Quote Originally Posted by Art View Post
None of these sporters based on military actions are anything like cost effective by today's standards. Back when the rifles and actions were cheap it was a different story. I saw a really pretty M1903A3 sporter with a nice commercial walnut stock with good figure and the telescopic sight included in a local gun shop this week......$275.00 for the whole set up. Looking at the rifle I figure the original owner had about that much in the whole set up when it was done originally. Today, that 03A3 even if it was a total mixmaster beater originally, which it wasn't by the way, would go for more than twice the asking price in that store. I have a 1917 mfg No.1 Mk. III* FTR 1955 straight from storage and in really nice shape. I got it for $17.00 and turned it into a perfectly satisfactory sporter for brush hunting. I also wrecked it's current value, it wouldn't sell for $75.00 today which is less than its original cost adjusted for inflation. But hey, they were a dime a dozen then.
Something else that made "sporterizing" cost effective back in the day were the so called "Fair Trade" laws then in effect in most states. Under "Fair Trade" the retail price of guns (and most other manufactured products) was dictated by the manufacturer. Of course that result in a complete lack of price competition between retail outlets. The idea of discounting was largely unheard of. If a retailer decided to sell below that price point without the premission of the manufacturer he'd find his supply cut off. I clearly recall buying my first new gun in 1967, a Remington Wingmaster. The price was exactly the same, $129.95, regardless as to whether you called the little old gun shop in the village or that nice, new K-Mart that they'd just built in the cornfield on the edge of town.