Parker Hale PH 85 and Sterling Sniper Rifles

 The  Parker Hale PH 85 sniper rifle has a synthetic stock that is manufactured in different colors for all  camouflage conditions, and a detachable bipod (one of the better ones in service), a silent safety catch, a threaded muzzle (for a suppresser), and a STANAG-compatible sight mount with iron sight backups.   The Parker Hale PH 85 is usually sold with a Schmidt & Bender 6x scope, and has a special bracket to mount the Simrad KN-250 electronic converter; this allows an image intensifier to be added to a conventional telescopic sight.  The muzzle of the Parker Hale PH-85 can be removed, to reveal threads for the attachment of a suppressor.  The Parker Hale PH-85 became a favorite of US law enforcement snipers.

Parker Hale PH-85 was taken into service by the British Army to supplement the L-96A1 when deliveries of that rifle fell short.  It was also used by the US military to supply snipers, as well as US government agencies such as the FBI, ATF, CIA, etc.

The PH-85 was one of the candidates to become the new British sniper rifle in the 1990s;  eventually, it came down to the PH-85 and the Accuracy International PM, and the PM won.  This meant that though Parker-Hale had an excellent sniper rifle, they had no military contracts for it, and were also faced with a rapidly-shrinking commercial market in Britain and Western Europe.  Parker-Hale thus decided to sell the design (along with some others) to Gibbs Rifle Company in the US, which is where the PH-85 is now produced.

Sterling Sniper

This Sterling is a fine British weapon, well made and accurate as well as lightweight.  (Most snipers are surprised at how light it is.)  It is a simple weapon, but  has a sight rib,  telescopic sights, as well as night sights, a bipod, and cheek pad.  It is a weapon that has never seen any large-scale official sales, yet is used by a lot of police and paramilitary units around the world.  It was one of the first rifles to be fitted with the MIL-STD-1913 optics mounting system.