Sporterising, sporterisation or sporterization is the practice of modifying military-type firearms either to make them suitable for civilian sporting use or to make them legal under the law.
Modifying for sporting use
Modifying for sporting use can involve the addition of a commercial, variable power
telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate po ...
, the shortening of the fore-end, and (in some cases) the fitting of a new stock. Sporterised rifles may be re-finished or otherwise customized to the tastes or requirements of the individual owner- for example, shortening the barrel or rechambering the firearm in a different caliber. Integrated bayonets, if present, are removed, as are muzzle devices sometimes for legal reasons.
Large numbers of military surplus rifles were sporterised in the 1950s and 1960s- especially
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...
,
M1903 Springfield
The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century.
The M1903 was first u ...
, and
Mauser K98
The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57 ...
rifles, which were in abundant supply after WWII, and therefore cheaper to acquire than a newly manufactured commercial hunting rifle.
SMLE Mk III rifles, in particular, were popular for sporterisation in Australia, New Zealand, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, with many being converted to
wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
calibers such as
.303/25 owing to both the difficulties of importing foreign-made rifles (due largely to economic factors), and also restrictions in the state of
New South Wales
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, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
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, subdivision_name = Australia
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on the ownership of firearms "of a military caliber", interpreted to mean the
.303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
cartridge then in use by the British and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
militaries. Even in states and countries where there were no such restrictions, many sporting shooters at the time found it expedient to cut down their ex-military SMLEs, in the interests of reducing weight or improving handling.
The practice of sporterising is frowned upon by most collectors and firearms enthusiasts because many military surplus rifles are highly collectible in original condition. Permanently altered sporterised firearms often sell for less money than military firearms in original condition.
A number of "Commercial" sporting conversions of military surplus arms were undertaken in the 1950s by Interarms, Golden State Arms, the Gibbs Rifle Co. and Navy Arms in the United States. These rifles are often considered to be collectible in their own right, and are not generally regarded as being "sporterised" in the usual sense of the word.
Modifying for compliance with legislation
Semiautomatic and civilian versions of
assault rifles are marketed as ''Sporter'' or ''S'' models.
The term "sporterising" is also used by some to describe the practice by gun manufacturers of producing civilian models of military-style weapons by removing legally restricted features. For example, a manufacturer might have replaced a
pistol grip
On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pist ...
with a thumb-hole stock, or a
flash suppressor
A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that ...
with a
muzzle brake
A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...
, in order to comply with legislation such as the 1994-2004
US Federal Assault Weapons Ban
The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, popularly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), was a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law which include ...
. Similarly the design of a rifle may be altered in order to prevent it being fired in automatic or burst mode in order to comply with a region's statutes, with some models having entirely different receivers that prevent the fitting of military select-fire trigger groups. Many manufacturers simply settle for semi automatic-only trigger groups without undergoing extensive modification, and select-fire trigger groups are what is often considered to be the actual machine gun part and are thus heavily restricted. Some gun-control advocates consider these civilian models an attempt to circumvent the intent of the laws.
See also
*
Glossary of firearms terminology
The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
A
*Accurize, accurizing: The process of altering a stock firearm to improve its accuracy.
*Action: The physical mechanism that manipulates cartridges and/or seals the breech. ...
*
Modern sporting rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
References
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Firearm components