cheekweld without modification of the stock, and deciding whether to use a 34mm tube/50mm objective with low (.92) rings or try to go lower and buy another scope.

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

@S12A

I am late to this thread but what ITAR part are you trying to get from the States?
If the wholesale price is $100 or under then there is no DDTC export license required

It falls under the small parts exemption below:

§ 123.17 Exports of firearms, ammunition, and personal protective gear.
(a) Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall permit the export without a license of:
(1) Parts and components for USML Category I(a) firearms, except barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames), or complete breech mechanisms, when the total value does not exceed $100 wholesale in any transaction, except to any of the countries or entities as provided in § 126.1 of this subchapter;
(2) Parts, components, accessories, or attachments for USML Category I firearms, except barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames), complete breech mechanisms, or fully automatic firearms and parts and components for such firearms, when:
(i) The total value does not exceed $500 wholesale in any transaction;
(ii) The export is to Canada for end-use in Canada or return to the United States, or temporary import into the United States of Canadian-origin items and return to Canada for a Canadian citizen; and
(iii) The exporter makes an electronic declaration to U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursuant to § 123.22(a), and the exporter is eligible to export under this exemption pursuant to § 120.1(c) of this subchapter, unless the electronic submission of such declaration is unavailable, in which case U.S. Customs and Border Protection will issue instructions;


Sincerely,
Theis

 

[buffalowinter]

I'm currently building both a M82 and M85 using Parker Hale 1200 actions. If anyone wants the bottom metal for a REAL m85 let me know, it uses m14/m1a mags. .. $250. The real M85 action is quite different from the 1200.

 

[S12A]

Hi,

@S12A

I am late to this thread but what ITAR part are you trying to get from the States?



Sincerely,
Theis

Thanks mate , this was ion relation to the M82 stocks. I ended up going another direction.
The biggest hurdle to getting stuff from the USA to Aus tends to be the dealers in USA not wanting to waste their time with one O/S customer in order to find out what they can and cant send. Their shop their rules i guess!

 

[TacT-MecH]

I have had the majority of the parts to assemble an m85 for many years. It has only been recently that there is any forward progress being made.

Years back I made a trade with a friend. I traded a dillon square deal reloading press for a box of rifle parts (which happened to include; a real McHale stock with anschutz rail, handstop, bipod, reciever, dbm, trigger, .308 barrel, original bolt knob and magazine). I now have front and rear sight sets, 1 complete scope mount and 1 parts mount, and the rifle is in the process of getting to a point it can be fired! I will keep you posted as I receive updates. Here are some pictures of my rifle.

 

[sandwarrior]

fiveshotdot,

That's a really nice OUTSTANDING rifle! Which action is that? I was just asking as I couldn't see the escutcheon on the top of the rear ring.

 

[TacT-MecH]

fiveshotdot,

That's a really nice OUTSTANDING rifle! Which action is that? I was just asking as I couldn't see the escutcheon on the top of the rear ring.

fiveshotdot,

That's a really nice OUTSTANDING rifle! Which action is that? I was just asking as I couldn't see the escutcheon on the top of the rear ring.

@sandwarrior Thank you sir! I am really looking forward to having it finished. It is a Parker Hale M85 reciever casting. All the proper holes were tapped and trunion threads looked good.

 

[TacT-MecH]

These are the best pictures I have of the receiver. The other is of the side of the scope mount. When I get it back (or see it again) I will grab a few more pictures.

 

[sandwarrior]

These are the best pictures I have of the receiver. The other is of the side of the scope mount. When I get it back (or see it again) I will grab a few more pictures.

I wonder too, who ever used these, I know Malaysian Paskal and Brazilian Marines, SAS? And, what hardware went with them, i.e. scopes, bases, rings

 

[sandwarrior]

I'm currently building both a M82 and M85 using Parker Hale 1200 actions. If anyone wants the bottom metal for a REAL m85 let me know, it uses m14/m1a mags. .. $250. The real M85 action is quite different from the 1200.

