Why were so many Lee Enfields sporterized?
- Thread starter satcom
- Start date
Capitol Iron, one of the original 'surplus stores' in Victoria, B.C. & still in business used to have barrels of Lee Enfields in the basement for $11 each back in the day. And Bubba was very much alive & well in this area in that era.... 
NAA.
NAA.
I know peoples that where buying Sporterized Lee Enfields back in the 1960's but they have already shoot out bores, almost smooth bore when you look inside! Someone told me that they sell around 19$ at the time.
There is a gun shop near me in Ardmore Alberta, he has a rack (10-15) of no 4's that are all "Sporterized" its like seeing a show about genecide.
The worst thing is, the cheapest most slapped out one is 235, i tried to fill him in but he wanted nothing of it.
There is one non bubba'd No 1 mk iii for about 800 in okay shape.... poor old man probably hasn't sold a rifle in years.
The worst thing is, the cheapest most slapped out one is 235, i tried to fill him in but he wanted nothing of it.
There is one non bubba'd No 1 mk iii for about 800 in okay shape.... poor old man probably hasn't sold a rifle in years.
svt1940, back in the early 60s you could buy 2 new in cosmo No4 MkI rifles for $19. Take your pick from the bin. I saw them stacked on pallets at Lever Arms in new unissued condition with signs giving special prices or ammo for bulk sales. If you bought 50-100, they worked out to $8 each. Sporters went for $12 in bulk quantities. Now these were the prices they were selling to other dealers for but if you had the money, they would sell them to anyone for that price as long as you bought in bulk quantities.
Worn rifles were usually unsellable. I will admit, there were a few dogs around but not many. The vast majority of the rifles had gone through FTRs or were new. The worn rifles could be had for $5 or less at Levers on an individual basis and less if bought in bulk.
Worn rifles were usually unsellable. I will admit, there were a few dogs around but not many. The vast majority of the rifles had gone through FTRs or were new. The worn rifles could be had for $5 or less at Levers on an individual basis and less if bought in bulk.
Availability and cost was the main reason. Back in 1962, when I got my mint No5 for $18, a sporting rifle like the M70 Win was selling for around $140-150. The old Winchester lever guns,which most hunters had used prior to WW2, were put in the rack due to lack of ammo and the fact that a lot of the old black powder ctgs were not much use any more as the country opened up and shooting distances increased.
The WW2 vets formed a new hunting community in the 1950s with a big demand for inexpensive sporting rifles.Sporterizing LE's and others,like P14/M17s,Mausers and Springfields was all the rage back then and this was a sensible way to go when you considered that monthly wages were $300 or so.
One of the main drivers for the US Gun Control Act of 1968 was the desire of various New England congressmen,like Dodd and the Kennedys, to protect the sporting arms industry in their constituencies from the flood of low cost surplus guns which were saturating the sporting community in the late '50s/early '60s. The JFK asassination provided the momentum to get this legislation through.
The WW2 vets formed a new hunting community in the 1950s with a big demand for inexpensive sporting rifles.Sporterizing LE's and others,like P14/M17s,Mausers and Springfields was all the rage back then and this was a sensible way to go when you considered that monthly wages were $300 or so.
One of the main drivers for the US Gun Control Act of 1968 was the desire of various New England congressmen,like Dodd and the Kennedys, to protect the sporting arms industry in their constituencies from the flood of low cost surplus guns which were saturating the sporting community in the late '50s/early '60s. The JFK asassination provided the momentum to get this legislation through.
Also, the fore end on the Lee-Enfields was there for 2 purposes (so I was told long ago), for bayonet fighting and to protect the firer's hands from burning during rapid fire.
Neither one of those things is necessary on a hunting rifle, and removing the fore end and top removed about a pound of weight as well.
Neither one of those things is necessary on a hunting rifle, and removing the fore end and top removed about a pound of weight as well.
The irony of the US manufacturers supporting GCA '68 is that the availability of inexpensive surplus guns probably got more people into hunting and shooting, who would eventually upgrade to higher-end US made guns, thus resulting in greater sales to them in the long run.
Incidentally, the Executive Vice President of the NRA testified before Congress in favour of GCA '68.
Incidentally, the Executive Vice President of the NRA testified before Congress in favour of GCA '68.
That was the end of his career as Executive V.P. of the N.R.A.
The N.R.A. lost a very large number of members over that one and those that stayed made sure that a Executive V.P. would go against the wishes of gun owners at the peril of their career.
Capitol Iron, one of the original 'surplus stores' in Victoria, B.C. & still in business used to have barrels of Lee Enfields in the basement for $11 each back in the day. And Bubba was very much alive & well in this area in that era....
Wow how things have changed, that place mostly sells kitchen trinkets and yuppie crap now.
Hard to believe guns were ever sold there.
Architect_SA
Member
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
This is probably another reason.
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
Most gun magazines at the time had articles on "sportyizing" old military rifles.
My one "bubba" was a N.Z. contract carbine that some idiot had chopped the forend and thrown away the handguard and nosecap. Now they only made 1500. Took me several years to restore it.
My question here was IT'S A BLOODY CARBINE. That's already SHORT and LIGHT enough, but NOOO, he had to butcher it!
So the IDIOT turned an $800+ rifle into a $125 rifle.
My one "bubba" was a N.Z. contract carbine that some idiot had chopped the forend and thrown away the handguard and nosecap. Now they only made 1500. Took me several years to restore it.
My question here was IT'S A BLOODY CARBINE. That's already SHORT and LIGHT enough, but NOOO, he had to butcher it!
So the IDIOT turned an $800+ rifle into a $125 rifle.
x2. A friend I hunted with used it reliably for everything. He got three deer, a moose calf, an elk, and was back up shot on his wife's moose cow. That was the last time we went out before he moved to MB three years ago, and he's been hunting there since, still with the LE.
