Parker Hale No 4 sporter, Value?

walleyed99

walleyed99

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
Location
I'm not telling, Sask
I have this 303 sporter with an 22" barrel, great bore and rifling, have not shot it but intend to test fore it. A coworker wants it for his wife / nephew to use and trying to gage what's a fair price to ask for it. I believe its a mid line, not drilled and tapped, has a small Weld on the receiver. Would love to hear what the opinions are. Just want to be fair to him.

No scope mount, Parker Hale sights. 300/600 flip battle peep sight

*Edit*- measured barrel length and it is in fact a 22" barrel.
http://imgur.com/gallery/Ko154Kz
 
Last edited:
No idea. Did PH sell them with barrels that short? Could have been altered which would lower value somewhat I would think. Nice looking stocks on both of those though. Wish my sporter had wood like that.
 
Leg said:
No idea. Did PH sell them with barrels that short? Could have been altered which would lower value somewhat I would think. Nice looking stocks on both of those though. Wish my sporter had wood like that.
Click to expand...

Pulled the measuring tape out, it's a 22" barrel, not 18.5".the guy buying it mentioned an 18.5" barrel after he looked at it and I didn't verify it with a tape.
 
Parker Hale made and sold 4 grades of conversions for both the Lee Enfield No. 1 and the No. 4. Your rifle with the dark fore-end tip and the rear aperture sight has a stock very similar to the Parker Hale "Custom" - their highest grade. But the metal in that stock is not "Custom" - they came with a 5 round magazine, and the rear sight ears would have been removed, and would have been drilled and tapped along the left side of the receiver for a Parker Hale A29 side mount scope mount base. Your other rifle's stock looks like the second highest grade - the Supreme" - it did come with a 5 round mag as well. You should be able to find old ads on the Internet that show all four variations of each of the No. 1 and the No. 4 that they sold - your rifle really does not fit any of them.

As for price, I think Nomad68 is not far off. It would be a handy rifle with decent looking stocks, and a pistol grip. I can not tell if it is set up to have a scope installed or not.

I see original markings on the left side of the receiver wrist and along the receiver body - I do not think I have seen such marks left on a Parker Hale - they were pretty thorough about polishing that all off - so, reasonable guess is that someone replaced standard military wood stocks with Parker Hale Supreme stocks, and installed a Parker Hale marked front sight - I am quite sure those were readily available to buy back in the day.

One way to confirm - on the top right of the wrist - rear end of the receiver - right under or behind the bolt handle when it is closed - a Parker Hale will have been stamped with the letters "P" and "H". In a shooting position, you could reach up with your right thumb and put your thumb on them. That would tell you that the rifle had been a Parker Hale conversion - because the rear sight ears and the rear cross bridge is still present, it would have been a lowest grade of Parker Hale conversion - would have originally come with cut down military stocks, not those shown.

EDIT: FYI - to measure a "barrel" - close the bolt on an empty chamber. Insert a cleaning rod into the muzzle and all the way down to the bolt face - then make a mark on the cleaning rod at the muzzle. A "barrel length" on a rifle is from muzzle to the bolt face - so that "length" includes the chamber on a rifle - with some experience might be able to "guesstimate" by measuring with a tape measure on the outside, if you can tell where the bolt face would be within the receiver.
 
Last edited:
I did some reading online and I believe it is a custom model, which was below the supreme model, available with and without the receiver scope mount. Has the Parker Hale marking where it should.
 
Should be the Parker Hale ad below showing the 4 grades they did with No. 4 Lee Enfield. I notice that their "Custom" is showing with a recoil pad, and with the A29 side mount base already installed. Note that the receiver bridge and the rear sight ears have been removed on the "Custom". The "Supreme" was drilled and tapped to use the Parker Hale BA20 scope base on front and the BA21 scope base on the rear - so far as I know, only the Parker Hale rings were made to fit those bases without alterations. Note that only the "Standard" model came with the 10 round magazine - all the other three used 5 round mags, although the 10 rounders would fit and function perfectly.

Parker-Hale_Lee-Enfield_No. 4 Sporting_Rifles-1.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Parker-Hale_Lee-Enfield_No. 4 Sporting_Rifles-1.jpg
    Parker-Hale_Lee-Enfield_No. 4 Sporting_Rifles-1.jpg
    141.8 KB · Views: 161
Without being drilled and tapped, having that 300/600 sight would be a minus for me. I have a can of front sights, so could probably get the thing zeroed to my satisfaction, but installation of a Mk. I sight would make the rifle more desirable.
The Sile stocks make the rifle much more comfortable to shoot.
Let's assume that the bore is crisp.
Probably worth $300, maybe a bit more.
 
I just bought a PH Supreme , which the above rifle isn't , for $400 bones . It's also in better shape and has a PH side mount with rings . Going off of that , I'd say $300ish . It appears to be a No4 Mrk2 by the fore-end screw , that doesn't hurt the desirability . I'd buy it , and then install a Mrk 1 rear sight as tiriaq pointed out . It would make for a solid rifle .
 
anglia2 said:
I just bought a PH Supreme , which the above rifle isn't , for $400 bones . It's also in better shape and has a PH side mount with rings . Going off of that , I'd say $300ish . It appears to be a No4 Mrk2 by the fore-end screw , that doesn't hurt the desirability . I'd buy it , and then install a Mrk 1 rear sight as tiriaq pointed out . It would make for a solid rifle .
Click to expand...

That can be "iffy" - the Siles made stocks had an insert that slipped into the rear, so the same stock could be used on either a Mk.1 or a Mk. 2 - actually would have to drop the trigger guard to know for sure. And if not known or advertised as such, I would default to the Mk.1 trigger attachment. However, it is a Mk. 1, not a Mk.1*, so likely a British made rifle - not Savage or Long Branch - so I agree it would make into a fine solid example.
 
Last edited:
Personally I find the de luxe the most attractive.

It would take a very nice rifle and a motivated buyer to come up to $400.
 
walleyed99 said:
I did some reading online and I believe it is a custom model, which was below the supreme model, available with and without the receiver scope mount. Has the Parker Hale marking where it should.
Click to expand...

I think that you have this backwards - check the Parker Hale ad. The "Custom" was the highest grade - most expensive, then the "Supreme" was lower, then the "De Luxe", then the "Standard". Only the Custom had the rear bridge removed, so only it could use the side mount A29 base, but no reason any of them could not have the bridge and rear sight ears sawed off to use that A29. I believe that the Supreme receiver ring was already drilled and tapped for the front A20 base - the A21 base simply replaces the rear aperture sight, so needs those ears to be left in place. I don't think the De Luxe or the Standard had any provision to mount a scope, since both came with a standard military butt stock - no Monte Carlo or pistol grip - but not sure about that. Can get confusing - anyone could have drilled and tapped holes into the front receiver ring or into the side wall, with varying degrees of accuracy.
 
Last edited:
walleyed99 said:
I did some reading online and I believe it is a custom model, which was below the supreme model, available with and without the receiver scope mount. Has the Parker Hale marking where it should.
Click to expand...

The "custom" had a rear sight mounted on the barrel, while the "supreme" had a military rear sight.

Potashminer is right about the different grades.
 
I have a Deluxe #4. It is a No4 Mk2 that obviously was "as new" before PH got their hands on it. It came to me c/w the two piece PH bases and rings, and appears to have been D+T'd at the factory.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom