Screws for Parker Hale rifle sights post-1960

I am restoring a Parker Hale PH25C rearsight as found on the later, post-1960 BSA Martini International .22 LR target rifles. I lack one of the screws, more specifically for the windage gauge plate (I have its twin for the elevation gauge plate for comparison), but what I really need to know, please, is what type of screw Parker Hale might have changed to in the 1960s because the screw is different from its counterpart on the sights of pre-1960 BSA rifles. The screw is very small, approx. 2mm outside diameter, and approx. 4mm in length, with a shallow domed, slot head. I thought it might well be a BA but the twin screw does not match any BA thread. What other type of small screws might a Birmingham engineering firm of that era have used for this purpose? The screw takes very little weight or strain.

I have a bsa martini international isu model with similar sights. I would imagine parker hale made screws to their own spec or had them made. If you lost or stripped a screw instead of going down to the local hardware and buying a new screw for 5p , you had to go to PH and buy a screw direct from them, which i would imagine cost a lot more. A lad i know lost a screw from a set of very expensive german scope mounts and of course couldn't get a screw to match anywhere. He had to go back to the manufacturer and buy one and it was very expensive.

Parker Hale were one of the best made rifles to ever come out of england, and were great value for money. I was sad to see them go, but like everything else they couldn't compete against cheap imports and the red tape and nanny state rubbish from comrade blair and co.

Edited By ronan walsh on 21/09/2014 01:33:34

Many BSA products used the Bicycle Thread. Just check the t.p.i. to confirm