Parker Hale Enfield Musketoon

[chris25]

Any good?

Smoothbore, .557 calibre,

[keith66]

The Parker hale guns were very well built unlike my first muzzleloader which was an Enfield clone the 12 bore Bengal cavalry carbine, does anyone remember them? it was quite roughly built and its 25 inch barrel produced a huge muzzle flash, being rather light it also had heavy recoil when loaded with a patched round ball. it was good fun and gave me a lifelong love of blackpowder!

[harricook]

The Parker-Hale guns are well made & seem to fetch a premioum price over other.

IMHO though - I would go for a 2 band or 3 band but rifled rather than smooth - you will be much happier with what is on the target !

Regards

[barryeye]

I’m finding this thread to be of great interest. I own an Italian “Interarms” repro of the Enfield Muskertoon. I bought it second hand and feel it is in near new condition. I have still yet to fire it. Had this notion that I wanted to try my hand at black powder shooting and as I have always had an interest in military firearms thought that the “Enfield” road was the best way to go. However work commitments have prevented me getting to the range for far too long now. I also own a 3 band P.H. Enfield repro. This rifle has NEVER been fired other then when proofed.
Both arms are good to look at but for fit and finish the P.H. has the edge over the Italian carbine. It may be a while yet until I get to compare performance and then as a novice B.P. shooter I doubt that I will be able to coax the best out of them.
I am not even sure that I should fire the P.H. at all. Mint examples must be rather rare.
Barry.
New Zealand.

[keith66]

Fire the bloody thing thats what its for! providing you clean it properly i doubt you will reduce its value, the musketoon might be a good bet for hunting those feral piggies you get out there, best not miss though

[chris25]

Thanks for the info guys.

They are very nice looking guns, trouble is £450 is a tad pricey... anyone know where to get one cheaper?

[robinghewitt]

There are some who might say find a second hand PH made before they moved everything to Italy, but as I only shoot originals I really have no real opinion in the matter. (Not quite true, I do shoot a brand spanking new Winchester 9410 but only because I found it totally irresistable)

[barryeye]

The previous owner of the carbine claimed he did use it for hunting. I don’t doubt him but this one does not look like a typical wood stocked arm that has been dragged through the New Zealand bush. He must have used it in open country or carried it in a slip until needed. For wild pigs you use dogs. The dogs find and bail up the pig. The hunter charges through the bush following the noisy commotion. Once he finds them he dispatches the pig. A rifle can be used but most use a knife “pig sticker”. If shot the range is always close. Often just a few feet. Beat up, cut down old .303 bolt actions are popular for this job. Most pigs are found in dense bush. If you do get a shot at one from a distance I would think it only sporting and humane to be 100% confidant that you could bring it down with one shot. An open sighted, single shot muzzle loader would not me a good choice for a less then average marksman like me. Who would want to track a wounded boar (with tusks) through the bush?
Yup. A number of people have suggested I shoot the mint P.H. and be dammed. I must confess that I once saw a nice P.H. 2 band that had been well used. It was still in perfect working order and looked like it could have come off a Crimean battle field. Lovely gun to look at.
As for shooting originals only. I have a problem with that.
MONEY.
It would be very nice to own and shoot the real thing but I could only do so under range conditions and then a limited amount of ware. I am aware that EVERY rifle has a limited amount of life in it. Well cared for that number can be great but it is still limited. I have a small collection of Martini Henrys. All are the real thing. Were they to make a repro of this rifle and I hope they do one day, and then I would buy one and retire the originals from the range.
But having said that I would so much like to put a round through an original 1853 Enfield. Or perhaps a couple of rounds and then just a few more.

[tim56]

I have a parker hale .577 2 band navy rifle which i believe is about 35 yrs old which i have shot regularly for approx 7 years now. 80 grns of black powder
with round ball and patch soaked in melted wonder lube or the minnie bullets coated with solid wonder lube. Both i cast from pure lead. Cleaning is straight forward, i attach a piece of silicon pipe to the nipple and flush out the barrel with hot soapy water, "do it outside or in the garage though as it stinks like rotten eggs" I then remove the nipple and rod it out with a swab and comercial cleaning agent. When all is clean i lubricate the barrel and nipple hole with gun oil and refit the nipple.
Recoil is good, a solid push to the shoulder rather than a bang like you get with say a shotgun. Accuracy is down to the shooter but will generally keep to a 6" dia circle when free standing at 50 yards.
The only problem i do have is the sights are designed for use out to several hundred yards and shooting at 50 yards means the rear sight is on its lowest setting. Thus your cheek is hard down on the stock which gets a bit "uncomfortable" after a while.
Cost for what you get is acceptable. Roger at South Yorkshire Shooting has one the same as mine advertised for £350 and if you home cast the only other cost really is powder, patchs, lube and top hats. (percusion caps)
I payed £350 for mine 7 years ago and its will still be worth £300. Out of all my guns this is the one i still keep coming back to this one. Just for the Fun of it.

[bryantanthonydp]

The Parker Hale .577 2 band navy rifle is the most accurate of the three .577models made by Parker Hale , it will give good results at 600 yards.

[schony]

I have a pre Italy genuine Parker Hale manufactured 1861 Enfield Musketoon in 577 calibre. Could anyone tell me the best mould for casting my own bullets please. This is for target work not hunting. Also is there a reference site where I can find the year of manufacture through the serial number.
Thanks

[targetX]

The Parker Hale .577 2 band navy rifle is the most accurate of the three .577models made by Parker Hale , it will give good results at 600 yards.

Define "good"

[bryantanthonydp]

Using a shallow base plug 566 grains bullet, it should hit the black at 600yds; "good" ---- the skill of the rifleman!

[schony]

Tim56, what moulds do you use for your minies and round ball?
Thanks

[tim56]

My favorite mold is the Lyman shown in the attached photo. The only numbers on the mold are Lyman 575213AM and 585. I got it with the
gun so cant help with price ect but as with all things black powder
Kranks or Tim Hannah would be a good starting point. If you have .577 rifle and can give me a postal address i dont mind sending you a few to try.
The round ball mold is made by Lee and casts a ball of .560" dia when
using pure lead. Cost from Tim Hannah was about £19. Nead to do some trials with different patch thicknesses ect as havent used these much yet. Should be trying them this coming weekend so will let you know next week.