Parker Hale M82 Clone

[njohn890]

It was 2430 meters. Which Is 2657 yards. An accomplishment beyond belief at the time in military history/capability. That was since beaten by COH Harrison at a distance of 2707 yds.
What many don’t understand, it’s not so much the distance to these men, it’s the fact they stopped the Talban from further attacking our allies.

Argh, dyslexia strikes me again! And to top it off the US Army wanted to give the sniper team Silver or Bronze Stars but then they got caught up in a controversy surrounding an alleged “trophy photo” with a Taliban KIA.

How a record-breaking Canadian sniper kill shot was almost forgotten - Macleans.ca

An elite unit of snipers went from standouts to outcasts—victims, many say, of a witch hunt driven by jealousy and fear

www.macleans.ca

 

[sandwarrior]

Argh, dyslexia strikes me again! And to top it off the US Army wanted to give the sniper team Silver or Bronze Stars but then they got caught up in a controversy surrounding an alleged “trophy photo” with a Taliban KIA.

How a record-breaking Canadian sniper kill shot was almost forgotten - Macleans.ca

An elite unit of snipers went from standouts to outcasts—victims, many say, of a witch hunt driven by jealousy and fear

www.macleans.ca

So sad what the commies were allowed to do to these guys:

How a record-breaking Canadian sniper kill shot was almost forgotten - Macleans.ca

An elite unit of snipers went from standouts to outcasts—victims, many say, of a witch hunt driven by jealousy and fear

www.macleans.ca

I certainly wish there was a more "forceful" attitude from the U.S. regarding these guys. Commies in the news deserve to be beaten for their lies. This was clearly a case of "the media" selling these guys out with lies, then trying to show what great systems they have in place.

What always amazes me is the media promotes that a 'sniper' cuts off fingers from his 'victims' (perps) when the terrain clearly dictates (the media would never know because they've never walked a mile, let alone up and down mountains/ranges) the almost impossibility of doing that in nearly every, except the most EXTREME, situations. Which requires time the Canadian snipers didn't have.

 

[njohn890]

Found some pics of both the Kahles equipped C3 and the later upgrade with the C3A1 Unertl 10x and unique unitized mount. The CF version of the Unertl 10x was calibrated ( in metres of course!) for the 168 grain sniper ammo to 800m. I believe outside domestic sales to the USMC and FBI it was the only foreign sales of the optic at the time.

 

[merrildog]

Nice profiles. I was feeling a bit miffed I couldn't get my bottom metal flush, but the top profile shows it protruding a bit. I found a set of RALS rings, which were the "correct" ones, versus the RAHS I originally procured. I'm becoming a collector in things Parker Hale, much to the disdain of my boss. Interesting stories on the Canadian Cadet programs. If we were allowed to continue programs like that today, we would certainly build stronger individuals.

 

[njohn890]

Nice profiles. I was feeling a bit miffed I couldn't get my bottom metal flush, but the top profile shows it protruding a bit. I found a set of RALS rings, which were the "correct" ones, versus the RAHS I originally procured. I'm becoming a collector in things Parker Hale, much to the disdain of my boss. Interesting stories on the Canadian Cadet programs. If we were allowed to continue programs like that today, we would certainly build stronger individuals.

Glad if the photos helped with your build. I too am considering an early C3 build on a 1200TX at some point. The later version is more difficult with the later closed top M84/5 receiver , scope mount ( saw one last year at a local gun show-$1000 was the asking price) and make that 2 MST-100’s for that and an M40A1 build in progress.

I never carried on with a career in the military, but the drill, discipline and PT, along with getting yelled at as a 16 year old stayed with me when I made a late career change to LEO and went through the academy as a 42 year old. It helped for sure!

 

[sandwarrior]

Glad if the photos helped with your build. I too am considering an early C3 build on a 1200TX at some point. The later version is more difficult with the later closed top M84/5 receiver , scope mount ( saw one last year at a local gun show-$1000 was the asking price) and make that 2 MST-100’s for that and an M40A1 build in progress.

