Sporterized surplus arms

[Gil Martin]

I stopped in a gun shop yesterday and scanned the used gun racks. There were several "sporterized" surplus arms on display that ran the whole continuum from very nicely done to just about awful. Sometimes these rifles can be salvaged, completed or even remilitarized. I have seen some real bargains. My most interesting acquisition was a lovely sporterized Argentine Model 1909 Mauser that was dirt cheap. The reason is that someone rechambered the original 7.65x53mm barrel to .30-06. Oh well, that rifle is awaiting a new barrel at the local gunsmith's shop. All the best...
Gil

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I have a M96 Swede that I sporterized.....I had bought one several years ago that would shoot a group I could cover with a dime at 100 yards with open sights......I got rid of the gun (regretably) because I had a difficult time finding ammo for it, and I didn't want to pay $56/20 for a box of Norma ammo.
After Remington, Winchester, and Federal wised up and started making hunting ammo in 6.5x55, I found another M96 at a gun show for $85.....I picked the best of the bunch, and while the accuracy isn't as good as the first gun I had, it is MORE than acceptable. I had a few things done professionally (barrel cut and crowned, bolt handle bent to allow scope, Winchester style safety), and did some of the other things myself(Inlet and glass bed the stock, blue the bolt handle).....here are the results:



I have also taken 2 mule deer with this rifle, the farthest being a measured 300 yards away.
Not bad for a rifle that is almost 100 years old!

[Gil Martin]

Looks like you have a splendid sporter. All the best...
Gil

[Old Scout]

After being a Gunsmith since 1954, I can't tell you how many surplus arms I have "sported", cut down, rebarreled, and variously modified. Now, in more recent times I'm seeing the military arms again, but now the work is to restore them to original configuration and shootable status.
I guess this must be the "Full Circle" you often hear about!! Sure wish I'd kept all that hardware I tossed out years ago.

Happy New Year everybody.........

Old Scout

[Bill Poole]

Sporterize

doesn't that usually entail spending $300 to turn a $200 rifle into a $75 rifle?

i'm biased on this subject.... the old military guns are great for shooting and the new hunting rifles are great for hunting... we should all have several of each!

Poole
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/

[Gil Martin]

If a surplus rifle has already been sporterized, the die may have been cast. Many sporterized surplus arms cannot be easily remilitarized. I would suggest that a properly sporterized '98 Mauser or 1903 or 1903A3 Springfield rifle would be worth a lot more than $75.00. On the other hand, an original military arm is probably best left as is and would be worth more than if improperly sporterized. I agree we need several original arms and hunting rifles. All the best...
Gil

[Old Scout]

Indeed, sporterizing military rifles today, would not be practicle if taken to a Gunsmith. In fact I won't even take such a job now a days. On the other hand if a shooter today buys a "dallor two ninety eight" mauser and takes a couple of days with a hacksaw and some sharp files, he can produce a suitable dear rifle for the price of a set of sights.
In the days when you could buy a Springfield '03 for $7.50, they were generally sported out by the owner. Many of these can be remilitaryed now.
Take the Arisaka, as an example. They bring about $25 at local auctions in "cut down" shape. One of my customers got a 99 with mint bore, and the Mum still intact. The barrel had not been cut, so it was not difficult to restore it to issue ( the rear sight was still there ). He is now happily shooting it in Military Lead Bullet matches.
I decided I wanted a "86 Lebel. So I found three of them at auctions and built a very nice one from the parts. I should be able to build a second to recover most of my cost.

So it all depends..........................

Old Scout

[Riposte1]

Let me start out by saying that I have a deep appreciation for old guns in their original condition and would never butcher one that I found that way.

OTOH, I agree with Gil, when you find a sporterized one they have a charm all their own. To my mind they bring back memories of the WW II Soldiers who had a seemingly endless supply of old military bolt guns and made them into quite serviceable, even desirable weapons.

Just a couple of examples that I have latched on to.

I have a 1903a3 which I picked up in a pawn shop for $140. It has a fajen straight grained walnut stock (which probably sold new for $29.95) and the finish is still parkerized (in fact the only other change is that it is drilled and tapped and has a low bolt handle and safety.

The barrel was dirty and I did not have a cleaning rod but I paid the money based on the knowledge that I had 3 new in the wrapper O3a3 barrels at the house. Well, you guessed it, when I did clean it there was a "ring" in the middle of the barrel. A patch skipped for about 1/2" when cleaning. I just knew this was going to be bad.

But I decided to shoot the gun first and tried it with a generic handload I shoot in my service grad Garands (150 Hornady BTFMJ)... I still have the group on my bulletin board - 1/2" at 100 yards!!!!! What a gun. I left it the way it was (it has a great 2-stage trigger BTW).

I have another "sporterized" 03a3. This one was blued, not tapped but had the barrel trimmed a bit. It had a nice looking Bishop stock with some figure and I paid $100 for it. I cut the barrel back even further to 21", mounted a LER scope (first a Burris now a Leupold) out on the barrel for a "Pseudo Scout". This one shoots around 1 MOA with selected loads. I would rather take it out to the boonies than any Remington ever made - I can fix it if it quits without a shop full of tools (well OK a Remington 30s would be nice ).

I have a #4 Enfield that was sporterized. I paid $35 for it. I drilled and tapped a side mount and put on a nice straight 4X scope. It shoots handloads into about 1.5 to 2 MOA (notthing to write home about but it will bag deer) - it has paid for itself many times over as a loaner. I really like the gun, Enfilelds are very underated.

I have a bunch more "sporterized" military guns. While I dearly love my pre-64 Winchesters, I am not sure I dont love these old things as much! They are functional in the field!

Riposte