Would you restore a "sporterized" surplus rifle?
- Thread starter DennisCA
- Start date
If feasible, and parts were available, I probably would. But so many of those "sporterized" rifles have barrels cut off or replaced, bolts altered, receivers drilled, sights thrown away, stocks ruined or tossed out, etc., that restoring them is not really feasible or even possible.
Jim
Jim
Dragonflydf
New member
I have, I restored a Type 99 Arisaka, and am looking for a stock for a Type 99 Long rifle to complete another.
highpower3006
New member
I have done it many times.
Part of it depends on the amount of work that has been done to the rifle.
Part of it depends on whether you want good rifle to use, or the GI article.
And while I have no issues with improving something Bubba took his tools to, bringing it back as close to milspec original as possible is a labor of love, the same as the love that sporterized it, but in the opposite direction.
For instance, this..
Is a .308 Win and would be a total shame to turn back into what it started out as. Particularly as I also have this..
Part of it depends on whether you want good rifle to use, or the GI article.
And while I have no issues with improving something Bubba took his tools to, bringing it back as close to milspec original as possible is a labor of love, the same as the love that sporterized it, but in the opposite direction.
For instance, this..
Is a .308 Win and would be a total shame to turn back into what it started out as. Particularly as I also have this..
Arisaka, Amp?
I've 're-militarized'
Sporter 1903A3 barrel with receiver, drilled for unknown mount, probably a deer rifle
Into a 1903A4. Couldn't remove the holes already there, but I had a gunsmith inspect and he found he could safely drill a new hole for the redfield mount. Unissued keystone stock
I've 're-militarized'
Sporter 1903A3 barrel with receiver, drilled for unknown mount, probably a deer rifle
Into a 1903A4. Couldn't remove the holes already there, but I had a gunsmith inspect and he found he could safely drill a new hole for the redfield mount. Unissued keystone stock
98 220 swift
New member
NO I usually enjoy them more in their "sporterized" way. I can see it being cost effective to "restore" one anyway. Not with the price parts are going for.
I've got a 1910 Ross that would make a great candidate. Stock, stock
iron and nosepiece would do the job----barrel wasn't cut and has no extra
hoses drilled/tapped in it.
But it's a 1910 Ross. Parts are a wee bit hard to come by, and they are
really proud of re-production wood for it.
iron and nosepiece would do the job----barrel wasn't cut and has no extra
hoses drilled/tapped in it.
But it's a 1910 Ross. Parts are a wee bit hard to come by, and they are
really proud of re-production wood for it.
Gunplummer
New member
"Restoring" is a younger guys game. Most of us old guys had dozens of military surplus guns (Probably over 100 if you collected) and are not nearly as fascinated by them. I have an Arisaka carbine that some one carved hunting scenes on the wood. I may re-cut it to 6.5/.257. I have a type II missing the wood. I may make a 7x57 Take Down out f it. I still have a couple '99 Savages that I plan to re-barrel one day and have a couple I already did. No big deal to me. It is not like you are destroying history, there are plenty of these guns out there. You just have to pay the price, which was bumped up by the "Purists" anyway.
Gunplummer
New member
"Restoring" is a younger guys game. Most of us old guys had dozens of military surplus guns (Probably over 100 if you collected) and are not nearly as fascinated by them. I have an Arisaka carbine that some one carved hunting scenes on the wood. I may re-cut it to 6.5/.257. I have a Type II missing the wood. I may make a 7x57 Take Down out f it. I still have a couple '99 Savages that I plan to re-barrel one day and have a couple I already did. No big deal to me. It is not like you are destroying history, there are plenty of these guns out there. You just have to pay the price, which was bumped up by the "Purists" anyway.
Yes, the .308 is an Arisaka action. Trying to "backdate" the sporter to match the original 7.7mm (last pic) simply is foolish, and even then could never be fully returned to original.
If all you need to do to restore a sporter milsurp is replace the wood, its quite simple. Getting the CORRECT wood might not be easy, depending on the specific gun, but its mechanically simple.
Restoring a drilled & tapped receiver is not possible. You cannot undrill something. You can plug the holes and make it difficult to notice, but that's the most you can do.
Likewise, you can't put the "ears" back on a cut 1917 Enfield, either.
Might as well have a new "correct" pattern action made from scratch, and if you could find a mad machinist to take on the challenge, expect it to cost a good chunk of his yearly income, and maybe yours!
If all you need to do to restore a sporter milsurp is replace the wood, its quite simple. Getting the CORRECT wood might not be easy, depending on the specific gun, but its mechanically simple.
Restoring a drilled & tapped receiver is not possible. You cannot undrill something. You can plug the holes and make it difficult to notice, but that's the most you can do.
Likewise, you can't put the "ears" back on a cut 1917 Enfield, either.
Might as well have a new "correct" pattern action made from scratch, and if you could find a mad machinist to take on the challenge, expect it to cost a good chunk of his yearly income, and maybe yours!
