My No.4 Mk2 - Anything Special/Interesting?

[DiegoMenendez]

Hey guys,

Haven't posted anything on my No.4 Mk2, so thought I'd share it.

I purchased this rifle as shown from a collectors family (he sadly passed away).

The rifle shows almost no use, fitted with a Parker Hale PH5C and what I believe to be a "Deluxe Parker Hale Iris". The rifle also came with the front sight as shown in the photos below.

Is this anything special? A club rifle? Does the serial number give any insight? It's still chambered in .303, so not a DCRA rifle for sure.

Pictures here: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Any insight is appreciated!

Diego

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[smle addict]

Very nice addition to your stock. Nothing too terribly special about the No4 Mk2, other than it's beautiful and as clean as they get. Others will chime in, but I noticed the PH5-C back sight has 1/4 minute adjustment knobs. Also nice to have the adjustable iris. Should be a great shooter, Enjoy!

[Frederick303]

Looks like a regular century arms UK import, set up as a competitive rifle. Post 1968 the front ring aperture was legal for a few years prior to the 1972 target change that pretty much ended the No4 .303 competition outside of cadet matches.

That said the set up was almost certainly done here in the US, not in the UK. Reasoning:

1) Like new condition, most competitive rifles out of the UK show wear, the permitting does not really allow for safe queens like US laws do. Seriously even back then if you had a rifle or two to shoot for full bore and you did not, they would pull your permit, or so I have been told.

2) The front aperture is a Lyman, if set up with front ring aperture in UK around 1969 they would have used a Parker Hale model 2 or F22 front ring.

3) The rifle lacked the Parker Hale front screw-swivel (No 215J), the two point UK sling was the method used in 1969.

4) The import mark on the barrel is Century, all of the competitively set up rifles from shops were imported by small specialty houses, Century did not deal in such material.

Nice rifle, once broken in it would likely shoot very well indeed, though slugging the bore will help determine what kind of bullet will shoots best.

[DiegoMenendez]

Looks like a regular century arms UK import, set up as a competitive rifle. Post 1968 the front ring aperture was legal for a few years prior to the 1972 target change that pretty much ended the No4 .303 competition outside of cadet matches.

That said the set up was almost certainly done here in the US, not in the UK. Reasoning:

1) Like new condition, most competitive rifles out of the UK show wear, the permitting does not really allow for safe queens like US laws do. Seriously even back then if you had a rifle or two to shoot for full bore and you did not, they would pull your permit, or so I have been told.

2) The front aperture is a Lyman, if set up with front ring aperture in UK around 1969 they would have used a Parker Hale model 2 or F22 front ring.

3) The rifle lacked the Parker Hale front screw-swivel (No 215J), the two point UK sling was the method used in 1969.

4) The import mark on the barrel is Century, all of the competitively set up rifles from shops were imported by small specialty houses, Century did not deal in such material.

Nice rifle, once broken in it would likely shoot very well indeed, though slugging the bore will help determine what kind of bullet will shoots best.

Thanks for the info Fred! What were the benefits of the front ring aperture sights? I have yet to fire the rifle.

Regards, Diego

[CINDERS]

If those were all from the same estate I would have taken all 3 as they look very nice indeed nice looking rig should shoot very well a range report would be nice if you get around to shooting it. Thanks for the share.

[DiegoMenendez]

If those were all from the same estate I would have taken all 3 as they look very nice indeed nice looking rig should shoot very well a range report would be nice if you get around to shooting it. Thanks for the share.

The Savage and No.5 were purchased separately, though all three were found on Armslist. Funny enough, the MkVI I posted last week was also found on Armslist.

The MK2 will be headed to the range once I'm done fine tuning loads for the Savage Scopeless T. Can't wait to break in a new barrel.

[Frederick303]

The UK Fullbore targets 1968 and prior were what was called the "Tin hat", they were a 6 MOA half bull dark top half against a light blue background, and a clear bottom half a clear bull on a sand colored background. Here is what they looked like:

UK tin hat target - Bing images

Such a target is ideal for the front post with a width of between .065~.074 thickness with a No 4. The issue sight is .051 (nominal) having tried shooting on these targets, all I can say is they are very difficult for older eyes, the half bull fades out horribly. There is really only one hold (flat up against the half-bull) and you have to shoot fast.

1969 and later they went to the round black bull against a tan background target most US folks are familiar with. In the case of a ring front aperture you no longer need to see the bull clearly, instead you simply have a ring of between 11.5 MOA and 12 MOA (interior diameter) on the US SR/MR 6.5 MOA target and around 12.2 /13.2 MOA on the ISU bulls (7.2 MOA black). It is much easier to fire a 20 shot string with a ring aperture when one is older. Much easier.

[Strangely Brown]

2) The front aperture is a Lyman, if set up with front ring aperture in UK around 1969 they would have used a Parker Hale model 2 or F22 front ring.

That's one of the neatest conversions to a target front sight on a No.4 I think I've ever seen.