I never carried on with a career in the military, but the drill, discipline and PT, along with getting yelled at as a 16 year old stayed with me when I made a late career change to LEO and went through the academy as a 42 year old. It helped for sure!

One that was all built up, but had open sights and a ten-round magazine bottom metal, sold on GB yesterday for $1875.

 

[njohn890]

I keep seeing the M85 cast receivers on GB and am tempted, but I recall that they still require heat treating and other finishing on top of all the required parts to complete. There used to be a guy in Canton Ohio who was into the PH sniper rifles and operated a website with parts and information.

Too many projects sometimes!

 

[sandwarrior]

I keep seeing the M85 cast receivers on GB and am tempted, but I recall that they still require heat treating and other finishing on top of all the required parts to complete. There used to be a guy in Canton Ohio who was into the PH sniper rifles and operated a website with parts and information.

Too many projects sometimes!

Yes, they do require heat treating. Amazingly, it's not that expensive. In case your wondering, it's 4140 steel, so you can tell whoever is heat treating them.

I forgot to add in my previous about the distances, the "record" set by COH Harrison (he never wanted the credit) has been beaten by Canadian s nipers @ 3540 meters.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...for-the-longest-confirmed-kill-shot---but-how

 

[merrildog]

Which bolt does the M85 receiver use?

 

[sandwarrior]

Which bolt does the M85 receiver use?

I've been told standard full length Mauser bolt. You won't be able to fit one in until it's machined for it. They have little blocks inside that need to get cut out. Part of what's required for the casting process.

 

[molonlave]

OP: great project! Now you've got the bug, and speaking from experience, you'll be searching for PH stuff in the depths of Mordor. Keep the pictures coming!
Question for the experts out there: was original M82 bottom metal steel or aluminum?

 

[sandwarrior]

OP: great project! Now you've got the bug, and speaking from experience, you'll be searching for PH stuff in the depths of Mordor. Keep the pictures coming!
Question for the experts out there: was original M82 bottom metal steel or aluminum?

It was steel I believe.

 

[RWSGunsmithing]

Blanchard Metals Processing Company knows the steel that is used in the castings and can heat treat the receiver for you.

 

[merrildog]

It's Back!
Thanks to Chad, Cody and Mark and the Washougal River Mercantile, the M82 clone is progressing again. McGowan barrel was pressed into the Santa Barbara action. They swapped the magnum bolt out of the SB, and installed the bolt from my CZ non-magnum action, trued lugs and sized it for .308. The front sight mount was also installed. Sooooo, time for fine inletting and set my magazine depth. I think I will pillar the tang, and then do a full length bed. obligatory action in the stock pic...

 

[Hetzer]

I had my stock for a long time before I decided to do something with it. It was NOS from Numrich back in the mid -90's. Looked for a long time for parts and never found much. So I put it away and waited. Finally got tired of waiting and picked a VZ24 action, sent them to CDI for bottom metal. Another year or so passed and I took it to Rivers Bend for completion. I got a bolt knob off EBay. Not entirely happy with that choice but Jeff Hayes did a good job with it. It's in 7x57 with a Bartlein 8.7 twist. I had Jeff throat it out longer to get Berger 175 Hunters up and out of the shoulder junction. That is a fairly high BC bullet and the length is versatile enough to use with other (cheaper) bullets. I don't hunt, just thought the 175 Berger was close enough to what I was looking for.

