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Information needed on No4 Mk1/2 |
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Zed 
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Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 6460 |
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 Posted: February 06 2026 at 1:29pm |
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That's a fabulous rifle! And a wonderful gift!
Probably used as a target rifle, as has been mentioned.
Is the magazine chrome? If so, it would be from a parade rifle. (It looked bright in the photo.) I would recommend trying some PPU factory.303 ammunition initially, it's a great way of checking the function and a baseline accuracy. |
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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!
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Rick
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Joined: April 24 2025 Location: NW MT/SE BC Status: Offline Points: 83 |
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 1:23am |
Yeah, you have that right. Particularly when you do fill the magazine (which I found does hold seven rounds after you mentioned that - I've never bothered trying more than five rounds). There have been a few times when I've wondered if I was going to have to beat it out of rifle. Mostly I use it at the range shooting groups to test loads. It doesn't feed when after charged either; I think the rounds are sitting with the bullets a little too low at the front, so the bullets are driven forward by the bolt action to hang up when they hit the front of the receiver well, rather than the angled portion leading into the chamber. I have an article somewhere regarding adjusting the magazine: I'll have to take the time and see if I can make some improvements.  |
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britrifles
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Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Online Points: 8404 |
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 5:02am |
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Rick, the mags are quite easy to adjust with needle nose pliers.
Looks like the front lips of the mag need to be bent upwards slightly (but not so far that they interfere or drag on the bolt). If you watch the bullet tips as you slowly push a round forward with the bolt, you want the bullet tip to contact the feed ramp about 1/2 the way up the ramp. Bend the front lips of the mag a bit at a time until the bullet tip contacts the ramp at the desired position. File the edges of the lips smooth. Check feeding from both left and right sides of the mag.  |
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Shamu
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 8:24am |
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Yes THIS ^^^^ Perfectly normal & the real reason why mags were serialized to the receiver! "Some minor gunsmithing required" I find to ,open the lips I use a needle-nose, as mentioned but in stead of gripping & bending the lips I slip the closed blades under the feed lips & gently pull UP by twisting them round the front of the magazine body. Use small adjustments it doesn't need much.  They should look like this (different viewpoint.)   |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Rick
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Joined: April 24 2025 Location: NW MT/SE BC Status: Offline Points: 83 |
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 10:41pm |
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I've known the lips at the front (and possibly also at the back) are not open enough - just compared the original mag when loaded to this one while loaded. Position of the noses of the rounds is far deeper in this magazine than the original. When I do get at it, I have a rat tailed file of about the right diameter to throw some wraps of gun tape around for upward prying, and if I actually have to start grabbing the lips of the magazine with needle nose pliers, more gun tape for those before putting them to work as well. What's far more important is correcting the way this magazine currently binds in the receiver. That's the primary concern. A few times I thought I was never going to get it to release, even when I had the rifle upside down in my rifle vice and was using a small crowfoot on the release in order to get all my body weight behind to push the magazine release as far upward as possible. The worst time my brother was pressing the rifle into the bench in the vice while leaning on the crowfoot and I had some pieces of surgical rubber tubing over a monster pair of straight vice grips to grab the mag just above the 90 degree corner at the bottom to horse that thing out of there. No marks on the magazine and where I was squeezing it just above the corner wasn't caving the sides of the magazine in. But if that hadn't gotten it out of there with Randy holding it down and me pulling it straight up, I suppose my next stop would have been Bill's gunsmith shop. Anyways, doing whatever needs to be done with that magazine so that it seats and unseats as easily as the original full capacity magazine needs to come first.
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A square 10
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 11:22pm |
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i have never seen a thread that said anything negative of santa fe mags - they made an effort to make their products well - i will admiyt never owning any of their products but that would have been an addition to my collection had i continued with it
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Rick
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Posted: February 07 2026 at 11:47pm |
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I don't see an issue with the quality of the workmanship. But once the magazine is locked into the receiver, it often doesn't want to leave. I may not be the only one to have similar issues. I am definitely not complaining about the magazine. I found it wandering through a pawn shop in town while my brother in law was doing his usual tour looking for used tools that call his name. It was sitting in a clutter of magazines, mostly for .22 rifles from the looks of them, with a $5 price tag on it. That makes it almost investment quality for what I see them sell for now. I expect I'll be able to get it sorted out.
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Strangely Brown
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Posted: February 08 2026 at 4:26am |
Late to the party as ever! An absolutely spot on No.4 in SR"b" configuration; although at Bisley from 1946~1968 you had to shoot SR"b" with the issue open foresight. The idea being is that the rifle could be converted back to "issue" SR"a" in a matter of minutes. The NRA had decided that from 1968 the major competition, i.e. The Queens Prize would be shot with 7.62mm rifles but .303 rifles would also be allowed to enter until 1972. The NRA also relaxed the foresight rule so the excellent AJP Parker Matchmaker could be fitted. Regarding your Parker-Hale 5c rear sight; ironically I've just bought one with unusual markings, (P-H 5c "2") which I have yet to find how it differs from the others but it also has "big knobs" like yours. A friend on the Milsurps forum has told me that the bigger knob versions "can" be prone to damaging the elevation screw if dropped. I shall remember his advice if I replace my AJP 4/47 with the newly acquired P-H 5c "2" sight. And lastly for the SR"b" nerds amongst us; the NRA (UK) will allow the use of tunnel sights from this year in what is the historic SR"b" .303 Commonwealth matches as long as a post element if fitted. For those of us in the UK the new 2026 Classic & Historic handbook should be online in about 4 weeks time. |
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Mick
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britrifles
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Posted: February 08 2026 at 5:02am |
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Mick, have you counted the number of clicks per MOA? The cylindrical shaped knobs should be 4 clicks per MOA, but I also have a version with 8 clicks per MOA (5DC). Also, is the vertical scale identical to the regular 5A backsight? This is a mystery for sure…
I wonder if the “2” signified the early version of the 4 click per MOA windage arm? Is that where the “2” is stamped?
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Strangely Brown
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Posted: February 08 2026 at 5:55am |
Geoff, Yes, 1/4 MoA. And secondly, yes I did wonder the same? I've now seen three of these and another friend I used to shoot with, (oilermark on eBay) has another. Mine is numbered 74 or 75? Which I think is the highest number we have come across so far. I believe Parker-Hales rifle records were "saved", cough! from the factory closure but unsure if anybody had the foresight, (pun not intended!) to "save" the sight manufacturing records. |
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Mick
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Shamu
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Posted: February 08 2026 at 9:51am |
Take a good look at the front face of the mag well. I had to sand a narrow "ridge" of compressed wood from the top front of the wood. The mag can be wedged up by that making it hard to release. Failing that mark the entire front face of the mag with a felt marker & insert & remove it a couple of times. See where the marker color rubs off on the wood a judiciously remove material retesting frequently till the mag works the way you want. You may also want to SLIGHTLY remove metal from the bottom metal at the tapered section at the front too.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Rick
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Posted: February 12 2026 at 10:14am |
Thank you for that; saved for future reference!
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Shamu wrote: