Why in the world would you do that I thought, then went ahead & started one any way. The real reason is that the Parker Hale and Pedersoli Whitworth replicas are not really replicas of anything I've ever seen. All the Military Match Whitworth rifles have steel butt plates, steel trigger guards, lock escutcheons, and steel nose caps. NONE have any of those pieces fabricated from brass.
So I bought an old Parker Hale 3 band rifle about 2 weeks ago and I was hoping it was a Whitworth, but no it had Alexander Henry rifling (I think), but in our world it was close enough. It is a mess too! It had 4 veneer patches in the barrel channel applied with epoxy and a tang sight base screwed into the wood........ not the first one either. The front sling swivel had been moved to the middle band and the swivel thinned to fit, but that's another story. So I thought let's do something with this (rare PH Volunteer) rifle that hasn't been done yet. So this is a journey of some length and hopefully it will turn out OK. The ultimate plan is to make all 3 items in steel as the originals were made. The trigger guard is extended to the rear & the sling swivel is mounted at the rear of the guard. The butt plate is the same shape, just made of brass. This rifle is closest to the Enfield Model 1862 Whitworth in form except for the brass parts.
The rifle was used for target purposes and was made in 1981, so 43 years ago it started life. Alexander Henry or Rigby rifling .451 caliber & 36 inch barrel. Here's a photo or 2:
It doesn't look like this any more, but that is for later. Here's a pict of the nose cap:
It's hard to see but it's not good when compared to my London Armory Company original:
Believe me the fit between the 2 is worlds apart. So this is where the steel nose cap comes in. I used the Parker Hale as a "go-by" and went from there:
So here is where I is now:
Lots more machining & filing work to do, but that is what retirement is for, at least for me.
later, Mike
So I bought an old Parker Hale 3 band rifle about 2 weeks ago and I was hoping it was a Whitworth, but no it had Alexander Henry rifling (I think), but in our world it was close enough. It is a mess too! It had 4 veneer patches in the barrel channel applied with epoxy and a tang sight base screwed into the wood........ not the first one either. The front sling swivel had been moved to the middle band and the swivel thinned to fit, but that's another story. So I thought let's do something with this (rare PH Volunteer) rifle that hasn't been done yet. So this is a journey of some length and hopefully it will turn out OK. The ultimate plan is to make all 3 items in steel as the originals were made. The trigger guard is extended to the rear & the sling swivel is mounted at the rear of the guard. The butt plate is the same shape, just made of brass. This rifle is closest to the Enfield Model 1862 Whitworth in form except for the brass parts.
The rifle was used for target purposes and was made in 1981, so 43 years ago it started life. Alexander Henry or Rigby rifling .451 caliber & 36 inch barrel. Here's a photo or 2:
It doesn't look like this any more, but that is for later. Here's a pict of the nose cap:
It's hard to see but it's not good when compared to my London Armory Company original:
Believe me the fit between the 2 is worlds apart. So this is where the steel nose cap comes in. I used the Parker Hale as a "go-by" and went from there:
So here is where I is now:
Lots more machining & filing work to do, but that is what retirement is for, at least for me.
later, Mike
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