# Getting back into sporterizing military rifles



## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Use to be my no.1 hobby until I got back into fishing.Now I'm going to do both.Anybody here done any rifle work?


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## Bass-Tracker (Dec 23, 2013)

I have built many custom 98 Mausers in the past.
Also sporterized some Swedish model 38's, Enfield P-14's & P-17's, & small ring Mausers.
I made good $$ doing it till 1999 but, today the market seems to be geared more to battle type rifles & current manufactured receivers that are built up.

If you do it as a business you'll need a 01 FFL.



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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

I used to do Mausers when I was working as a machinist. On my days off the boss man let me use my milling machine and one lathe to play around. I still have my bolt handle forging blocks and a drill and tap fixture but I hardly used it since I had access to the mill. I bought bolt blanks and knurled them then welded most of them instead of forging. My forged bolts were a little stubby and I never tried stretching one. It was a lot easier to heli-arc and grind anyway. Back then you could buy a VZ 24 for $150.00 or less and gun show 8x57'S around $100.00. I even bought a 1908 Brazilian 7x57 like new condition for $99.00. Swedish Mausers were a little pricier and all of them I did never got a new barrel. Drill and tap, turn the bolt, reshape the original stock or get an aftermarket stock and glass bed it. Some of the military stocks turned out real nice. The Mausers got scarce and now are four or five hundred bucks each. Kimber started selling Swede's that were nice looking and I guess shot good, but I never had one. I didn't made much money doing it but I made a lot of friends. I found two of my guns in gun shops and I bought one back, the other I was too slow, it sold before I could make it back across Victoria. And that young mans dad wasn't too happy when he found out I saw it in a gun store. May throw a picture or two up later.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

peckerwood said:


> Use to be my no.1 hobby until I got back into fishing.Now I'm going to do both.Anybody here done any rifle work?


How's this project going? It's been about a month I guess since your post.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Destroys value of a good one. Wish I had never sporterized my Mauser 30 years ago. 

I love the old gun just like they are. I will sometimes have "military day" at the range: take my garand, 1917 enfield, 1973 trapdoor (sometimes shoot black powder cartridge), mauser, mosin-nagant, etc. Makes for a fun day. Also very enlightening to see how really accurate those guns really were.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

THE JAMMER said:


> Destroys value of a good one. Wish I had never sporterized my Mauser 30 years ago.
> 
> I love the old gun just like they are. I will sometimes have "military day" at the range: take my garand, 1917 enfield, 1973 trapdoor (sometimes shoot black powder cartridge), mauser, mosin-nagant, etc. Makes for a fun day. Also very enlightening to see how really accurate those guns really were.


I bought an unissued 1909 7.65 Argentine Mauser for two hundred bucks one time. I sold it to a collector, also a good friend, and darn if he didn't trade it for some labor. I screamed when I found out but I know where it's at and maybe one day I will get it back. I ran into the fellow that has it Sunday and he has two 7 x 57's, unaltered, and one is Austrian made that he said he might be wanting to sell. I may have to go see him in the next few days. That Argentine was beautiful, I would have never chopped it up. The bolt face was still polished and had never seen any corrosive ammo. I couldn't stand it and took it out and shot it, then I had to do a white glove cleaning for the second time. Live and learn.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Dang would have loved to have seen that mauser. They are the best. I still think the funniest story is how we "licensed" the action from the Germans and paid them royalties to make the 1903 springfield. Then after war was declared, told em to stuff it.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

The Mauser "Bible". THE MAUSER M91 THROUGH 98 BOLT ACTIONS by Jerry Kuhnhausen. I have it and a couple of other books that tell the history. I was hunting with a friend down by Laredo across from a ranch George Strait owns and a fellow saw one of my Mausers. He said dang it's just like a Ruger. I said not exactly, a Ruger is like a Mauser and so are a bunch more.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

I paid $60 for a nice and pristine Swedish 38 with all number matching and unaltered crown 18 years ago. Back then they were a dime a dozen. I now regret I had sporterized it into a youth deer rifle for my son. That rifle in its original military form is worth at least $300 today. 

Luckily I still have another Swedish 38 with bent bolt and a 96 made in 1908. Both are in original format and in pristine condition. The day of surplus WWII bolt rifles coming to our shore is long gone. Even the lowly Russian arsenal restored Mosin M44 carbine, which used to be $60 a piece 15 years ago, is now $300.


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

I had an 03 back in the day and screwed it up. Had a nice 30-40 Kraig too and traded it. 
What a dummy. Do have an original (no rework) Winchester 30 carbine.


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## On The Hook (Feb 24, 2009)

When I was a kid, I bought an old 8mm Mauser at a gun show for $75. It was a neat old gun, I never shot it as I couldn't find any ammo. I finally sold it and purchased a nylon 66 and a nylon 77. Wish I still had those two. The old Mauser's are a neat piece of history.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I've got complete mausers with matching numbers with battle gear.I've got some sporterized,by me.I'll not sporter one in collectable condition,but it really doesn't bother me much when folks do.They may be pieces of history as some say,but they were used to kill Americans too.My favorite of all Mausers are the Swedish.The 48's that hit the markets a few years back are beautiful,new condition,and affordable.They were the last military Mausers built,and were never used in war,just put away in warehouses.


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## coachlaw (Oct 26, 2005)

If something is in original condition, it's worth a lot more money. "Sporterizing" is an awful thing to me. With so many low cost alternatives, it's easier and cheaper to build a new hunting rifle than to destroy a historical piece. Not just my opinion, but the opinion of the marketplace. 1903 Springfields go for 5-900 bucks these days. A "sporterized" one? $300 if you're lucky. British Enfields go for $300-$600 these days, "sporterized"? $150. The market is clogged with these poor rifles that nobody wants because their value has been destroyed. People are going to do what they want to do, but please realize that things have changed.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

*Gift Rifle*

LOOK WHAT SOMEBODY GAVE ME!................to clean.
A friend of mines son is graduating this year and got this as a gift last week from an aunt and uncle. Lucky dog. The bore was pretty nasty but it cleaned up. I hope most of the gunk was cosmoline, after about an hour soaking and brushing the riflings showed up. I was about to call him and give him some bad news but I plugged the barrel and filled it with more solvent and attacked it with 6mm brush wrapped with a patch and bore compound and there it was. Riflings look like railroad tracks. Model 96 6.5 x 55 Swede all matching numbers. A keepsake.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Reading over this old thread I see where several said building a sporter out of old parts is a waste of time because the gun won't be worth what you got in it.Got me to thinking about my Skeeter center console,pool table,and 4wheeler.They're loosing money every day but I sure love using and working on them.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

I have a safe full of bad investments. I even bought one of mine back from a pawn shop but I paid less than what I sold it for. Should I report a Capitol Gain on my tax return?


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

That's one of those "gosh dang-it",why did I do that deals.Glad you got it back before it was gone forever.


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