 

[sandwarrior]

I had my stock for a long time before I decided to do something with it. It was NOS from Numrich back in the mid -90's. Looked for a long time for parts and never found much. So I put it away and waited. Finally got tired of waiting and picked a VZ24 action, sent them to CDI for bottom metal. Another year or so passed and I took it to Rivers Bend for completion. I got a bolt knob off EBay. Not entirely happy with that choice but Jeff Hayes did a good job with it. It's in 7x57 with a Bartlein 8.7 twist. I had Jeff throat it out longer to get Berger 175 Hunters up and out of the shoulder junction. That is a fairly high BC bullet and the length is versatile enough to use with other (cheaper) bullets. I don't hunt, just thought the 175 Berger was close enough to what I was looking for.
View attachment 7555161

That 175 will fly a LOT farther and smoother than a .308 175 Berger. Better than a 185 Juggernaut too!

 

[Hetzer]

That 175 will fly a LOT farther and smoother than a .308 175 Berger. Better than a 185 Juggernaut too!

I haven't tried them yet but I am hoping you are correct!

 

[camocorvette]

New old member here. I have been away from the Hide for about 10 years, and feel it's time to get back to some precision projects now that the kids are gone! I always wanted a Parker-Hale M82, but, they are un-obtanium, and when one pops up, they are super expensive. So, I have planned to build a "clone" for some time, so here goes. I found Old West Scrounger had M81 "cadet" stocks available. The profile is the same as the M82, but they are single shot, and use a different accessory rail. I bought a couple to play with. Pro's, they have the internal magazine outlined for in-letting and are beautiful Walnut stocks made by Parker Hale, with spacers and a recoil pad. Cons, as mentioned above, different accessory rail (Anschultz style versus the PH threaded rail), no internal magazine, and as they were single shot, large round recesses for excrussions. I plan to inlet the magazine well, and found a PH accessory rail for the Cadet stock, which will be , not quite right, but, is what it is. I started searching for a large ring commercial 98 action, and decided to use a Zestava action for the project. I found a good one in 30-06 on gunbroker, and pulled the trigger. A day later, three nos, in the white Santa Barbra actions came up for sale. Santa Barbra produced the commercial actions for PH. To much to resist, bought one. I also scrounged a set of PH 22 and 28 scope bases, and found two brand new RAHS3 scope rings in 1 inch. I plan to go with a 10 power fixed Bushnell 1 inch scope. The M82 used the RALS3, but the high rings will work with my scope. I sent the Santa Barbra action to my smith, who advised me it was actually a magnum action, and would need the bolt face welded up if I was going to run .308 through it. As I also had the Zastava action, I had him swap bolts, true the lugs and bolt face, and she will work fine for .308. This leaves me with the Zastava machined action, which now has a magnum bolt in it. Next build, .404 Jeffery Safari rifle... Last is the barrel. I had McGowan Precision build a 26 inch 1-12 twist on the M82/1200TX profile. Barrel arrived, and is a thing of beauty. Time to put all of this stuff together into a rifle.View attachment 7387563

Gorgeous rifle!

 

[ChrisF308]

Very nice ,

I had a chance on a M85 in good nick , at a reasonable price , not cheap , BUT at that time I did not know enough about them , other than they where Mauser98 based , and I had a Mauser in 7x57 that I hated as I could not scope easy , and I hated the sideways bolt slop . I know better now .
The M85 has a very nice 2 stage trigger , and is one of the 1st rifles to have a longer barrel thread in / tunion ( longer than a std Mauser ) , to better support a heavy barrel , as the hunting rifles had lighter weight barrels that did not need extra strength/support .The others where AI PM & Sako TRG-21/41 .

Cheers Chris

 

[merrildog]

Took some time to work on a friends Ruger, and now back on the PH project. I have pillared the rear action screw, and set the magazine to action depth. I needed to open the magazine well up a bit to prevent the .308 rounds from binding. She seems to feed reliably now. I profiled the bolt handle, as the CZ factory was pretty industrial looking. Next will be clean and abrasive blast the metal to prep for the Cerakote. Once that is complete I'll bed her in, and finish the stock. This is my first shot at Cerakote, see how it turns out.

 

[S12A]

Not my photo, an Australian Army M82, early 90's

 

[S12A]

if anyone is interested i have the 68 page maintenance manual for the M82 in PDF.