Gunplummer
New member
Sporter looks like a T-38 to me. There are thousands of Military rifles out there that look like that Polish Mauser. Good hunting rifles in their day. Those are still my main rifles for deer. Civilian guns just can not take the abuse of hard hunting in hard weather. When I was younger, the deer woods was full of rifles like that. People did not have the money to waste on new rifles. I guess chopping rifles is part of the history too.
Not any more !!!
There was a time when this was more acceptable and for good reason. Not so much now. It's like doing extensive remodeling work on an old house, you still have an old house. .....
Be Safe !!!
I would not and there have been to many classics that have been butchered. I have "restored" two and have see more intrinsic beauty in their original configuration. I once bought a "sporterized" 1903a3 with the Pederson-Device and even in "that" condition, a collector did not haggle on my price. .....
There was a time when this was more acceptable and for good reason. Not so much now. It's like doing extensive remodeling work on an old house, you still have an old house. .....
Be Safe !!!
Gunplummer
New member
I bought an MAS 36 one time to just study it because I never worked on one. The stock was snapped off at the wrist, the barrel and front grip were cut down, and there was much rust. There is no doubt in my mind it was Vietnam bring back. Questions: Was that what some people fondly call a "Bubba'd" rifle, or was that a historic piece? I have often seen "Mauser shotguns" at flea markets and gun shows. These rifles were converted by companies in Germany after the war. I don't know, maybe even by the companies that made the rifles to begin with? Are they "Bubba'd"? I had a T-99 Arisaka that was re-cut to 30-06 by the US Military for the South Korean Army. They did a couple thousand of them. Maybe I should have replaced the barrel and re-blued it? I have a '99 Savage with the cocking indicator in the bolt. It was a bad design and relocated. Was it "Bubba'd" before or after it was corrected? It seems that "Bubba'd" is in the eye of the beholder, not the holder. I have seen some really ugly guns that the owner was truly proud of.
You guys convinced me. I'm cutting up my rifle 
I saw this in my classic car hobby days. Most people would love to have an old car. Do they want to build one or put effort into it? No, mostly not. They don't care about getting a part from here and a part from there, or looking for a year for a part, having to fix something messy or confusing. And those same guys will cite chapter and verse on the practicality, the economics, the timeline, even the possibility of doing it. Saw it for twenty years. Sometimes it seemed like they were convincing themselves.
They weren't classic car guys. They were classic car owners. The difference is the passion for it. And lemme tell ya, milsurp rifles are easier and a hell of a lot cheaper.
I saw this in my classic car hobby days. Most people would love to have an old car. Do they want to build one or put effort into it? No, mostly not. They don't care about getting a part from here and a part from there, or looking for a year for a part, having to fix something messy or confusing. And those same guys will cite chapter and verse on the practicality, the economics, the timeline, even the possibility of doing it. Saw it for twenty years. Sometimes it seemed like they were convincing themselves.
They weren't classic car guys. They were classic car owners. The difference is the passion for it. And lemme tell ya, milsurp rifles are easier and a hell of a lot cheaper.
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I definitely would NOT choose to restore a sporterized rifle. I say this for multiple reasons: it is not my area of expertise, I would get annoyed with chasing down parts, running in to roadblocks in acquiring them, fitting them, etc. I wouldn't care for the money involved in doing it properly especially considering my interest level in the finished project is not high.
What I absolutely -DO- enjoy is to read over detailed reports amd glossy pictures of someone else's adventure in doing all of that, and seeing the pride and accomplishment shine through in the report.
I do have to add my standard caveat on this subject...
It doesn't "anger" me but I do get annoyed and very quickly bored with the seemingly countless energetic opinions that rain down all manner of hellfire and brimstone on the original "jerk" or "bubba" or "half wit" or (fill in the blank) that re-purposed the arm in the first place.
I think it's almost sport these days for folks that get all in a wad over something that was totally natural... extremely popular... had serious and genuine precedence... and made perfect sense when it was (typically) done. Rifles that were displayed in BARRELS turned in to useful items that perhaps even fed families.
Skip the anger and disgust. Seems wholly misplaced to me.
What I absolutely -DO- enjoy is to read over detailed reports amd glossy pictures of someone else's adventure in doing all of that, and seeing the pride and accomplishment shine through in the report.
I do have to add my standard caveat on this subject...
It doesn't "anger" me but I do get annoyed and very quickly bored with the seemingly countless energetic opinions that rain down all manner of hellfire and brimstone on the original "jerk" or "bubba" or "half wit" or (fill in the blank) that re-purposed the arm in the first place.
I think it's almost sport these days for folks that get all in a wad over something that was totally natural... extremely popular... had serious and genuine precedence... and made perfect sense when it was (typically) done. Rifles that were displayed in BARRELS turned in to useful items that perhaps even fed families.
Skip the anger and disgust. Seems wholly misplaced to me.