Foremost 6500

[macomber]

I found a Foremost 6500 in a pawn shop last winter, chambered in 30-06.

It says made in England by Firearms Co.

Does anyone have any info on these? I've read that they are very much like the Parker-Hale 1200's.

Thanks for any info you can share.

Rich

[pietro]

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The Firearms Co. Ltd. of Bridgwater, England have been making the Alpine Mauser-action sporting rifle since about 1965.

They were issued with a plastic-finished wood stock in 243 Winchester, 270 Winchester, 30-06 or 308 Winchester, weighed about 7.5 pounds and had a five round magazine, 24" barrels, a hooded/ramped front sight blade, and an adjustable Williams rear sight.

The actions used were Mauser Model K98k actions, originally refurbished war surplus, later purchased new from Belgium (FN) and Spain (Santa Barbara).

IIRC, they were sold in the USA by the J.C.Penny chain stores.

Parker Hale once used the same Santa Barbara Mauser-clone actions for their rifles.


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[macomber]

thanks for the response.

Would like to hear from anyone who might have one, or had one in the past.

[macomber]

another request to hear from those who have / had one of these rifles.

[RustyReel]

Not sure what other info you are looking for as I think pietro pretty much nailed it. I don't own a rifle stamped Foremost, but I do have a couple commerical rifles that used the Santa Barbara (Spanish) action, a Santa Barbara 7mm Mag and a Parker Hale 30/06. Also have a couple that used the FN commercial action. The rifle you saw most likely used one of these actions and they were all pretty mush put together the same....maybe different style stocks but otherwise the same. If the serial number on the left side of the action started with a letter and a dash it is probably a Santa Barbara, if not it is probably an FN. If you like Mausers, you should like the Foremost. The Foremost stamp like all storebrand stamps does, IMHO, reduce the value of the rifle somewhat but it does not detract from it's use.

[macomber]

Hey, RustyReel thanks for weighing in.

Mine most be a Santa Barbara, P-2xxxx. This rifle is definitely for using, not collecting as it had a broken stock and a fair amount of surface rust that I had to deal with. But it was less than $150 out the door.

Now I've got it ready to shoot.

[RustyReel]

When you take the action out of the stock the side of the tang should be marked Spain. OR, it may have a bright spot where the word Spain was removed. My Santa B is marked, my Parker Hale (which many claim is a much higher quality rifle) has a bright spot where the word was ground off. Same action. Good luck with it!