 

[merrildog]

if anyone is interested i have the 68 page maintenance manual for the M82 in PDF.

That would be interesting reading. I would love to take a look before i start to button this project up.

 

[molonlave]

I would be interested in a copy of the maintenance manual

 

[S12A]

I’ll PM links, turned out to be too big for email

 

[aprocast]

I would like to have that link please

 

[merrildog]

I just realized I'm getting close to a year in on this project. Bead blasted all of the metal and applied Cerakote. Cured it and was pretty pleased with the results. I achieved a decent satin black, which looks close to the Suncorite finish I was copying. Next step will be the bedding job, and final assembly.

 

[AIAWinAU]

They are around - but few and far between these days. Back in the mid 80's we thought they were something really special. That huge 6x42 Kahles ZF69 with the reticle moving image seemed like a hubble scope back then. However even today when it gets dragged out from the back of the safe the clarity of that little Kahles is still first class.

Finish - from factory the actions and barrels had a thin finish that was kind of parkerising but not typical of what you would see typically on something parkerised. Bolts were blued. The big traditional 98 extractors are all sorts of colours - the one on mine is a sort of reddish hue to it that a friend of mine tells me is from improper temp when blueing or something like that. In service in Australia some where the victims of some pretty imaginative paint schemes like the one that S12A put up.

Then we saw the L96 and we knew what a dogs breakfast we had...................

It will still put 5 rounds of FMJ ball into 1 MOA. I must get it out on a figure target at 600 one day for old times sake.

Enjoy -

 

[merrildog]

They are around - but few and far between these days. Back in the mid 80's we thought they were something really special. That huge 6x42 Kahles ZF69 with the reticle moving image seemed like a hubble scope back then. However even today when it gets dragged out from the back of the safe the clarity of that little Kahles is still first class.

Finish - from factory the actions and barrels had a thin finish that was kind of parkerising but not typical of what you would see typically on something parkerised. Bolts were blued. The big traditional 98 extractors are all sorts of colours - the one on mine is a sort of reddish hue to it that a friend of mine tells me is from improper temp when blueing or something like that. In service in Australia some where the victims of some pretty imaginative paint schemes like the one that S12A put up.

Then we saw the L96 and we knew what a dogs breakfast we had...................

It will still put 5 rounds of FMJ ball into 1 MOA. I must get it out on a figure target at 600 one day for old times sake.

Enjoy -View attachment 7650410

The advances in tech leave us all behind at one point or another. Lovely rifle! I think that is the first real C3/ M82 someone actually has, versus had. I've never seen one in the States, just parts. I saw the reddish hue on a pic of an extractor, and assumed it had just browned over the years, but apparently it was a thing. Regarding finish, I've read that some were parkerized, some were blued, and some of the re-builds were sprayed with the Suncorite enamel, which was apparently really nasty stuff. Nice to see an original. If I could bother you on a couple items.. Rear swing swivel, does it have a stud that is mounted into the stock, or the old school wood screw that is just run in? I have both, don't know which is right-ish, like to figure that out before I go punching holes. Second, what kind of slings did they use, and why the sling mount on the forward action mounting screw? I'll probably think of other questions I should have asked before I started this little project. Thank you for the picture, "dog's breakfast", love it....

 

[AIAWinAU]

The advances in tech leave us all behind at one point or another. Lovely rifle! I think that is the first real C3/ M82 someone actually has, versus had. I've never seen one in the States, just parts. I saw the reddish hue on a pic of an extractor, and assumed it had just browned over the years, but apparently it was a thing. Regarding finish, I've read that some were parkerized, some were blued, and some of the re-builds were sprayed with the Suncorite enamel, which was apparently really nasty stuff. Nice to see an original. If I could bother you on a couple items.. Rear swing swivel, does it have a stud that is mounted into the stock, or the old school wood screw that is just run in? I have both, don't know which is right-ish, like to figure that out before I go punching holes. Second, what kind of slings did they use, and why the sling mount on the forward action mounting screw? I'll probably think of other questions I should have asked before I started this little project. Thank you for the picture, "dog's breakfast", love it....

