No! It's not a Bubba, it's a factory rifle!

[Four Fingers of Death]

These went on sale here in the 60s. Boy, I really wanted one, but was a young man of miserable means at the time. They are made up on a No4Mk1 action with a shortened magazine. The stock, forend, barrel and sights were all new. Th eside of the action has three small holes drilled and filled with screws for a scope mount.

There are a few tiny dings under the forend and apart from that the rifle looks new. The Vintagers in Australia have a rifle match as well as all of the shotgun stuff and rifle are supposed to be representative of the 1880s-1940 period. This would have been very similar to rifles produced at the time.

I remember Dad's company commander apparently had a 303 sporter. When I bought a sporterised SMLE home years ago, Dad said 'that is just like GOD's rifle, but his was real fancy!' The major's name was Gerry O'Day, his men all called him GOD. I think it will go well on cast boolits :D'

Here are a few pics, along with a stock Savage for comparison:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/4fingermick/Bolt%20Rifles/ParkerHaleNo4Sporter.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/4fingermick/Bolt%20Rifles/ParkerHaleNo4Sporter11.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/4fingermick/Bolt%20Rifles/ParkerHaleNo4Sporter10.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/4fingermick/Bolt%20Rifles/ParkerHaleNo4Sporter7.jpg

That's all folks! More pics at :

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/4fingermick/Bolt%20Rifles/

If you are interested.

I don't know how this would stand up to a full diet of factory loads. I will shoot about 50-60 through it to sort the barrel out then it will be lead for the rest of its time with me (hopefully a reallllllllllllllllll long time).

[Jack Stanley]

Interesting rifle for sure , I don't believe I've seen another quite like it . I do hope it runs well for ya .

Jack

[Buckshot]

...............I've seen lots of American type SMLE sporters that obviously look EXACTLY like a military SMLE in a sporter type stock. Your rifle looks VERY nice! That is a real clean job they did and is a rather handsome looking sporter!

.................Buckshot

[Four Fingers of Death]

They were sold as a new rifle by Parker Hale , . They were on sale her in the very early 70s. I thought that it was the late 60s but working things out over the last day or so, it was the 70s. I cleaned the bore, it looks new, but has obviously been used as the patch came out blue when the Sweets was used. Shooting lead, it will outlast me that's for sure.
kinda like the Midland made up on the 03' actions. Actually, from memory, they were bulk 03' bolts and a commercial action made for them. Mick

[BruceB]

Vast numbers of Parker-Hale .303 sporters were sold in Canada during my youth. My parents gave me one for Christmas the year I turned 16. It was the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas, and I'd bugged them mercilessly for many months (16 was the age at which we could start hunting in Ontario without an adult along).

The rifles varied from a simple trimming of the fore-end and removal of handguards, leaving the issue front sight, to complete sporter configuration with Monte Carlo buttstocks, shortened barrel with ramp sporter sight, and everything in between. My particular #4 had the issue aperture sight, a shortened barrel with ramped and hooded front sight, and issue buttstock. The magazine had also been reduced to five-round capacity, as on the rifle Mick shows us. I loved it, and it killed my first several moose very neatly.

P-H also modified the #1 MkIII rifles, again varying from rather complete sporterization to the most minimal....I once bought a P-H MkIII from the Hudson's Bay Company store in Yellowknife for $9.99, and its only mods were the removal of handguards and reshaping of the forward end of the fore-end. For the cost, it's difficult to imagine a more effective camp rifle. I've also seen P-H conversions of the .303 P-14, but they were far less common than the Lee Enfields.

The rifle illustrated is one of the more-elaborate conversions of the #4, and it does away with one of the #4's best features....the receiver aperture sight. Parker-Hale made a good side-mount to fit such rifles, so it's just a question of what the buyer desired. I see the P-H mounts on Ebay from time to time, so it's still a possible concept. Bolt handles need no modification for use with scopes.

I'd be very surprised if that's not the issue barrel on the rifle illustrated. Mick, are there no proofmarks under the fore-end? A good buffing before re-bluing may well have removed them, but British rifles are usually amply supplied with interesting marks.

It was apparent to me at the time, back in the '50s/'60s, that the better-condition rifles received more-elaborate conversions, which certainly made sense. My P-H #4 had an extremely good barrel, but the "$9.99 Special" had clearly done some shooting before coming to me.

This sure brings back fond memories, both of my .303 and also some real oddballs. How about a Tokarev semi-auto rifle rebarreled to .30-30?? We had 'em, and even Sears sold them by mail order.

