Question with Midland Rifle - Bolt - What Have I Got?

[sobo4303]

I acquired a Midland rifle on the EE. Was going to use it as a general shooter, expecting one of those Gibbs things.

I did not notice anything wrong and took it out to the range with the open sights. The thing could shoot . Mounted a scope, the thing shot even better (like 3/4" @ 100 yards shoot!). Went online and started to compare.

I understand the bolt is a Springfield bolt. I now believe the rifle is a made in the UK (Parker Hale). The bolts I have seen pictures of on the internet have the rear lug machined or shaped swept out with material removed. Mine is a solid rectangular piece. The reciever and barrel have the proof marks on them. The underside of the barrel has the markings 30/06, 2.49, 18 tons and a little logo with two swords crossed with the letters "L 4 C". Serial number is 34999

Can anyone tell me the year and a bit about this rifle? Any information will be appreciated.

 

[tiriaq]

The PH Midland was an economy rifle, designed by PH to use as many available parts as possible.
The barrel is a slightly modified sporting Mauser type barrel, with a longer shank.
The bolt is a slightly modified surplus 03A3 bolt. The cocking piece is new. The military safety hole is plugged.
The stock is one made for sporting Mauser 98s, by Sile in Italy.
The trigger mechanism is a standard commercial PH, with a different sear.
Trigger guard and magazine is standard die cast PH Mauser.
The receiver is a casting, set up to accept the Springfield bolt, and the Mauser type barrel, and fit a 98 Mauser inlet.
There is no pretense made for safety breeching; a bolt intended for a cone faced breech is used with a flat faced barrel breech; some case head is hanging out in the breeze.
The barrels generally shoot pretty well.

 

[Baribal]

The thing is that Parker-Hale got a very good deal on a bunch of '03 bolts and they did reverse engineering to build around it. That was intended to be a low price rifle and a lot of people call it a FrankenParkerHale .

Now, according to the Birmingham proofmark (L-C, inspector #4) your rifle was made (or, if you prefer, proofed) in 1985.

 

[sobo4303]

Cool! Thanks!