Sporterized Military rifles

[Gil Martin]

I came across a sporterized P14 .303 Enfield rifle made by Eddystone (Remington) in WWI. Someone did a lot of work on this gun, inlaid brass into the stock with someone's initials and reworked the original military stock. The bore is perfect and the rear sight has been replaced with a Pacific aperture. The front sight is a Williams ramp set up. It still has the issue 26-inch barrel. The nice thing about the P14 is that .303 British cases do not stretch very much due to the front locking lugs. The rifle sat on the used gun rack for months and I got it cheap. Tomorrow it will be sighted in at the range. Anyone else shooting a sporterized military rifle? All the best...
Gil

[Adam Helmer]

Gil,

Good post. Yes, I have come across and acquired a few sporterized military arms. Usually the home "gunsmith?" chopped only the stock to shed a pound or two. On the used gun rack, the chopped arms did not sell for as much as "as issued" arms. In my case, I merely bought an issue stock and hardware and was back to an as issued status. Unfortuately, the supply of used stocks is drying up and the prices are going up. I may not get to restore any more "sporterized" military arms.

Adam

[Jonesy]

I have a re-ground 98 mauser. Has a new bolt handle, bolt sleeve and floor metel. It is in 25-06 with a shilen match barrel.

[ringo]

Sporterized milsurps are all I use now. Mauser 98's drilled and tapped for a scope, restocked, rebarrelled provide me with a good accurate hunting rifle for approximately half the cost of a new commercial rifle. The other nice thing is, I built it, polished all the metal, reblued the receiver and barrel, jewelled the bolt, without voiding a warrantee. My chamberings are 22-250, 6.5x55, 7x57, 270win, 7mm rem mag, 30.06, 338win mag. My receivers are a collection of different contracts, Belgian, German, Turk, Czech, Swede, Spanish and always keeps me looking for a different coat of arms or country of manufacture. I just buy "sporterized mis-matched basket cases" very cheaply and enjoy a wonderful hobby. This years freezer resident is an Elk taken with a 270win.

[Gil Martin]

Excellent post. There are many very nice sporterized military rifles around and still giving outstanding service. There used to be a surplus arms dealer in western PA known as Springfield Sporters and they did quite a business for many years. I have some sporterized Springfields and they are superb. All the best...
Gil