[9.3X62AL]

Mick, that IS a handsome rendition of the Lee-Enfield. Not a "Bubba Special" by any means.

[dnepr]

4fingermick

Ok you have a Parker Hale .303 a Mosin Nagant , you had a Dnepr and you seem to like leverguns, and you cast your own ( obviously) . If .444 marlin is your favorite caliber and you are into hotrod cars also, I am going to some reaserch into my geneology.:shock::) :)

The better half is concerned that there might be someone else out there like me

[Four Fingers of Death]

4fingermick

Ok you have a Parker Hale .303 a Mosin Nagant , you had a Dnepr and you seem to like leverguns, and you cast your own ( obviously) . If .444 marlin is your favorite caliber and you are into hotrod cars also, I am going to some reaserch into my geneology.:shock::) :)

The better half is concerned that there might be someone else out there like me


Wellllllllllllllll, I'm big on the 444 and a have anice 444S. Never been into hotrods though (no money left after swandering it on guns). I also like pistols and bolt guns :D In fact, if it goes bang, I'll stand behind it.

[26Charlie]

4fingermick, Thats a nice looking rifle. They are still doing conversions on these actions. Picked up this Navy Arms Company .45-70 version at a gun show in Lewiston ME 2 weeks ago. Magazine is a replacement designed to hold 3 rounds only, but they do feed OK. Action is refinished No 1 Mk III* from Lithgow, bolt is satin-nickeled, sights are Williams Guide rear, ramp & bead front. Buttstock is original with a half-ass refinish, but the forend is a nice piece of tropical hardwood I cannot identify. Only tried one load so far, a 400 gr. Lee PB with 28.5 gr. 4198 - it shows promise.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I should make one of those up, I have a SMLE reciever sight made by Field, an Australian company years ago. It is chrome plated, which I'd have to attend to.

I wouldn't mind a 38/55 or similar, maybe a 444Marlin.

[quasi]

mick, you have a Parker hale as you know, the model is the "Custom #4". I have a few scans of Parker hale catalog pages I can email you if you like.

[Four Fingers of Death]

mick, you have a Parker hale as you know, the model is the "Custom #4". I have a few scans of Parker hale catalog pages I can email you if you like.


That would be great, thanks :

fourfingersofdeath@hotmail.com

Mick.

[KCSO]

In the process of trying to make my own Lee Speed I have converted a couple of the 10 round magazines to 6 rounders and I can tell you that Parker Hale sold the magazines cheap enough! Santa Barbara??? was the distributor of these her in the States and I had one like this in the 70's. But my all time best 303 was a hand made copy of Fredrick Russell Burnham's personal gun. It have everything exact except for the will carved into the butt.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I personally do not like the sawn off magazines. The shape of the trigger guard is all wrong when the mag is removed. I will probably leave it as it will work better for the mag that belongs to it. I fancy reaming this one out to 303Epps. Never seen it in australia, so I'd probably have to import the reamer for it. I should be able to sell it on, but maybe it would be handy for cleaning up sloppy chambers.

[xcaribooer]

I came across this thread while searching for something else on the net and just had to get in on it!
That is a very nice custom no4 mick.
I am a parker hale sporter enthusiast you could say.I have owned many enfield sporters but none even close to as nice as the PH's.a close second might be the Churchill's.
I own a few PH supreme no4's and searched for 2 years for a custom no4 before finding one.
here is a pic of my 3 fav's

top one is a supreme no4

middle one is a custom no4

bottom one is a supreme no4 professionally milled to resemble the custom no4(I call it my custom supreme)It is my most accurate with 1 1/4" group at 100yds

the camo job is a supreme no 4 that was milled to be like the custom as well, then gunkote'd green with a camo synthetic stock added.
regrettably in a moment of weakness I sold this one.

[bruce drake]

OK,

Off-topic here but the second Crocodile Dundee movie shows Mick with an Enfield sporting a pistol grip buttstock. Is this a common stock in Oz or was this a one-off for the movie? Its alway's tweaked my interest when I saw the movie.

Thanks for any assistance.

Bruce

[Pepe Ray]

Hi Bruce & Mick;
Hope this doesn't go OT too much. But as a SMLE admirer I recall reading some of Col. Coopers ramblings in which he remarked about seeing ,in his over seas travels, a modified SMLE with a FOLDING P.G. stock. It may have had a Scout Scope on it as well. NOW THATS interesting!
Pepe Ray

[Four Fingers of Death]

I forgot about this thread, sorry about that.