Hey mate - real sling swivel - its a stud screwed into the stock that allows the swivel to rotate 360 degrees. Slings - in Australia the issued sling was from the UK - same as the L42 rifle and the early L96's. I think it may have been called an L8 sling - maybe try Fultons Of Bisley in the UK and they may have one or know of where to get one. Forward mounting screw - the kingscrew as its called by our English mates - seems to be a hangover from L42 and No4T rifles. It allowed the sling to be used in a short look same same fullbore type shooting. I think you guys call fullbore Palma shooting ?

 

[rgg_7]

C3 is a unique Canadian Sniper rifle not to be confused with the M82 issued to Australia and a few other NATO countries. It is great to see a Global following and I'm more than willing to answer any questions folks may have on their builds. The pictures posted are my own - first is the correct C3 sling and the second is the "beech" C3a1 stock complete with trim. It uses the same rear swivel. Swivel is 1", screws into the stock approx 3" from the base of the stock (do not include 1/2" spacers", marked "Parker Hale", rotational, hole is predrilled into the stock. The middle swivel is for positional shooting; front is a special 2" to accommodate the wide sling.

Ron (Canada)

 

[merrildog]

Thanks guys. I have a Parker Hale rear swivel. Will have to find a stud to mount in the stock, but that shouldn't be to difficult. Yes, we to like our positional shooting over here as well. My first tactical marksman course included 2 days of sling positions using the M1907 sling. So, what are the differences between the C3 and the C3A1? And continuing down that road, differences between the C3 and M82's?

 

[Sniff]

A few years ago (about 25), the NZ Police sold off a few sniper rifles that had belonged to the Special Tactics Group (STG).

They were mainly Steyr SSG69 PII and at least one PI, with Kahles ZF69 6x scopes but there a couple of Parker Hale C3 rifles, also with the Kahles ZF69 scopes.

I brought two SSGs, but didn't have enough spare cash for a C3 as well. I had a nice PH 1200 at the time anyway.
The C3s were exactly the same as the NZ Army ones.

I still kick myself for not getting one.

 

[merrildog]

Wife was gone, so I made a push to finish this project up this week, a couple weeks shy of a year from the start date. I bedded the action, tang recoil lug and about 3/4 of an inch in front of the torque ring. I used Pro Bed 2000, which really worked well. Flows nicely, and is easy to work with. I stripped the stock of its original finish, which I actually had grown fond of. Did my final fitting and function check, and found the safety would not lock the bolt. Comparing the Santa Barbra to the CZ, I found the SB uses a notch machined into the right rear of the bolt to engage a finger, locking the bolt when the safety is applied. I carefully replicated the notch with a handy Dremel tool, and all functions. The stock was finished in walnut stain, and coated with BLO. It actually turned out with a nice grain. Installed the (incorrect) accessory rail, mounted the scope rails, RHLS rings, and honed the rings. Bushnell Tac-Ops scope dropped in with just enough eye relief. quick wipe down, and done. Thank you to everyone who chimed in with guidance, their use and observations of these rifles. I have to wait on breaking in the barrel and sighting her in due to our current fire weather. I shall post the results. Need to figure a sling out as well, originals are rare, so maybe try my hand at reproducing one.

 

[Sinned]

Beautiful work! This inspires me to get mine finished.

 

[sandwarrior]

A few years ago (about 25), the NZ Police sold off a few sniper rifles that had belonged to the Special Tactics Group (STG).

They were mainly Steyr SSG69 PII and at least one PI, with Kahles ZF69 6x scopes but there a couple of Parker Hale C3 rifles, also with the Kahles ZF69 scopes.

