Let's see your sporterized Military Surplus Rifles

The great thing about Lee Enfield's is that surplus ammo is still pretty
Cheap. Power, decent accuracy, spare parts and a 10-round mag make it the perfect all around, knock around rifle.

Let's see yours.

I had a bunch of milsurps but I never sporterized any of them . Just couldn't do it .

My initiation into milsurps started when I "inherited" a Mauser, and later bought a Mosin. It also coincided roughly with the initiation of the internet. My first daily forum was TUCO, who specialized in Mosins.

The thing about that forum is that it absolutely banned talk about sporterizing. Didn't bother me in particular since my interest was in history.

My first SMLE was a Long Branch that I bought from a Woolworth store for 20 bucks. It was called a "Jungle Carbine". Not knowing anything I thought it was cool. Later I found it was actually a sporter, plus it was unfired, as issued. After reading TUCO I was a confirmed collector.

I was lucky to find a complete brand spanking new stock set at Springfield Sporters. So, now my "New" Enfield was back in the condition it was intended to be.

Back in the day (as a poor college kid) I had to rely on cheapie surplus ammo. But I learned very fast that surplus .303 British was the one NOT to buy. Most had cordite instead of ball powder. Too many click-booms for me, or misfires that you didn't know how to react to.

Plentiful new brass available, and a Whack-a-Mole and I was in bizness. My SMLE collection now totals 5, including a "real" #5 Jungle Carbine that I thought I bought in the beginning.

An unmolested wire wrapped #1Mk3 is gotta be the coolest thing you'll ever see. Selected as the most accurate for the conversion, if I take off the grenade launcher it is a tack driver.

Krag Jorgensen 1898, made in 1903. Purchased as is. I have since added a Weaver J2.5 on an N mount. Still have trouble hitting anything with it, but it sure is pretty, and the action is very smooth.

Here are pictures of two of my 98 Mauser Sporter rifles, both made with Czech receivers, and both in 308 Winchester. Both have older fiberglass stocks. One has a 24" barrel, and the other has a 22" barrel. These rifles were built in the mid 1990s.

Both shoot cast lead bullets very well.

I got a Sedgley 1903 Springfield recently. Cool gun. I'm still working through it.

I just had the misfortune to look at a large online auction with milsurps. Sadly, the previous owner had been a lover of what looks like polyurethane varnish. That's almost worse than sporterizing a collectible.

Never could bring myself to hack up a perfectly good rifle. I did get one in a trade about 40 years ago. It was an Model 98 Mauser, I cleaned up the hack job and put a shotgun recoil pad on it. It made a decent plinker, even though it was in 8MM. Left in a trade and no desires to replace.

djohns6 said:

I had a bunch of milsurps but I never sporterized any of them . Just couldn't do it .

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Same here. I have several Enfields, Mosin Nagants, Swedish Mauser, Japanese Arisaka and a Chinese SKS. All are in original condition.

There is going to be a hot seat in Hades for everyone that has taken a piece of history and did a bubba to it. I know because I will be there with you. Was a common practice through the 1960's. Military guns were cheap and plentiful. Japanese Arisakas were $10 and often thrown in a boot when trading guns. Original un-alter military arms are now being recognized and appreciated for their historic value. Just sold my all original Arisaka for $900 last year. Plenty of already ruined military rifles out there to alter to our particular needs, rather than take an original and start whittling on it. Just saw a 1939 German Mauser with all original matching serial numbered parts, including the bolt, that the new owner has cut and installed a cheap recoil pad and hacked off the forend with a chainsaw. He took a HIGH dollar original and forever destroyed it and turned it into a $200 shooter. I am just as guilty so when the flogging starts, I will be in line. I will now step down off my soap box.

I really like the OP's altered SMLE. Living and working in the remote unpaved 2 lane world, the concept of a short, portable, iron sighted beater rifle is often overlooked. My model 70 hunting rifle gets a few days a year out of the safe. My old beater 94 Winchester goes everywhere with me. The OP's SMLE looks like it belongs in a canoe, strapped to a horse, or tied to a snowmobile in search of an adventure.

Taking an orig and sporterizing it in todays world is counter productive of course. They are worth many times over what we were buying them for in the early 60's.

But I have no problem taking an already sporterized rifle and if the work is substandard, making it into a better grade of sporter.
I've done that many times and usually follow the pre-war style(s) of the German or US gunsmiths of the day.

There are a few sporters that are inbetween so to speak. They can be restored to orig look and spec with some careful work, time and expense.
They should be IMO.

There are more than enough hacked up, action only assembly, restocked, bbl cut, bent down bolt handle, D&T'd Milsurps already out there waiting for some love and attention. Make those into a fine looking sporter.

