De-sporterize?
- Thread starter TenmaNeko
- Start date
handlerer2
New member
If you are looking to create a museum piece, you may be in trouble with the Arisaka. The other two you may be able to find original furniture to restore it, of course a real collector will know at once, that it has been reupholstered. I have only had one surplus rifle a Mdl 1896, sporterized, has taken several nice deer for my brother. I like Mausers and Arisakas, ect because that are decent shooters, and are economy priced. Kind of like having and old beater dodge P/U that'll get you where you need to get, even when it gets muddy.Oh, by the way, the spoterized Arisaka, MDL99 was much more accurate than my Mdl700, 7mag. This was in 1976 and my buddy caught the bug and bought dies, 40 rounds of Norma brass, 100 weird 179 gr bullets, and wanted to shoot the rifle his father brought home from the Merchant Marine in WW2. We cooked up a load from '76 version of the Speer manual and this found piece would shoot 1" 5 shot 100yd groups reliably. The very best i was able to get from my own reloads was 1.5', 5 shot, 100yd group. At that time 1.5-2' was considered acceptable hunting accuracy. I want to find a 5 shot 1' gun.
Tenmaneko
Could you please post some pictures.
As for returning them to original condition, It depends on how for they have been sporterized.
It may mean replacing the barrels, or putting the sights back on them, replacing the stocks, triggers, New Bolt Handles, and filling in Holes where they have been drilled and tapped. After all of that they may look original but would not be, so in the long run It may prove to be more cost efective to hunt down unaltered representatives of each rifle.
Could you please post some pictures.
As for returning them to original condition, It depends on how for they have been sporterized.
It may mean replacing the barrels, or putting the sights back on them, replacing the stocks, triggers, New Bolt Handles, and filling in Holes where they have been drilled and tapped. After all of that they may look original but would not be, so in the long run It may prove to be more cost efective to hunt down unaltered representatives of each rifle.
mapsjanhere
New member
Most sporters (and that's not derogative, I have several and thing they're great guns) have at minimum the receiver tapped for scope mounts and the stock shortened. While you can get original or reproduction stocks for most guns (the Argentine 1893 being one exception coming to mind), fixing the receiver is pretty much impossible. If you have them filled, the polishing will be noticeable. If you refinish, the markings will get blurry. In any case, what you end up with is something looking like an original, but unless in the rarest of cases (lets say a Mauser 98 or Springfield 03 never adapted for the spitzer bullets), will have no collector value.
And finally, you can probably find most of those guns in close to original configuration for less than you can buy the parts to restore them.
And finally, you can probably find most of those guns in close to original configuration for less than you can buy the parts to restore them.
It's a sporter. Get over it. Someone took an old military mule and turned it into something useful, although often not beautiful. Until fairly recently (about the lat 10 years), there was absolutely no interest in going the other way. If you want an original, you can probably still get one for less than the price of rebuilding the sporterized rifle.
Gunplummer
New member
Yeah, it really is not worth going backward. Right now I have a late war matching Arisaka, early war matching Arisaka, 2 nice 6.5 Arisakas, and nice Type 44 sitting at a local auction house. Really I am just hoping for the best, on good bids. Like the others said, you can pick up an original fairly cheap. I finally got around to putting a scope on a 6.5 Carcano and bending the bolt. My sister found it in the barn when they bought their farm. It looks like it was on the floor of a stall for years, but shoots O.K. at 100 yards. Total spent so far: $25.00 for scope mount and two boxes of bullets. I had an old Weaver K-series scope laying around. It looks like crap but I am taking it out for deer this year.
So, as the others said, just take them out and enjoy what you have without spending a fortune.
So, as the others said, just take them out and enjoy what you have without spending a fortune.
The more the metal was worked in the sporterizing, the more expensive it will be to return it to original appearance. And nothing will return it to the collector value of an original unaltered GI condition gun.
If you want to do it for a project, or hace it done for personal reasons, thats fine. But don't expect to be able to do it for any kind of profit. Quite the opposite really.
Today, there is collector interest (and value) in GI issue condition milsurps. But for generations, there wasn't. But the money is only in unaltered, period correct rifles in good condition.
Collector prices on a rework are a rip off. I wouldn't pay much for one. In fact, a beat up original is worth more to a collector than a "restored" rifle.
Right now, prices are way down on sporterized milsurps, even the very good ones go for a lot less than they cost to make. I've gotten some fine rifles cheap that way.
If you want to do it for a project, or hace it done for personal reasons, thats fine. But don't expect to be able to do it for any kind of profit. Quite the opposite really.
Today, there is collector interest (and value) in GI issue condition milsurps. But for generations, there wasn't. But the money is only in unaltered, period correct rifles in good condition.
Collector prices on a rework are a rip off. I wouldn't pay much for one. In fact, a beat up original is worth more to a collector than a "restored" rifle.
Right now, prices are way down on sporterized milsurps, even the very good ones go for a lot less than they cost to make. I've gotten some fine rifles cheap that way.
Gunplummer
New member
Did you ever talk to some of those "collectors" at shows where you are trying to sell a good piece? What is correct condition? I was talking to an honest dealer (Yes there are a few) at a show and you would not believe the goofballs that came by to look at his stuff. He deals with a lot of vet bring back items and we were talking about mismatched guns. There were a heck of a lot of them that were picked up that way. At one time I owned an Arisaka with no serial number and have seen others. I still have one with the one side torn up by shrapnel. Years back I bought one out of a barrel full of guns just for parts. The bolt was jammed shut and I had a hard time getting it apart. A bullet had gone through the stock right under the ejector box and was jammed in the sear and trigger. If these guns had been picked up by the Japanese after a battle do these "collectors" think they would have just thrown them out instead of using total junk guns to change parts and repair them? I see a lot of "that's not correct" on this forum. According to who?
Gunplummer
New member
Did you ever talk to some of those "collectors" at shows where you are trying to sell a good piece? What is correct condition? I was talking to an honest dealer (Yes there are a few) at a show and you would not believe the goofballs that came by to look at his stuff. He deals with a lot of vet bring back items and we were talking about mismatched guns. There were a heck of a lot of them that were picked up that way. At one time I owned an Arisaka with no serial number and have seen others. I still have one with the one side torn up by shrapnel. Years back I bought one out of a barrel full of guns just for parts. The bolt was jammed shut and I had a hard time getting it apart. A bullet had gone through the stock right under the ejector box and was jammed in the sear and trigger. If these guns had been picked up by the Japanese after a battle do these "collectors" think they would have just thrown them out instead of using total junk guns to change parts and repair them? I see a lot of "that's not correct" on this forum. According to who?