Parker Hale P1853 Enfield Birmingham Rifle-Musket .577 cal 39 Inch English

SOLD FOR: $1,424.99

WOA#:WY240406WM034

Make: Parker-Hale Birmingham England LTD

Model:  1853 Enfeild (P53)

Serial Number: 2840

Year of Manufacture: Pre–1992

Caliber: .577

Action Type: Percussion ignition Muzzelloader

Markings: The lock plate is marked “1853 ENFIELD”. The left side of the chamber is marked “2840”. The right side of the buttstock is marked with a “PARKER HALE LTD” address stamp. The top of the tang and top of the chamber are markers “crown over BP”

Barrel Length: 39”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is integral to the barrel and is a mound shaped blade. The rear sight is a graduated stair step with 3 level grading out from 4 to 10  with a “v” notch for sight-plane.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stock is “fine” with handling marks but shows great care taken over the last 150 years. The LOP measures 13 from the front of the trigger to the back of the brass buttplate. The stock rates Very fine overall condition.

Magazine Quantity & Condition: none

Type of Finish: Blued originally, patinated to the white

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is dark and the rifling is viable. There is some erosion in the bore.  In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 10/10.

Overall Condition: This Musket length Rifle retains about 97% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows shine throughout. The screw heads are sharp, slotted and serviceable. The pins are smooth and serviceable. The markings are strong for its age. Overall, this Musket length three band rifle rates in about Very good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions Correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories:  none

Our Assessment:  Here we present a Pattern 1853 Enfield Percussion Rifle-Musket, made in London, England circa the 1860s. The Enfield 1853 rifle-musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war, surpassed only by the Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Musket. The Confederates imported more Enfields during the course of the war than any other small arm, buying from private contractors and gun runners. It has been estimated that over 900,000 P53 Enfields were imported into America and saw service in every major engagement of the war.

The Pattern 1853 was Britain’s adopted rifle from 1853 until the Snider system was adopted to transform arms into breech-loaders. In addition to its use around the world with the British military, this was one of the most popular arms for the infantry during the American Civil War.

Alfred Gray Parker founded a rifle manufacturing company in 1890. In 1910, he invited his nephew, Alfred Thomas Corbyn Hale, to become a partner in the limited liability company, with the shares being taken up by members of both the Parker and Hale families. A first catalog was issued of arms and shooting accessories and, though limited in its range, clearly showed the company’s growing trend for the development of accessories.

By 1914 the company’s small manufacturing plant was well established and the Ministry of Munitions ordered training equipment from Parker-Hale. The “Parkerifling” process, coupled with the Hiscock-Parker magazine, enabled service rifles to be converted to .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) for use as training rifles, and demand was such that the Parker-Hale factory was soon working to full capacity.

In 1924, Hale’s son, Arthur, joined the business, and in 1926 a family record was set up when Hale and his two eldest sons took part in the “King’s Prize” at Bisley. This event was eclipsed two years later when Arthur Hale succeeded in winning the coveted prize itself. He was appointed Director of the Company in 1928.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, the available resources of the gun trade had been mobilized to recondition a reserve of Pattern 1914 Enfield rifles, and in 1940 the Parker-Hale Arms Company was founded. Additional premises were acquired “for the duration” of the war and, under the management of Arthur Hale, a large reconditioning program was rapidly carried through. A wide range of additional war contract work followed, principally with the manufacture of .30-06 Springfield and .303 British drill cartridges in large quantities.

After the close of hostilities, with a fall in production contracts and no permanent premises, the company had little choice but to invest in a small factory unit, erected under the Government’s emergency program to re-house bombed-out manufacturers. Meanwhile, the Parker-Hale Arms Company was transferred to the Birmingham Proof House, where it continued with the reconditioning of .22 LR weapons for junior training organizations. The company ceased to exist upon completion of the contracts.

The immediate post-war years can best be described as a period of frustrated opportunity, since overseas markets were opened but materials of all sorts were in short supply. Nevertheless, by 1948 business abroad far exceeded the home trade.

Positioned alongside the BSA factory sportsground and Sparkbrook, from which the local area gets its name, the Parker-Hale factory headquarter building echoes the traditions of the Birmingham gun making industry, since it occupies the very site that the Proof House located their testing range.

Business at Parker-Hale remained relatively stable throughout the 1960s and into the 1980s, with sales of target and sporting rifles, handguns, shotguns and ammunition sitting comfortably alongside the company’s comprehensive range of rifle scopes, knives, gun care accessories and cleaning kits.

The company received a temporary setback in 1985 when the Chairman and Managing Director, John le Breton, who had been instrumental in consolidating the company’s success in world markets, retired from the board. The founder’s grandson, Roger Hale, then took over as Managing Director, and proved an influential figure in successfully re-positioning the company in what was to prove a constantly changing industry.

Lacking the investment necessary to enable the company to compete effectively in newly emerging markets, Parker-Hale was eventually sold to the Midlands engineering group, Modular Industries Ltd. In 1992 it was purchased by Navy Arms and spun off as Gibbs Rifle Company, Inc.

The overall condition is Very Good. Barrel is 39 inches.. The action is strong. The bore is untouched with good rifling. The stock is whole and sound. Own an original piece of history. This is a legitimate reproduction. Barrel is 39 inches. Overall condition can be seen in photos. Please look at those and enjoy the auction.-K.F.