Un-sporterizing an m1917 in .30-06?

[MissiontoMars]

[CartridgeCalls]

Weight saving and versatility

[dfletcher]

I would go with Numrich or SARCO. Apex, Northridge too. So long as the metal is intact, no one ground off the rear sight wings and left the permanent parts as is, should be pretty straightforward.

Sporterizing military rifles was a common way of getting a good hunting rifle on the cheap.

[echo1]

I've got one that salvageable. I picked up the furniture first, from an estate sale, then looked for a good candidate. PAX

[LynnJr]

If the ears have been ground off and the hole in the receiver has been welded up I don't think you can unsporterize it.

[echo1]

If the ears have been ground off and the hole in the receiver has been welded up I don't think you can unsporterize it.

If you're talking about mine (the above rifle), the metal is unmolested, or I wouldn't have gone for it. PAX

[MissiontoMars]

Definitely modified. Looks like maybe a diopter rear sight was mounted in place of the stock peep?
A4DD2347-3A06-47B7-9033-D5D832C198DC.jpg

[LynnJr]

Echo 1
Yours is not sporterized like the gun belonging to MissionfromMars.
It was common to unbolt everything from the receiver then using a bench grinder you would remove most of the ears then you finish it off with a file. Once that is done there is almost a circular hole left in the top of the receivers that they would then weld in or plug using silver solder or braze.
Once that is done it is all but impossible to replace. I will post a picture of mine after I eat some chocolate cream pie.

[MissiontoMars]

If the ears have been ground off and the hole in the receiver has been welded up I don't think you can unsporterize it.

Thats what i was thinking. Thanks for confirming.

[MasterChief]

Speaking only for myself...I would first evaluate the rifle in its present sate.
Is it a low-end Bubba job or a high-end gunsmith conversion?
Some of the period sporter conversions are potentially more valuable than a well meaning desporterization.
Could you post detailed images of the rifle in question? Thanks.
Best wishes. Dave

[MissiontoMars]

Speaking only for myself...I would first evaluate the rifle in its present sate.
Is it a low-end Bubba job or a high-end gunsmith conversion?
Some of the period sporter conversions are potentially more valuable than a well meaning desporterization.
Could you post detailed images of the rifle in question? Thanks.
Best wishes. Dave

Thanks, Dave. Only pic i have at the moment:

53C30CE0-1714-4951-9BD1-6CF893F270A8.jpg

[Mojaveman]

Can I find stocks on eBay?

Did an M1917 Enfield project about a year ago.

There are still a lot of parts out there.

[Kerplow]

I kinda like the period correct bare bones sporters. I’d rather have an unmolested example, but I think they’re neat in their own right.

[highpower]

From the extremely small pics posted, I would say that it is not going to be possible to restore that rifle. Save your money and just buy the best unmolested example you can find.

As a rule of thumb, once the sight ears have been removed, the front sight replaced with a ramp sight and the receiver has been drilled, the rifle is beyond saving.

[jigenax]

Restoration isn't possible with yours. The ears and original sights are gone. It also looks like the barrel was shortened. Best leave it as an example of that era of sporterized milsurps.