Oval bore rifle jag?

[London Best]

I have here what appears to be a cleaning jag for an oval bore rifle. 
It is marked Parker Hale. Made in England. It has a female thread to fit a standard rifle rod. There is no calibre marked on it. The jag part is tapered and behind it is a bristle brush, measuring (by eye) about 3/4 in. by 5/8 in. Overall length about 4 in. 
It appears new and unused.
Does anyone have any use for such a thing? 
It is no use to me and was amongst some stuff which came from a (now deceased) RFD friend.

.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Could it have lain in amongst other stuff and been squashed to that shape?

[London Best]

9 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Could it have lain in amongst other stuff and been squashed to that shape?

No, it is not squashed, but obviously made that way.

[enfieldspares]

It is a chamber brush, IMHO, for cleaning the neck of a chamber. I have an old P-Hale catalogue from 1937. O will have a look later this evening.

[London Best]

9 minutes ago, enfieldspares said:

It is a chamber brush, IMHO, for cleaning the neck of a chamber. I have an old P-Hale catalogue from 1937. O will have a look later this evening.

Thank you. 
I have a 1958 PH catalogue and the brush does not appear in there.

[enfieldspares]

Nothing even remotely resembling it found. I, alas, don't have one of Edna's A G Parker catalogues but that may be worth a look for?

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Why would a brush of any type be anything other than evenly round?

Chambers, barrels and bores are surely ALL round.

[Hector Vector]

I think you'll find the ovality in an "Oval bore" is virtually imperceptible, of the order of a few thousandths of an inch. Look up the details of Lancasters patent. Unlikely that a brush would be made specifically for an oval bore.

[London Best]

34 minutes ago, Hector Vector said:

I think you'll find the ovality in an "Oval bore" is virtually imperceptible, of the order of a few thousandths of an inch. Look up the details of Lancasters patent. Unlikely that a brush would be made specifically for an oval bore.

Couldn’t agree more. 
Hence my post querying if anyone has a use for such a thing.

[DUNKS]

 LB doubt you will find an owner of a Lancaster oval bored prototype muzzle loading civil war rifle. If you do the jag will be priceless.

Edited December 9 by DUNKS

[enfieldspares]

My thoughts are that 4x2 goes in the slot and the thing is used as an upmarket version of a chamber stick that not only cleans the chamber with the 4x2 (as a usual chamber stick) but that the bristles are supposed to clean any kack out of the part where frontal locking bolt lugs engage. This may be...the Enfield having rear locking lugs...that it isn't in a P-Hale catalogue. Maybe look at those who did "specialise" in Mauser 98 sporting rifles such as Rigby, Westley-Richards, and, of course Holland and Holland? 

https://www.rifleman.org.uk/Catalogues.html

Edited December 9 by enfieldspares

[Mr.C]

I believe the PH 1200TX's have Mauser actions. Pretty sure mine has. 

[enfieldspares]

1 hour ago, Mr.C said:

I believe the PH 1200TX's have Mauser actions. Pretty sure mine has. 

The item is, I think, long before P Hale started volume sales of Mauser based rifles, but yes they did starting in the late 1950s  of course make rifles on such actions. I think it is 1930s?

[TIGHTCHOKE]

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-lancaster-oval-bore-rifle.126976/

[wymberley]

16 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Why would a brush of any type be anything other than evenly round?

Chambers, barrels and bores are surely ALL round.

Agree. Surely, if this appears to be new then it would have still been an oval shape which this doesn't appear (to me) to be. What it does look like is one of my phosphor bronze ( not the Payne Galway version) brushes when I figure it's time to bin it. I can never understand how a round brush when inserted into a round tube at various peripheral angles can develop a flat on  just the one place.

[enfieldspares]

49 minutes ago, wymberley said:

I can never understand how a round brush when inserted into a round tube at various peripheral angles can develop a flat on  just the one place.

Edna Parker would tell you! It is because Parker Hale products were not made as well as her father's products sold by his company A G Parker. I am just off out but her fullbore rifle cleaning rods were red covered and dipped. Parker Hale rods fullbore rifle cleaning rods were yellow. She'd tell you that after every NRA Meeting at Bisley Century Range was strewn with the stripped yellow coatings of Parker Hale rods that it looked like a field of daffodils. I have used two of her rods, the red dipped ones, for forty years and still have never had it strip.

[Dave66]

If this was April 1st, I would have said that oval cartridges existed to ensure they were put in the chamber the correct way up to give an oval pattern, but more importantly, it stops them rolling off the kitchen table, anybody remember the Honda motorcycle with oval pistons?

[London Best]

15 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

My thoughts are that 4x2 goes in the slot and the thing is used as an upmarket version of a chamber stick that not only cleans the chamber with the 4x2 (as a usual chamber stick) but that the bristles are supposed to clean any kack out of the part where frontal locking bolt lugs engage.

https://www.rifleman.org.uk/Catalogues.html

I, too, have come to the conclusion that the oval brush is to clean the front locking lugs cavity.

 

4 hours ago, wymberley said:

Surely, if this appears to be new then it would have still been an oval shape which this doesn't appear (to me) to be. What it does look like is one of my phosphor bronze ( not the Payne Galway version) brushes when I figure it's time to bin it. 

I can assure you that the brush is oval and is not mis-sharpen through use. 
It was not a good photo, to be fair.

[wymberley]

2 hours ago, London Best said:

I can assure you that the brush is oval and is not mis-sharpen through use. 
It was not a good photo, to be fair.