I brought two SSGs, but didn't have enough spare cash for a C3 as well. I had a nice PH 1200 at the time anyway.
The C3s were exactly the same as the NZ Army ones.

I still kick myself for not getting one.

FWIW, you probably did better investment-wise. But, you didn’t end up with at least one C3.

 

[ChrisF308]

The differences of the C3 & the C3A1 , the main 2 are the actions are different 1 ) , the C3 is a std PH M98 type action with floor plate , ie no mags , the C3A1 use's the PH M87 action , which is a 1/2 enclosed top action , using detach box mags of 6 or 10 rds , has steel bottom metal, this action is std lenght , so more like what the US would call a long action , ie not a short action .
2) The scopes are different , Kahles ZF69 for C3 , Unertl 10x for the C3A1 , also the special steel ring mount was designed by the scope maker .
To save money & so they could say its a upgrade & not a NEW rifle , they used the old bolts out of the C3 rifles & the stocks , scraped the rest .
The M87 mags are double feed & of long action lenght , and are PH design & manufactured .

The PH M87 action is not like the M85 , the 85 action is virtually enclosed on the top , and has a long barrel thread in , and uses short action mags etc , the action is bolted in front & behind the rear of the mag housing , which is Not the rear action screw . Looking under the stock , you will see , 3 bolt heads , the rear one , does not screw into the action to hold it in place at all , the 3rd bolt goes 1/2 way into the stock ( wood or fibreglass ) and looks like a wood type screw , it does not screw into steel action .

Hope that helps ,

Later Chris

 

[Sinned]

I'll have to take some pictures of my C3A1 and see if I can post them, it has the McMillan stock and a Cadex scope mount that I installed a Schmidt & Bender. Shoots really quit well out to 800 yards, haven't been farther than that with it.

 

[Simongsh]

I did a spin on the m82 as well.
but used a Kulspruta 8mm machine gun barrel, set the chamber back to 8mm mauser. installed on a 1908 brazilian large ring. So far its been more fun to shoot, than my .50 bmg. zero issues hitting 10" plates at 600 with fixed 10 power glass. It favors 196 grain M75 yugo surplus.

 

[ZG47A]

I did a spin on the m82 as well.
but used a Kulspruta 8mm machine gun barrel, set the chamber back to 8mm mauser. installed on a 1908 brazilian large ring. So far its been more fun to shoot, than my .50 bmg. zero issues hitting 10" plates at 600 with fixed 10 power glass. It favors 196 grain M75 yugo surplus.

Looks like a serious piece of kit. The stock looks good and extremely practical. More images please.

 

[aprocast]

I did a spin on the m82 as well.
but used a Kulspruta 8mm machine gun barrel, set the chamber back to 8mm mauser. installed on a 1908 brazilian large ring. So far its been more fun to shoot, than my .50 bmg. zero issues hitting 10" plates at 600 with fixed 10 power glass. It favors 196 grain M75 yugo surplus.

Very interesting, I had never heard of the Kalspruta before, thanks for bringing it up, I did some research, that is a fascinating weapon

 

[Simongsh]

Looks like a serious piece of kit. The stock looks good and extremely practical. More images please.

Did the build back around 2017, and have made a few small changes here, and there. Originally the muzzle end of the barrel came to a larger dia, and I opted to skim it down on the lathe, to match the OD of the rest of the barrel. It started as a matching numbers 1908, did the barrel swap, and fitted everything to the stock. pillar bedded the stock, installed a parker hale trigger, and tossed a small piece of 4340 stock on the mill, to make the bottom rail for attachments. folded over the bolt handle, and installed a aluminum knob I made, and anodized at home. Have since tig welded the top single piece scope base to the top of the action. It occasionally sports a BoBro bipod.
Really enjoy playing with it, as it was just as much fun to build. Was my first build, using a mauser action, and completing all the work when time was available on my own. minus the welding the base, as I managed to get a bud to do it, while I was running machines.
The largest pain, was removing the old 7mm mauser barrel. in which I used low heat, kano karoil, a 20 ton press, and shop made action vice.
glass is a bushy elite tactical in fixed 10

