D.P. Enfield?

[dodger]

Our friend Balazs Nemeth demonstrates the difference between the Euroarms and the Pedersoli .
Pity he didn't have an original and a Parker Hale , that would be a very interesting comparison .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVkEc6bd6lQ

 

[Artificer]

IMHO PH and others have copied a design flaw.

Back in the early 1970's when I first began doing trigger jobs and other work on UnCivil War Firearms, my first mentor in doing the work had a saying that applies here. "The more exactly you copy an original gun, the more exactly you will copy all the design flaws that were in the original gun."

In the mid 80's, I was privileged to work over an original Tower M1858 2 Band Enfield Rifle that Val Forgett, Jr. owned and thought about loaning to the International Muzzle Loading Team. Well, the bore had a constriction in it that could not be corrected, so it could not be shot "as is." However, I took some time to compare it to the UK made Parker Hale 2 Band I owned. The differences were extremely small and nothing that would have affected shooting either Rifle.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

I use my father's ball gauges to measure bores with an odd number of lands. These are expanding ball shaped gauges that can be locked into position when the ball slides in the bore. The ball is measured with a micrometer. I needed to find those gauges to measure the bore on a recently acquired 7 land and groove rifle.

Guess I need to get some pictures.

Hi Grenadier,

Ball gauges measured with a micrometer are certainly very good, but precision pin gauges are even more accurate because they have a longer surface contacting the lands and you don't have to be concerned with the ball gauge lock slipping.

Gus

 

[Grenadier1758]

Gus, that's true. But I have the ball gauges and while there may be tolerance concerns about judging the fit and possible setting of the ball. That's why you would want to use the services of a tool maker who can afford the $300 or larger investment in a set of pin gauges.

 

[Scota4570]

You can turn your own tapered pin. Note where it touches and measure it with a micrometer. If you are really lucky you may have or can locate a scrap modern barrel with a taper and a section with the right diameter.

 

[Stantheman86]

From what I read , your best bet is to track down a used Parker Hale, if only one of the Italian made with Birmingham barrel models because only these have the progressive twist rifling and are made of top quality steel.

Some of the Italian repops are made with extrusion and none have the progressive rifling.

 

[TFoley]

As the man who helped the Pattern Room curator, the late and much-missed Herb Woodend, unpack the crate and check the contents of the ORIGINAL Enfield Small Arms factory gauges, patterns and fittings when they were [eventually] returned from their long sojourn with Roger Hale of Parker-Hale, I'm in the now unique position of letting you know that every single component piece of the original Parker-Hale rifles and carbine were an exact match with the sealed patterns.

What has happened to the production meanwhile is something I cannot truthfully comment on, except to note that nothing out there compares with a Parker-Hale version, except an Enfield-made original.

But heck, you know what they say about opinions? I'm sure that anything that DP makes at the upper end is going to be nice, and pal Roger sure has some nice toys, but I'm about to drop the hammer on a very early P-H two-band naval rifle, and, like the man has said, it's the best of the best.

tac

 

[Stantheman86]

Also there are only so many original Parker Hale Enfields and no more will be made , actually the prices are a bargain , I've seen unfired P-H 3-Bands in the box go for about $1,000. Pedersoli makes the best out of the Italians and all the serious Buffalo Match shooters at my range use Pedersoli Sharps or low-walls, or original rifles so they are plenty good for shooting.

 

[Heelerau]

I have been shooting a PH Navy rifle since about 1974, a mate gave me his PH Navy rifle and his first generation Volunteer .451 just before he died.
I have also an original 3rd model Pat 53 rifle and a mates original two band volunteer rifle with 1 in 78 twist. The two original rifles are slightly slimmer in the but and wrist, they are just that little bit more comfortable to shoot than the Parker Hales, either offhand or off the bench.
Parts are certainly interchangable with originals. Nice that Tac was able to confirm what I was told all those years ago about PH using the original gauges.
My other comment is that its a pity that the Parker Hale reproductions were not hand set up like the originals, it would have negated the need to bed the barrels to get consistent accuracy. All my Parker Hales have their barrels bedded and are ver consistent accurate rifles. If you can get hold of a Parker Hale Navy Rifle do it !

 

[dodger]

Have to agree with tac here , given the choice , I would opt for a Parker Hale .
Part of the attraction of shooting these reproduction guns [ for me at least ] is the challenge of shooting something as close as possible to the originals . Parker Hale repros fit the bill in this case .
Now choice may be limited on this side of the pond , but they do come up from time to time , if you can't wait then Pedersoli will be just fine .
But what they do miss is the progressive rifling and therefore they are not a true copy of the original . So they lack something .
And that , to me , is the whole point .I want a true copy and not an approximation .

 

[ResearchPress]

...made with Birmingham barrel models because only these have the progressive twist rifling and are made of top quality steel.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, the rifling was actually progressive depth (the rifling gets shallower towards the muzzle). The twist was uniform, 1 in 78 for the P.53 and 1 in 48 for the P.58.

David