Parker Hale Barrel/gas block on an ex NZ rifle

[mrclark303]

Do you want to cry, I mean really cry (someone will have to consul mrclark303, I think he's going to have a turn).............................. those barrels I was telling you about, the image I saw was dated 2012, and the barrels were new and dated 1986 and 1990, they along with some NIW L2A1 barrel assemblies were heading out to be modified so they could be assembled to new 'deactivated guns'.

Just picked myself off the floor .. What a waste of brand new barrels, I am amazed they didn't get sold in the US, new L1/L2 barrels would go for US450 or more there in 2012, even more now.

1990 dated barrels.. Now that is very late production!

I don't suppose you have any new barrels in your amazing collection do you Kevin?

[Gil Boyd]

Just for accurate information on history from those survivors of the company and records held.
Parker Hale refurbished quite a few L1A1's in the 1980's all recorded, and these were done and returned to Donnington. They were led to believe that they were to be sold to other countries and not put into war storage.
Some barrels were fitted to rifles that were used by the British Army shooting teams first, and these were used to great effect and did win quite a few prestigious shoots.

Following that everyman and his dog wanted PH barrels, the fact they didn't have any proff marks is not surprising, as quite a lot of the barrels were sent to Donnington as spares (unproofed).

It could be that NZ acquired some of these (complete rifles as well as spares) but the rifles that PH refurbished were British one's not one's destined for NZ or anywhere else.
Hope that helps clarify the situation.

[mrclark303]

Many thanks for that info Gil, I had no idea PH actually refurbished the rifles for the MOD too, I thought they just provided the spares for base workshop rebuilds.

[Brian Dick]

The U.S. Government banned the import of any used or new surplus military barrels in July 2005.

[mrclark303]

And that answers the other question as to why they were deactivated, what a waste of barrels .. That also explains the strong US price for L1A1 barrels, with a finite number, no more being imported and getting rarer by the day.

What a fantastic information resource we have in our combined membership!

[tankhunter]

The U.S. Government banned the import of any used or new surplus military barrels in July 2005.

But if the gas block & flash hiders were stripped off them. Wouldn't they qualify as 'Sporting' Barrel's Brian? For importing purposes?............

[Peter Laidler]

It seems almost nonsensical and strange that P-H were contracted to refurbish L1A1's as rifles - as opposed to manufacture spares. Especially with the large under-used Base Workshop capacity that we already had at the time, when it was still a REME asset as opposed to the later commercial ABRO facility.

I have a gut feeling that this out sourcing of in-house work to keep the struggling P-H in work and employed while the hoped for but not-to-be sniper rifle contract came on stream together with the proposed new target rifle to replace the dire L81 came about. Just my view of course. But P-H were always well catered for in lucrative contracts for cleaning kit material. Some say that at the later stages, even that was absolutely dire when it came to the 'new' SA80 stuff. But like they told me when the proposed L81 replacement was shelved. '.....We supplied exactly what they trialed and contracted for...........'

As a matter of interest, during that time too, they were asked to submit a single shot 5.56mm rifle for Cadet Forces. I don't think the moderators would allow me to repeat the words used by the trials team AND the Cadets* AND the Training teams fed back to the Trials wing!
*Cadets were pulled in from 10 or so of the School and County Cadet Forces, paid and housed at Warminster for 2 months worth of weekends during the trials. The L98 won.

[Gil Boyd]

Spilt my tea there.
Peter, you touched on the raw nerve of Army/Civvy manufacturing "Politics" there, and I fully agree on your views about the Cadet rifle which is confirmed in the material I have here.

What sad sad days they must have been, when such a great English Rifle manufacturer as Parker Hale was kept alive with refurbishments and the like when the writing was clearly on the wall!!

You must have seen it all at Warminster, and this was just one of many frustrating areas where a lot of time wasting trials and committment were totally abused by a small nucleus of people on both sides IMHO

[Peter Laidler]

I wasn't there during this time Gil but as the Engr Officer at HQ Inf/SASC I had to oversee the destruction of zillions of the old microfische trials reports. They contained a lot of confidential and commercially sensitive material so couldn't be out-sourced for destruction*. I did keep some stuff, gave other bits to '...interested parties...' and.....

The opinion generally at the time was that P-H were a bit like Sterling and not volume small arms manufacturers and more one-trick-ponies. Mind you, so are some of the so called large manufacturers!

*What a palava getting rid of the mountains of shredded waste! As it was all celluloid type material and highly combustable it had to be land filled in certain sites and treated like asbestos!

[Gil Boyd]

I was just talking to a Police Armourer this morning who had the uneviable task of destroying all their AI sniper rifles, now surplus to requirement as per Home Office Policy, that was depressing, and with the current financial climate affecting Forces, why the hell don't they push them out into the market, "at this particular time"

You are right when you talk about small "one trick pony" companies delivering or not delivering the goods to a high standard to such formations such as the Military or Police, and we both know enough about what to discuss and what not to discuss on forums. I now know with what I have from copies of PH from their records, that the "good" stuff which would have explained a lot just wasn't there.

The L1A1's issue would no doubt have been explained with a covering contract one supposes and would have answered a lot of questions and I think you are perhaps right on that, with someone helping them to keep their aor in the water with MOD whilst they waited for the AI/M85 results............who knows, but I have a lot logged now on Excel spreadsheet from those early records all returned to Donnington where they probably went off to Pakistan for "hearts and minds" issues to be fulfilled!!!!

When I read the Canadian C3A1 refurbishment contract which is in the pile of papers and some pages I have published on this thread, and the resultant return of so many rifles which had serious issues with them, it does open your eys a bit!!