What is "Sporterized"?

[toby]

Look up 'sporterized' K98 prices versus milspec K98 prices on Gunbroker. They can't even give the sporterized ones away.

Really, I recently sold two sporterized 98's for over $500 one went for $750 and a Carl-G Swede for $425 and I just recently traded a sportered Swede for a Colt light rifle worth twice as much. It's not that they are not selling it's who's buying them and off course it's not the purists it's the sportsman and most sportsman are not today's people they are people from yesteryear who appreciate good old Mauser actions.

[MakeYaBootyBurn]

I take it, this is a very sensative subject... a lot of angry yet totally hilarious comments...

[The Gleam]

98% of the time, what everyone has said here is true; "sporterizing" is a debauchery of the utmost unspeakable kind. It was often done when many of these WWI/WWII and pre-Korean war rifles were just old surplus, not worth even a 1/8th of what a new civilian rifle from Winchester, Remington, or Browning might fetch - but made for good hunting rifles on the cheap. Most any hunter did away with the big chunky military stocks as soon as it arrived in the mail. Then some people didn't; Oswald used his in its original configuration.

HOWEVER.... there have been many very specific "sporterized" examples throughout history that are actually more valuable than their generic non-sporterized counterparts, depending on who did the sporterizing and why.

Any of these may relate to military models that then became factory civilian-intended sporting builds such as those from Walther, Remington, Springfield, or Steyr-Mannlicher, those commissioned by the NRA for matches, customs by specific builders, or those sporterized by specific military units for real-purpose use. Take some of the NRA 1903s or Phillipine Constabulary Krag-Jorgenesens carbines customized "sporterized" for any reasons such as the former.

It happens, true as it is rare, but if you get your hands on any of these examples, and you KNOW and can validate what you have by provenance, don't be surprised if that particular "sporterized" version is worth thousands more than a more pedestrian-but military version of the same model.

[dangerranger]

This is a sporter. It was built from left over parts from when I rebuilt a Military rifle for a friend to shoot in competitions. On this one I turned the bolt, D&Td the reciver, added the scope, added a Dayton trigger. After these pics I installed a K6 scope and lower rings. And cammoed it. It shoots like a custom rifle costing thousands, but was built for under $400.

In the 50s and 60s my grandfather built many sporters. He used a company called Herters to buy stocks, barrels, triggers and scope mounts. I wish my family had kept a few. But when they went out of style they got traded. My own first rifle was a K98 that was rebarreled to 30 06, D&Td, scoped, and a low safety was added. It had a high comb, and a hideous red white and blue laminated stock. At the time it was in style, but just a few years later It was traded for something more subtle. A well done sporter is something to be proud of. But there are millions of Bubba's guns out there that should have been left alone. DR

[mosinnagantm9130]

Really, I recently sold two sporterized 98's for over $500 one went for $750 and a Carl-G Swede for $425 and I just recently traded a sportered Swede for a Colt light rifle worth twice as much.

You ever heard the phrase "a fool and his money are soon parted?"

[stonefly-2]

sporters

iv'e got a mod. 96 swede, all matching numbers. iv'e been looking to trade for a bubba for years. not happening. i was going to sporterize it like i did the other one until i came to appreciate the mil. surp. collectors point of veiw. (it's a myth)
so here it is, anyone want to "save" this swede? just come up with a $200 bubba to trade (within reason) and it's yours. i couldn't hope to get this quality of rifle in an off the shelf rifle, who do you think your'e fooling?

[toby]

You ever heard the phrase "a fool and his money are soon parted?"

Seems your the fool for not following my lead..... kidding kinda


PS, guess how many I have run through a Band saw.... I simply have no affection for Milsurps, never have, never will, sorry but that's just the way it is with many.

[vincewarde]

Sometimes you just want to do it yourself!

I don't think I have saved a lot of money buying converting Mausers. If that is your primary aim, do not do it. However, if you have the time to go slow and do it right, there is something satisfying about shooting a rifle that you have remade in to just what you wanted.

I did save money on my scout rifle project - and I hit my weight target of 7lbs scoped. It shoots 1-1.5 moa. The catch is that it took a lot of work and a lot of time. Total investment: A bit less that $300.00 and about 100 hours. Do the math - it you do not have fun doing it, than it just doesn't make sense. I had fun.

Here's a pic of how it turned out

[bsg]

the gun that i would desire would be in it's original configuration as it's designer intended it to be and whose manufacturer made it to be. that is not a sporterized version.

[lewdogg21]

The sporterizing was done to convert heavy military rifles to something to be used for hunting. Since the vast majority of calgunners don't hunt and an even small % actually know what they are doing when it comes to hunting of course you get a flurry of negative posts.

Generally these negative posts come from the guys who roll up in their SUV's, stretch out their sandaled feet upon the cool crushed gravel of the range and then waddle over to a shooting bench where they set up their "custom thingymajiggle rifle" and punch holes in paper while talking to the other paper punchers like it's some great accomplishment.

Run on sentence is on purpose for effect.



As far as the "stuff today is better" and "old stuff sucks". Well believe what you must.

['ol shooter]

It's not my Grandfathers fault, back in the 40's they didn't know any better. They took a beautiful 1933 Polish WZ-29 Cavalry Mauser, and sporterized it. It's a good shooter, has the old Redfield peep sight on the receiver, but boy, I wish it had never been touched. You don't see WZ-29's very often.

[2shotjoe]

It's not my Grandfathers fault, back in the 40's they didn't know any better. They took a beautiful 1933 Polish WZ-29 Cavalry Mauser, and sporterized it. It's a good shooter, has the old Redfield peep sight on the receiver, but boy, I wish it had never been touched. You don't see WZ-29's very often.

+1 most of the guns from my grandpa was sporterized. Rem m1903a3, G43, 98 Mauser.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

[1859sharps]

That is the art of taking a $400 mil surplus rifle, spending $500 modifying it to end up with a $200 rifle.

Today you are correct. But remember when this was the "hot thing" to do, they were taking as you said $15 dollar rifles, but they were turning them into "$200 rifles". so to speak.

'Sporterized' is a codeword that translates loosely as: "This used to be a collectible military surplus rifle. Some inbred mouth breathing bubba took a hacksaw to it and converted it into a a practically worthless hunting rifle".

But they weren't collectable back in the day. The rifles were being sold VERY cheap because they were all over the place, HIGHLY available and not viewed as "collectable history".

Even as late as the 1990's, several models of ww2 era rifles were still so plentiful that taking one that was beat to hell and back, but had a good receiver and bolt and sportrizing it was not a big deal because there was a 1000, or even 100,000 more where that came from.

Today...the supplies are drying up, even beat to hell and back samples are starting to have some value that didn't exist even 20 years ago.

[bsg]

But they weren't collectable back in the day. The rifles were being sold VERY cheap because they were all over the place, HIGHLY available and not viewed as "collectable history".

Even as late as the 1990's, several models of ww2 era rifles were still so plentiful that taking one that was beat to hell and back, but had a good receiver and bolt and sportrizing it was not a big deal because there was a 1000, or even 100,000 more where that came from.

Today...the supplies are drying up, even beat to hell and back samples are starting to have some value that didn't exist even 20 years ago.

your points are well stated. the collector with historical sensitivity may embrace the ideal of maintaining the integrity of these weapons in their original configurations, and make effort to do so even before they achieve collectible status.

[CRTguns]

generally a waste of money.

A really good modern rifle can be had for far less cash than the bill in parts and labor to make your military bolt look modern.