I was reading fiveshotdot's response on here and never thought the whole thread got revived. Funny as I scrolled up and thought "how convenient one of the last posters had a pic of the M85 action. D'OH! i then realized we had several new posts on here. And, I gotta say, I'm jacked (chuffed for your guys where this rifle came from) to see two more M85 builds. A lot of cool history on the military side of the Parker Hales as well as the civilian

Anyhow, Buffalowinter, good luck with this build! I'm hoping for a full pic portfolio when you get it done!

added:
fiveshotdot,
I see it now with the angle on the side of the action. The bases and rings were hiding the escutcheon.

 

[TacT-MecH]

I was reading fiveshotdot's response on here and never thought the whole thread got revived. Funny as I scrolled up and thought "how convenient one of the last posters had a pic of the M85 action. D'OH! i then realized we had several new posts on here. And, I gotta say, I'm jacked (chuffed for your guys where this rifle came from) to see two more M85 builds. A lot of cool history on the military side of the Parker Hales as well as the civilian

Anyhow, Buffalowinter, good luck with this build! I'm hoping for a full pic portfolio when you get it done!

added:
fiveshotdot,
I see it now with the angle on the side of the action. The bases and rings were hiding the escutcheon.

@sandwarrior In a google search, I found this page. It shows some decent pictures of some rifles and receivers. If I had mine I'd take some close ups for you.

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=47085&page=9

 

[sandwarrior]

Thanks fiveshotdot! Waaaaaay back before scout ChrisF was on here posting most of those pics. One I don't remember seeing is this one:

It is the perfect shot of the 'escutcheon' that the M85 has to protect a very nice rear back-up iron sight. as you can see it's deployed and if anyone has shot this kind of sight, knows they are very accurate.

 

[sandwarrior]

I'm currently building both a M82 and M85 using Parker Hale 1200 actions. If anyone wants the bottom metal for a REAL m85 let me know, it uses m14/m1a mags. .. $250. The real M85 action is quite different from the 1200.

Any progress on this rifle as of late?

 

[buffalowinter]

I'm waiting for barrels. The M85 is not going to be even close, other than the stock. The action I'm using is a Midland 2100, which was sold to me as a 1200 . The Parker Hale DBM just won't work with the action so I am using a commercial DBM. It will be a nice, accurate rifle, but really can't be considered an M85. The 1200, on the other hand should be a very close copy. Original stock and hardware, found an original barrel and have a 1200 action.

 

[Sinned]

Can't let this thread die, my C3A1!

 

[sandwarrior]

Can't let this thread die, my C3A1!View attachment 6944762

So, I have to ask those who've shot both, what would one prefer between the M85 or the M87(C3A1)? Is there one feature of one over the other that tops it for you? For me it has always been the iron sights of the M85. But, that is secondary. I do have to say, the short barrel is not something I like on the M85.

 

[TacT-MecH]

I got the pleasure of handling this original, factory built Parker Hale m85. Its part of a complete "kit" including case, magazines, etc. The owner was nice enough to bring it to me to handle while he has mine (so I could see a finished product).
Do you guys have any information about the process PH used to harden the reciever castings? I'm assuming it was case hard hardened, but I can't find that information.

 

[molonlave]

Can't let this thread die, my C3A1!View attachment 6944762

Looks amazing! I'm working on mine, if you have any leads on parts for the C3a1 let me know. I'm looking for a magazine, bottom metal and a trigger.

 

[Dirty8404]

Does anyone have a source for the M82 accessory rail? My gunsmith says a Warner Tool anschutz rail is too wide, and he thinks it’s a freeland rail (it’s an M82 surplus stock).

Dimensions of the rail inlet is W: ~0.510in, D: ~0.270in, L: ~6 3/4in, with rounded corners. I’d like to be able to use a PH bipod and handstop, McMillan sells anodized 10” rails which are too long.

Any ideas or info would be awesome, there isn’t much info out in the wild that I can find.