Hello everyone!
I was very pleased to find this forum with a dedicated Parker Hale thread.  I acquired a Parker Hale 300 win mag last week and am trying to learn as much as I can about it.  No photos yet, but it looks identical to the PH 1200 Supers, that I've seen on the forum.

Here's what i have on it.

PH 1200 Super in 300 win mag with a Nikon 4x scope.
The ejector blade is missing and the front sight/mounting ring are missing.  The barrell has a few small rust spots on it.  It should clean up nicely.  

ID on the rifle is "Parker Hale Ltd Birmingham England"  "Importer Jana Denver Col"  "cal 300 W Mag"  Serial number is "MAG-241122"  When I took the stock off, underneath I found "300 MAGNUM 2"  and then adjacent as a separate stamp " 620" "
Under that is   19 TONS per [ ] "  
(19 tons per square inch???)

The crossed lances have what looks like a V at the 9 o'clock position and a B at the 3 o'clock position.  The 6 o'clock position has a 3  .

Here are my questions:

1)What can you tell me about the age, etc???

2) I ordered a Mauser 98 bolt stop/spring/ejector assembly.  Will it probably fit?

3) Where can I find a front sight/mounting band assembly?  Will a Maunser 98 assembly work?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Mike Strickland
Hiram, Georgia

Hello Mike and welcome to the forum. First look up all posts written by brithunter on the Parker Hale.....he explains the date code in detail. Jana imported supers from mid 60's to late 70's.

Question 2. You don't need a whole assembly.....just the blade. Yes, the box, screw and blade are the same as a M98.

Question 3. Why do you need a front sight if it has a scope mounted on it? The 98 Mauser front sight is way to big for your Parker Hale. Supers had a ramp front sight sweated on and finding a replacement is a zero chance.

Sidebar. The 300WM is a huge caliber for the very light Parker Hale stocks so make sure no bubba has bedded the rifle and the action fits tight to the recoil lug or you run the risk of splitting the stock badly. Also do not fire it in a lead sled or similar shooting aids as your shoulder, ouch!. needs to absorb the recoil or once again, you run the risk of cracking the stock behind the tang.

Regards, Rick.

Thanks, Rick!
    I'll look for more of brithunter's posts to see what I can learn about the date.  Knowing that is is somewhere in teh 60s or 70s helps narrow it down a lot!
    On the ejector, the blade was only $3 from Tennessee Gun Parts, but he has a $10 minimum.  I couldn't find anything else I wanted, so I bought the assembly for $15.  Then I went ahead and also bought the blade and will probably not even use the assembly.  I figure I can sell it on Ebay!
    The problem on the front sight is that there are three holes in the top of the muzzle part way through the barrel.  For locating pins, I guess.  I don't like the way they look.  It did look like the Mauser sights might be too tall, but I wasn't sure.  Maybe I'll just fill the holes in with epoxy.  Or just not worry about it and enjoy the rifle!!
    I think the glassing is probably pretty good.  The guy I bought it from is an avid hunter and has shot it a lot.  Killed quite a few deer with it.  He assures me that it still shoots good and I've known him well for 20 years.  I examined the stock pretty closely, and there is no sign of any splitting.  
    I might get to shoot it some tomorrow.  I'm going to check out an outdoor range about 30 miles from here, and I might get to do some shooting if it isn't too crowded.  This range has a long distance range out to 500 yards, although tomorrow, I think the limit is 100 yards.
    Thanks for the info, Rick!

Mike S

Actually, the Mauser front sight base is much too big around as your rifle has a sporter barrel which has a much smaller diameter.  I sure would like to see some pictures of your rifle.....good shooting at the range. How much scope clearance do you have with the bolt handle? Regards, Rick.

Hi Rick,
   I'll have to decide what to do about the front sight.  As I said before, maybe just fill the holes.

   I'm posting some photos.  There is an overall shot of the rifle, one showing how the bolt handle clears the scope, and one showing the rust spots on the barrel that I need to get off.  It also shows the rosewood piece on the front of the stock.

   Has the bolt handle been ground down to clear the scope or is that the way it came from the factory?  

   Didn't get to shoot today.  The range was closed for the 4th of July holiday.  It looks like a cleared area in the middle of a corn field with dirt banks piled up for bullet stops.  I think it will b a good place to shoot.  Their web site is creeksidefiringrange.com .  

   I read through Brithunter's posts and figured out that my rifle was manufactured in 1970.  

   Thanks for all the help.  I'm heading over to the reloading thread next!

Mike Strickland
Hiram, Georgia

Oh dear, that rust needs attention . Use Blue Wonder with ***x steel wool and touch up with Brownells 44/40 cold blue. I have never seen a Super with any holes in the barrel for the front ramp.....were I you, I would fill them and forget it...after all, she ain't no collector rifle! How does the bore look? At this point the bore is critical. I would start by making sure all the copper is removed....Wipe out works good as does a number of other brands. OBTW, your bolt has been ground to clear the scope. My go to powder for the 300 Whinny is reloader 22.....see you at the other thread. Regards, Rick.

Yep.  Not a collector's rifle.  It's been hunted with... a lot.  And that's what I got it for also.

The bore looks like it could use some attention as well.  I wanted to shoot it to see how much accuracy it has left, but the range was closed.  Will see in a week or so.  The guy I got it from says it still shoots "good", so I'll have to see what that means.

We hunted in South Africa the first week in June, and I shot a borrowed 300 mag (not the Parker Hale).  It was the first time I had shot a 300 mag, because I usually shoot a 308.  Also, I have Bell's Palsy and can't use my right eye temporarily, so I had to shoot left-handed (also the first time for me).  I shot a Blesbok and a Waterbok.   That got me interested in the 300 magnum, but I didn't want to spend a lot on it, so I specifically wanted a "fixer upper".  

Thanks for the info on some products to use on it.  I'll see if I can get it cleaned up.  

Mike

Hi There,

   I would try contacting Williams about a sight ramp as I believe that's where P-H got their sights from for the 1200 Supers. Looking at my 1200 Super it has no visable screws on the ramp but comapring my 1100 lwt rifle that has a screw visable and is certainly a Williams product as I also compared it against the fore sight ramps fitted to my BSA CF2's and in the literture which came with the BSA it says it's a Wiallaims sight.

Thanks Brithunter!
I looked at the Williams Gun Sights website and downloaded their catalog.  Their catalog is more helpful than their website.  It looks like they can fit sights to almost ANY rifle!  You just measure the diameter of the barrel at the front sight location and at the rear sight location and then look up the diameter and height of the sight you need.  It looks like I can match up one of their front ramps and sights to the rear sight that is already on my Parker Hale.  

Thanks again!  They look like they have a good selection of sights!

Mike

Glad that I could be of some help It was only that I had the BSA's to compare and remembered that BSA said that they used Williams then comparing the foresight ramps that led me to the conclusion that P-H also used some Williams sights.

I will need to either download the catalogue or get a hard copy as I will be looking for some sights for a couple of projects and rifles. Plus I want to get a couple of sporting aperture sights and have at least one of my P-H rifles set up with one.

It would seem that the shooters of the past (1940' & 50's) rated the Lyman 48 reciever sight better than the Williams one but finding a good one is not easy.

The old Williams peeps were every bit as good as the Lymans. I have one on a 1903 sporter that is sensational. Regards, Rick.

Hmmmm that gives me more food for thought. I have a P-H 6E for my BSA Majestics and Monarchs and had made the slight relief cut to the stock on the .270 Majestic Featherweight to take it but I want to get a similar type/style sight for a P-H rifle so I need to look at the Williams more closely it seems.

Thanks for you input Rick :) .