Thank you for posting these pictures, they will be a big help to me in completing my project. I have never seen the actual side markings on one of these rifles. Your pictures are the clearest most detailed I have seen to date. I am afraid here in US of A we do not have any L81A1 action bodies, the closest match we have is P-H Model 84 MKII action bodies. With the exception of the open magazine well, these action bodies seem the same, to the point of the Mauser bolt having to have the reinforce guide rail be machined off and the funky late bolt release mechanism.

I note on your rifle the front hand stop rail is on a aluminum rail, instead of a steel metal insert with drilled screw locations, like that set up used on the old 1200TX target rifle. Is the aluminum rail original to your rifle or was it a post factory mod? I ask as the picture I have of the Model 84 MK II target rifle clearly shows the older drilled steel inset in the stock, not the aluminum rail.

I also note on your rifle the epoxy bedding seems a little different from what I expected. Having looked at Parker Hale 1200 TX and C3 rifles, it seems the first inch of the barrel is bedded as well as the action body on these designs. Is there a epoxy bedding pad under the first inch of barrel forward of the action body that is not evident on your photos?

Is the action body beded in the rear of the action body, around the rear action screw or is there simply a metal insert to avoid crushing the wood. In other words, is only the front ring of the action body bedded to that wood stock?

What sort of finish does the rifle have? Is it a paint or simply dark blue/black/oxide finish? From the pictures it seems to be a flat blue/oxide finish, not suncorite paint.

If you are familiar with the L81A1 rifle, could you tell us something of your rifle, its history, how you got it and how well it shoots? Do you notice a difference between it’s performance in the 600 and below vs. the 800 to 1000 yards competition? I am very interested in this rifle for some strange reason and have had a hard time getting any real information on it over here in the US of A. Anything you could add in regards to background information would be of great interest.

A further few questions for Peter Laidlericon:

Was the original L81A1 epoxy bedded at all? I ask as the stock I have seems to fit very closely to the action body without any bedding compound. I was under the impression the 1200TX and C3 were epoxy bedded, was the L81A1 similarly bedded?

You mention the rifle was very poor from a servicing point of view. Could you elaborate on that? I ask as the old Parker Hale 1200TX rifle seems to enjoy a good reputation, at least in Canadaicon for 600 yards and under shooting in the Pre 1996 days when C21 was the cartridge. I have heard hunters with P-H 1100 and 1200 rifles speak very warmly of these rifles as regards accuracy in the field. I am curious about what marked this P-H design a failure, was it simply by the time it came along (1983) that it was essentially obsolete compared to the Swing, Paramount and similar actions?

You mentioned that the cadets were more at home with the L39A1 rifles. Was this true in the short range competition as well? I was under the impression that the L39A1/Envoy rifles really shown at the 800 to 1000 ranges, that in the shorts (200 to 500 yards) the Mauser designs did very well in the post 1968 to 1996 time period.

Thank you both for your time in answering these questions.

I have the UKicon provisional users manual on this rifle from November 1982. The only other manual I have been able to find is the M85 sniper service manual. Does anyone have access to any true L81A1 or M83 rifle service manuals?

Regards

Frederick303