Even the Mosin Nagant is not a cheap rifle on the market anymore.
Look at the price of any of them in orig cond.
Don't cut up an orig is the same msg all over again

I have plenty of milsurp rifles in original condition and they will stay that way while in my care; but I have no problem with someone making a very commonplace rifle into what they want. Over a million Springfield 1903's were made. Do they all need to be kept in original condition?

Take this rifle I inherited from my father. It's now a work of art but still usable. It's taken white tail, mule deer, and antelope. It's a family rifle now and won't be sold in my lifetime.

I've posted it before but it's been a while. Sharkbait, I know you just saw it.

444magnum, that’s a beauty. I once got a sporterized 1903 in a batch of guns I bought through an estate. It was pretty basic wood. Nothing like yours. But it was in good condition. I took it out back to shoot it and when I ran out of adjustment on scope I was still a foot right of POA. After examining it I realized the scope was mounted crooked. It was drilled and tapped crooked. I thought wow what a waste to start drilling more holes. I had it sold to a coworker but my son was not to happy when he heard I was going to sell it. So as usual he commandeered it. Not sure what he did but he somehow moved mount by drilling it rather than the receiver. He told me 40 rds and a sore shoulder later and it’s on target at 100 yds.

Warren Sear said:

Here are pictures of two of my 98 Mauser Sporter rifles, both made with Czech receivers, and both in 308 Winchester. Both have older fiberglass stocks. One has a 24" barrel, and the other has a 22" barrel. These rifles were built in the mid 1990s.

Both shoot cast lead bullets very well.

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Very cool and very 90's, I like them both.

Shark Bait said:

I got a Sedgley 1903 Springfield recently. Cool gun. I'm still working through it.

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I have one of those myself, great rifles with interesting history.

Checking the prices today of unmolested milsurps like the 98k Mosin, or Arisakas is sure eye opening especially all matching examples! Realize back in the 60s they weren't valuable and were often turned into sporters. These days an unmolested 98k with matching bolt can run $2500 or more depending on condition and rarity.

TJm15.38 said:

Same here. I have several Enfields, Mosin Nagants, Swedish Mauser, Japanese Arisaka and a Chinese SKS. All are in original condition.

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I purchase them already sporterized, I've never converted them myself. They are a part of our sport and can be enjoyed as such.

30-30remchester said:

There is going to be a hot seat in Hades for everyone that has taken a piece of history and did a bubba to it. I know because I will be there with you. Was a common practice through the 1960's. Military guns were cheap and plentiful. Japanese Arisakas were $10 and often thrown in a boot when trading guns. Original un-alter military arms are now being recognized and appreciated for their historic value. Just sold my all original Arisaka for $900 last year. Plenty of already ruined military rifles out there to alter to our particular needs, rather than take an original and start whittling on it. Just saw a 1939 German Mauser with all original matching serial numbered parts, including the bolt, that the new owner has cut and installed a cheap recoil pad and hacked off the forend with a chainsaw. He took a HIGH dollar original and forever destroyed it and turned it into a $200 shooter. I am just as guilty so when the flogging starts, I will be in line. I will now step down off my soap box.


I really like the OP's altered SMLE. Living and working in the remote unpaved 2 lane world, the concept of a short, portable, iron sighted beater rifle is often overlooked. My model 70 hunting rifle gets a few days a year out of the safe. My old beater 94 Winchester goes everywhere with me. The OP's SMLE looks like it belongs in a canoe, strapped to a horse, or tied to a snowmobile in search of an adventure.

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It has served me as a truck gun many times in the past.

I've done a couple myself because back in the day a rough looking milsup was what I could afford and as it was already in such horrid condition making a sporter with it was the best option.

The two shown here are made from "98" Mauser actions. These are not my work, but some that came from Jolly Old England. Well done, in my view. The first two are assembled by PARKER-HALE, and at the time I purchased them, cost me a pretty penny. One is chambered in .270 Winchester, and the other is chambered in .30-06.

The second picture is of a 7mm Spanish Mauser modified by me which, when I got it was in such poor condition, the only thing I could do to save it was to discard the stock and do a complete remodel adding sights and stock. I spoke of this in another thread but couldn't find the picture to show.

AJ said:

Never could bring myself to hack up a perfectly good rifle. I did get one in a trade about 40 years ago. It was an Model 98 Mauser, I cleaned up the hack job and put a shotgun recoil pad on it. It made a decent plinker, even though it was in 8MM. Left in a trade and no desires to replace.

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I don't hear anyone here advocating hacking up a perfectly good rife.

The 8 mm Mauser cartridge is excellent, roughly equal to a 30-06.

Let me know if you have other similar rifles that you want to dump.