Sportco Model 44 target rifle

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MilitaryCollectorMark

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Hello everyone!

I recently bought a sportco model 44 in 7.62 nato.

Some questions.

Is 7.62 nato the same as 308? Is it ok to shoot 308 out of it?

I want to replace the stock. It's been kinda bubba with. I see on I collector there are take off stocks. Anything I should know of check before I shoot the rifle?
 
Sportco rifles were intended to be used primarily with 7.62x51 ammunition.
You may experience hard extraction with .308 ammunition, depending on brass hardness, etc. Not a matter of safety, rather one of primary extraction.

Sportco 44s were designed so that barrel replacement could be done without machining. The locking abutments are in the barrel, not the receiver. Unscrew the original barrel, screw in the new one.
Downside was that the user was tied to Sportco made barrels. Nielsen made an adapter that allowed other barrels to be fitted.

One of the stocks being auctionned at SFRC could no doubt be a replacement.
 
tiriaq said:
Sportco rifles were intended to be used primarily with 7.62x51 ammunition.
You may experience hard extraction with .308 ammunition, depending on brass hardness, etc. Not a matter of safety, rather one of primary extraction.

Sportco 44s were designed so that barrel replacement could be done without machining. The locking abutments are in the barrel, not the receiver. Unscrew the original barrel, screw in the new one.
Downside was that the user was tied to Sportco made barrels. Nielsen made an adapter that allowed other barrels to be fitted.

One of the stocks being auctionned at SFRC could no doubt be a replacement.
Click to expand...

Thanks you! Very good to know. I'm not looking to rebarrel it. How hard is it to find 7.62 nato brass? Is there any good quality factory produced brass available?
 
Thanks
It was the stock that was on it when I bought it, original sportco stock with a cheek riser added after. I refinished it. Had a rail built for it. Cerekoted the whole thing. Original barrel but still shoots very well.
 
There is an abundance of quality .308 brass. NATO brass could be used, but you will have to deal with crimped primers, etc. It may not be as uniform as quality .308 brass.
Lots of choices in quality .308 target grade bullets.
A number of powders work extremely well.
The Sierra/Hornady/Nosler/Berger/Lapua 155gr bullets would be good choices.

Here is a shot of the breech end of a Sportco barrel.

IMG_1072.jpg

The last year that the Cadet program used Sportcos at the DCRA National Matches, British Radway Green 155gr match ammunition was issued.
Rubber mallets were in use along the line knocking bolts open.
 

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There were different weight barrels and different stock styles. First ones had lighter barrels and a plain stock with a handguard. The pattern evolved over the years.
Generally seen with Central or Parker Hale sights.
I think the last model was the 44D.
 
The stock on the Sportco was profiled to feel like a No.1 .303 BR for the Australian market. Those were the shooters the company was trying to attract. A blocky benchrest profile would not have felt right to them.
 
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The Sportco has the potential to shoot very well. Many shooters have made the Bisley team with them, but in comparison to the current crop, there are better rifles for really competitive placing. I would put the design circa 1970 as the long range target shooters were forced to transition from .303 to 7.62.
 
The Sportco has some interesting design features. Three lugs, bolt head pinned to bolt body, Savage style. If you look at the bolt heads, you will see numbers. I believe these relate to sizes, for headspace adjustment.
Lloyd Nielsen made the adapter which threaded into the Sportco receiver, and incorporated the locking abutments, with threads for a conventional barrel.
Nielsen went on to make his own action, using a two piece receiver. Receiver body is a simple tube, the front piece has the locking abutments and barrel threads - same idea as his adapter.
If you stop and think about it, this system makes it very easy to machine the locking abutments. Nielsen's actions used Sportco bolt heads, with full diameter tubular bolt body.
I have a .308 rifle built on a Nielsen MN300 action. Schneider barrel, Robertson stock. Last time I had it out, it shot a 5/8" group at 100m. with 155 Sierras, 46gr of Varget in Winchester cases with CCI BR primers.
 
With original barrels and NATO ammunition, probably the Sportco.
With .308 ammunition and 155gr bullets, probably very similar.
 
Looking at my sportco, it has a parker hale sight. One thing I found in it, the peep hole is ajustable. Who ever had it bubba the cheekpiece. It has glass bedding, a pain to seperate the action from the stock. Other wise it looks good!
 
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