 

[Simongsh]

Very interesting, I had never heard of the Kalspruta before, thanks for bringing it up, I did some research, that is a fascinating weapon

Seems the second machine guns came about, one design took off, and just about everyone put their own spin on it. I stumbled across the barrel in unfired form, that was still in cosmo, and paper. seems they made a number of them, and they ended up in storage till some one dug em out.
knew that it was org a 8mm chamber, but fired a slightly heavier load, than that of the 8mm mauser. fortunately I lucked out, and it liked the m75 ammo I scored earlier that year. I had leaned on using a match 308 barrel, until finding the 8mm ammo.

 

[ZG47A]

Thank you. The rifle looks even better in the extra images. I have always liked the Bushnell 10x as a practical sighting telescope BUT it is limited to 1/4 minute of arc adjustments, in catalogue form. I spend enough time doing maths as a carpenter to prefer the simplest (most error-proof) calculation option in every case. A US retailer, possibly Brownells, arranged a special run with 0.1 mil adjustments but I did not have any spare money to spend on shooting when that option was available.
Do you plan to reload with Partizan projectiles when your ammo supply is used up or will you be looking at the Hornady target bullet?

 

[Simongsh]

Thank you. The rifle looks even better in the extra images. I have always liked the Bushnell 10x as a practical sighting telescope BUT it is limited to 1/4 minute of arc adjustments, in catalogue form. I spend enough time doing maths as a carpenter to prefer the simplest (most error-proof) calculation option in every case. A US retailer, possibly Brownells, arranged a special run with 0.1 mil adjustments but I did not have any spare money to spend on shooting when that option was available.
Do you plan to reload with Partizan projectiles when your ammo supply is used up or will you be looking at the Hornady target bullet?

as of right now I have a little over 1000 rounds of m75 yugo, 200 rounds m49 yugo, 100 rounds Turk, 100 rounds PPU new production, 500 rounds new production on reclaimed brass and projectiles out of Russia which advertise 2500 fps and same weight as the 75.
I have reloading supplies for the chamber, including some Nosler Ballistic tips, Barnes Tipped TSX. But have yet to squeeze any together, due to the decent pile of loaded ammo here already. About 3 years ago, I made the mistake, of purchasing from the US department of defense, when they managed to come up with a ton of 8mm mauser. Unsure how or why they had it. But as it turned out it was mainly Iran production, and would discarge on avg 10- 20 seconds after pulling the trigger. I Piled the remainder of the 1k useless rounds in a box, and honestly do not remember where I stored them. Need to track em down, and destroy them, as the primers, brass, even projectiles were not worth saving unfortunately

 

[ZG47A]

as of right now I have a little over 1000 rounds of m75 yugo, 200 rounds m49 yugo, 100 rounds Turk, 100 rounds PPU new production, 500 rounds new production on reclaimed brass and projectiles out of Russia which advertise 2500 fps and same weight as the 75.
I have reloading supplies for the chamber, including some Nosler Ballistic tips, Barnes Tipped TSX. But have yet to squeeze any together, due to the decent pile of loaded ammo here already. About 3 years ago, I made the mistake, of purchasing from the US department of defense, when they managed to come up with a ton of 8mm mauser. Unsure how or why they had it. But as it turned out it was mainly Iran production, and would discarge on avg 10- 20 seconds after pulling the trigger. I Piled the remainder of the 1k useless rounds in a box, and honestly do not remember where I stored them. Need to track em down, and destroy them, as the primers, brass, even projectiles were not worth saving unfortunately