I haven't seen any with pistol grip stocks (these were illegal until recently, when they bought the new gun laws in they seem to have forgotten about pistol grip stocks. What was a reasonably common mod was a 'grip extension' set into the stock. Most were as ugly as sin. I remember a picture of a No4 with a 'assault rifle' style stock and forend. I am at an internet cafe in a hotel. When I get home I will have a scrabble about on my computer for the picure. I don't know if I saved it or not.

Nice looking guns guys, you really like No4s xcariboor, thats for sure.

[exblaster]

I just traded for one of these Parker Hale sporter. Thy are sure neet rifles. I have a question about what appears to be a date on the right side of the chamber. There is stamped into the metal 2-6-57 is this a re barrel date? The action was made in 41 at Lithgow and is a Mk III. The barrel and receiver have the same serial number. Thank you for any help.

Exblaster

[JSnover]

4fingermick, Thats a nice looking rifle. They are still doing conversions on these actions. Picked up this Navy Arms Company .45-70 version at a gun show in Lewiston ME 2 weeks ago. Magazine is a replacement designed to hold 3 rounds only, but they do feed OK. Action is refinished No 1 Mk III* from Lithgow, bolt is satin-nickeled, sights are Williams Guide rear, ramp & bead front. Buttstock is original with a half-ass refinish, but the forend is a nice piece of tropical hardwood I cannot identify. Only tried one load so far, a 400 gr. Lee PB with 28.5 gr. 4198 - it shows promise.

I got one of those! Added a LimbSaver and it's one of my favorites!!

[No_1]

Those sure are some pretty rifles!

Robert

[smaragadine]

Hi, I got myself a Parker Hale custom, but it's not a No4 action. Looks very similar to the Custom No4 a few posts up.

It's a No1 MkIII, that's to say a SMLE as opposed to the big brother No4. The stock is slightly different, the fore-end cap and colts-foot cap are light in colour, looks a bit like cherrywood. I think the rest of the stock is mahogany, really deep-red and straight grained.

Any of you knowledgeable types know what this lovely little beast is?

She shoots very well, and the action is like liquid glass. Trigger on the other hand is bad, needs some work. Also some numpty decided to paint the metal parts of the action some time ago. Bit of a project really, but she's at a loving home now.

[Four Fingers of Death]

How about a picture? Old smellies were real popular to sporterise here in Australia, there were some nice ones about. Just about everyone my age owned at least one at one stage. I've had a few 303/25s, but only one 303, apart from this recent acquisition.

From memory, I was told the weight of the trigger pull could be adjusted by bending the mag well. Is this true?

I've always fancied converting some of these old Sporters into interesting rounds (35Remington, 375Win), etc, but for the costs involved, you can just about buy a brand new rifle or definetly buy a good strong second hand hunting rifle. Not worth it, but I'd still like to do it.

Now.................... there was that conversion of an M17 sporter to 35 Whelan, teh 375H&H as well and the 94 Winny converted to 35Lever Power, yarda, yarda, yarda.
:(

[smaragadine]

Not a lot to show picture-wise atm. All I've got is the wood, the metal is away being refinished. I've stripped the god-awful yellowing cellulose varnish off the stock, and she's now smelling of wax and linseed oil. It's a long-term finish, she'll be properly dry in around 4-6 months, then it's a buff-up and a reapplication once a year or so.

I know what you mean about the .303 wildcats. There's an old SAffie standard, the 6mm Musgrave, that I'm seriously considering rebarrelling this action to if the barrel proves bad. I'll probably have to pay for the reamers, but that is a really sweet cartridge, well worth it.

Cost is one factor of course. Now, if some forward-thinking soul could be persuaded to produce some new, high quality Lee actions that'd be something, eh? Doubt there'd be much of a market, but I do seem to recall that IBM said the same thing about PCs in the 60s.

[BruceB]

I'll tell you guys what....I've loved Enfield .303s for over fifty years, but just this week I obtained THE ULTIMATE Lee Enfield sporter of my life. It is flatly gorgeous to my eyes, and either the bunch of pals I had here this week was being VERY polite, or they were also extremely impressed. They all (five of them, ammohead, Buckshot, 9.3x62 AL and two others not known here at CB) had a chance to fire it.

To see this lovely creation based on a 1914-built #1 Mk III, go to

www.auctionarms.com and type in 9059436 as your search. See what you think...the gent takes much better photos than I do.

I yam in love all over again!

[Four Fingers of Death]

BruceB, that is one nice rifle! It is also the first shortened magazine that I liked the look of. Well done, Four Fingers.

[smaragadine]

That's one nice sporter, very rare to see one in such good condition. Lovely line to the stock as well, perfect really.