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A lot of people today judge things by today's standards, and make decisions and comments without really looking at the attitudes, standards and events of the time. While today, we are looking a preserving and restoring many of these old firearms to original condition, you have to realize that back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a great glut of surplus firearms coming into Canada and the USA. Much like the Mosin-Nagants and SKS rifles from Russia, but multiply these present imports by TEN.
European Countries were broke and devestated by WWII. They had thousands of people unemployed, almost no cash economy, and a gloomy immediate future. However, there was a "War Surplus" of firearms and equipment. By selling these, cash could be raised. By converting these to sporting rifles, not only cash could be raised, but also people could be employed.
In the USA, many of the companies, such as Williams, had been doing War Production work, and now that was stopped. With the great influx of surplus rifles, it is no wonder that companies like Williams would want to survive by increasing their sales of their sights and products.
Civilian production of Hunting rifles took a fair time to get back on track. There were still shortages of firearms from Winchester and other major manufacturers well into the 1950s, so the people who wanted to hunt and shoot turned to buying a cheap rifle and making it more suitable for hunting. And these people did not have a lot of money available, or even a good paying job to buy the more expensive name brand rifles, even if these rifles were readily available.
There was also not the awareness of History, nor the amount of Collectors we have today. The firearms were cheap and plentiful, and no one really thought that these old wartime relics would command the prices they do today. A good SMLE could be chosen out of a barrel for a $10 bill with a Number 4 Lee-Enfield going for under $15, and today those same rifles are in the $400 to $600 range. My first Lewis Gun, complete with wooden chest, spare barrel, anti-aircraft sights, and lots of parts cost me $60 back in 1961 and what would a Lewis like that be worth today to someone who could own and afford it?
It is still happening. How many times have you seen a "Tactical SKS" advertised, and how many accessories are available to help you hang anything you want, maybe including the kitchen sink, on a SKS. How many Mosin-Nagants have been converted to "Snipers" with modern made mounts and scopes? How about Number 4 Lee-Enfields with modern made Number 32 Scopes on them have been made.
Back in those days, it was not only the accessory companies like Williams who produced literature on converting rifles. Do-it-yourself magazines like Mechanix Illustrated and others showed how to convert them. Take a look sometime at the American National Rifle Associations publication "The Gunsmiths Guide" and you will find conversion articles. (How to convert your Springfield to an Economy Sporter, a Target Rifle, and a full blown Free Style Rifle.)
Many of these surplus rifles were stripped to provide a basis for sporting rifles. Navy Arms used the Siamese Mausers for 45-70 rifles, Portugese Verguerro rifles were stripped for the trigger guards and hinged floorplates for custom rifles --the Mauser type floorplate was $150 but the same floorplate came on a $40 rifle so you could take the floorplate off and throw the rest of the rifles away. Cooper used Swedish Mausers for the actions only a short time ago.
Take a look at the overall picture and time frame.
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