The way it goes sometime. I picked up several hundred rounds of WW2 aircraft ammo i.e., red band .30-06 to shoot in my ZG47. It was perfectly accurate and reliable in my rifle but a guy with an M1 Garand experienced several misfires with the same batch. I plan to reload those cases at some stage but my Hornady New Dimension .30-06 dies are set up for the undersized brass dimensions adopted by SAAMI. Those Hornady dies reduce the base diameter to less than that of unfired military brass. I have read that US ammo manufacturers deliberately make some rifle cases undersize in order to avoid complaints from once-a-year hunters who allow the chambers of their self-loading rifles to rust up; and that seems plausible. At some stage I will send off several fired cases in order to get a correctly dimensioned resizing die made.
I have a 1950 Brno Volkspolizei rifle in 8x57 IS. It came fitted with a Lyman 57 peep which, weirdly, has 1/4 minute adjustments. I filed the original foresight so that the top and sides taper towards the muzzle, in order to achieve the sharp-edged Patridge effect seen on No.1 Mk III backsights. The rifle is nicely accurate and I may change it over to a scope, in which case I will attempt to acquire a stock of suitable Partizan projectiles to compare with my Hornady 195 grain flat base projectiles. Thank you for your responses.

 

[thefresh2o]

if anyone is interested i have the 68 page maintenance manual for the M82 in PDF.

I'd love a copy of this too, if the offer is still there.
Cheers

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

I had my stock for a long time before I decided to do something with it. It was NOS from Numrich back in the mid -90's. Looked for a long time for parts and never found much. So I put it away and waited. Finally got tired of waiting and picked a VZ24 action, sent them to CDI for bottom metal. Another year or so passed and I took it to Rivers Bend for completion. I got a bolt knob off EBay. Not entirely happy with that choice but Jeff Hayes did a good job with it. It's in 7x57 with a Bartlein 8.7 twist. I had Jeff throat it out longer to get Berger 175 Hunters up and out of the shoulder junction. That is a fairly high BC bullet and the length is versatile enough to use with other (cheaper) bullets. I don't hunt, just thought the 175 Berger was close enough to what I was looking for.
View attachment 7555161

What kinda velocities can 7x57 do with 175’s in said throat configuration? Any reason you didn’t go 7x57 improved just for that extra bit of capacity? Or .280/.280 improved for that matter?

@RWSGunsmithing @sandwarrior was the closed top M85 box mag fed Parker Hale ever used/fired shots in anger? By any unit, military or police?

 

[sandwarrior]

What kinda velocities can 7x57 do with 175’s in said throat configuration? Any reason you didn’t go 7x57 improved just for that extra bit of capacity? Or .280/.280 improved for that matter?

@RWSGunsmithing @sandwarrior was the closed top M85 box mag fed Parker Hale ever used/fired shots in anger? By any unit, military or police?

The 7x57 can do 2700 with 168's no question. Powder and barrel length help a lot. That's the highest I could shoot as my 7x57's have looser twists that won't stabilize 175's.
The original 7x57's did almost 2500 (2460~ish?)with 173 gr. bullets. They were toned down a bit as most military rounds are. I say most as 5.56 is NOT toned down. Also, way better powders are available for it now.

As far as I know, the Brazilian Marines have not fired them (M85) in anger. The Malaysian Paskal have. Insurrections and radical islamic activity have required their use. 'Where and when' are not known specifically. Only that they were used. Those are the only two 'known' units to adopt them.

However, SAS had also adopted them (unofficially) in limited numbers and supposedly they were used in hostilities. The 'where and when' of those is still classified, IF they were used.

 

[Hetzer]

What kinda velocities can 7x57 do with 175’s in said throat configuration? Any reason you didn’t go 7x57 improved just for that extra bit of capacity? Or .280/.280 improved for that matter?

I have not gotten around to trying them out yet. My range time has been less than I'd like and have had other things to try that seemed more important when I did get there. Too many things not enough time.

As for the choice of straight 7x57? Just simplicity and a bit of tradition maybe. When I was thinking about it, maximising velocity was not a priority.