Not always, even nicer sporters can be considered Bubba's work. If they used a particularly rare model as the base, even more so.
As to the opine of the OP, I am sure that the brave souls who fought & died in those long ago battles never considered that one day all that would be left as witness to their sacrifices would be the arms they used, a many times revised for convenience history & the tattered remains of the freedom so hard won. A firearm in the same configuration as it was used in a great struggle can serve as a potent reminder of freedoms cost & talisman for those who do not regard such freedom lightly. A hunting rifle made from the bones of a milsurp, not so much.
DS, I fully understand where you're coming from but many of those receivers or even barreled actions you are speaking of, never saw military service or were ever intended for military service.
Many people have completely overlooked the fact that the military developed the actions and the commercial makers couldn't come up with anything as advanced or better. So rather than try to build a copy, or make something different, they just approached the factories producing the rifles and bought specific lots of actions, parts, barreled receivers etc to finish or refinish as fine sporters.
I have a lovely KAR 98 marked, Erfurt 1907 sporter that was never anything else in its life. It was made at a time when scopes were not widely available and extremely expensive. It was originally chambered in 9x57. Sometime, during the mid sixties, because of inavailability of ammunition and bullets, an old friend converted it to 257 Ackley Improved and replaced the European style stock with an American style stock that was more suitable to his needs, then he had it drilled and tapped for a new fangled scope in the late sixties as well. The old scope is long gone but I still have the specially made reloading die set. At this point, the rifle sits barren of bases, rings or scope. I haven't used it for a few years. It has a rather slow twist rate in the barrel and won't stabilize the heavier bullets. It will shoot 100grain flat base bullets into very small groups and knock White Tails as well as Black Bears down with aplomb. They don't seem to know that the bullets aren't heavy enough to do the job properly.
Is this rifle a Bubba??? Hardly IMHO but it's all in the eye of the beholder. We all have appreciation for different things and uses for different things.
As for the only thing left of the history of the battles the brave soldiers fought with these rifles and being the only remaining reminder of their sacrifices, that just isn't true. Many of those soldiers hated their rifles because they were heavy and just another chore to keep in good working order. Remember, we are talking about mostly conscripted soldiers here, not vollunteers. That certainly doesn't mean they didn't willingly go when they were called upon for their service but lets just say it wasn't their first choice.
Many of those same soldiers, hated the military configuration of the rifles they trained and fought with. They came to respect them though and trusted their capabilities. They bought them cheaply when they were made available to them and modified them to suit their needs or personalites.
For many of these rifles, they were modified by the ex soldiers that carried similar rifles. They certainly didn't do this to denigrate their history. They lived that history and in many cases, made it happen.
In many ways, the opposite is true. By taking these old battle implements and converting them to something useful in peacetime society, it showed a lot of respect for the rifles and their designs.
If it weren't for all of these cheap milsurps being offered between the wars and after WWII, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the same hunting heritage we do today. Many of those Bubbas put well suited, appropriate and affordable hunting rifles into the hands of those that just couldn't have afforded it any other way.
It wasn't until the early 1920s that the first milsurp rifles were made readily available to the general public. Yes, there were some of the obsolete single shot rifles available but not the modern repeaters. Even many of the stronger single shots were being sold overseas to third world governments for their militaries.
Bannerman's, Sears etc, all offered these firearms at what we would consider bargain basement prices.
They were cheap, even at the relative pricing of those days. That was the turning point for shooters across the nation. Acutally, in many cases around the world. Those relatively cheap firearms, took the sport of hunting as well as subsistance living and placed it at the disposal of the common plebes. This changed the face of shooting forever.
There are still some so called, self appointed elites that feel this isn't right. That has a lot to do with the anti movements today.
