Guys that know sporterized milsurp rifles...

[Caveman]

How much would you pay for a sporterized Enfield 1917?  Assuming it's a fairly average sporterization, you don't have a whole lot of info on who did the work, and there is a list of things you want to do (re-blue the metal, refinish the stock, pillar and glass bed the action and float the barrel).  

 

I know price varies a lot based on a whole bunch of things, but just ballpark how much you would pay.  

 

Oh, it's out of the Remington factory too.  I know that matters.  

[Pygmy]

I haven't been much involved in buying/selling for the last ten years or so..

 

My gut feel is that if it has a good bore, perhaps $200...

 

I sold a sporterized ( BUBBA'd)  Eddystone 1917 a few years ago for $125...I had bought  it with an old El Paso Weaver V8  for $100...I shot it a few times and it did not group well..I kept the scope and sent the rifle down the road.

[wildcat junkie]

Is it merely "Bubba'ed" or has it received a professional grade turned down bolt, D&T'ed for scope bases, low scope safety, etc. What kind of condition is the bore & throat in?

 

A run of the mill Bubba sporter W/a cut down stock is only worth the value of a doner action. Run of the mill wartime M98 Mausers like that are worth about $200, a prewar Oberndorf or J P Saur & Sone maybe $300. Your Remington/Enfied might be on the high end or in between I would think.

 

Here are a couple of examples of the relative ends of the spectrum.

 

1st a 1930's era  CMP/NRA 98 Springfield 30/40 Krag. Could probably be consided a high end Bubba job. They sold in 1927 for $27. The barrels were cut down & new front sights installed by the CMP & the stock foreend cut back, but not countoured like the splinter style seen below. The stock has been replaced & countoured in the style of a 1930s era sporter. It is very close to the cut down military stock that was on the rifle when my Dad bought it for $12 in 1958s. I purchased a Pacific Tool receiver sight that utilizes the magazine cut-off recess on e-bay for just over $100. Once the metal is finished I would place the actual market value in the neigborhood of $300. I have about $150 in it counting the original purchase price.

 

 

Next is a full blown custom sporter built on a commecial VZ500 Yugoslavian action. One could use a M48 Yugo 98 action to duplicate. That would require grinding down the rear bridge, then D&T for scope bases in addition to welding on a new bolt handle. All that would cost about $150 or a bit more. It has a 3-position M70 style wing safety added. ($185 installed) The other thing that puts this into the sporterized realm is the military barrel that was re-countoured, re-crowned. ($60) Figure about $300 for the semi inletted English walnut stock & about $150 for the buttplate. grip cap, barrel band sling swivel stud, rear sling boat stud. All together I have about $700 in it counting the prce of the action & take off barrel. I did the stock finish & rust bluing myself. actual market value would be in the $500-$600 range, maybe a bit more to the right buyer.

 

 

 

Can you post PIX of your Enfield?

Edited February 15, 2015 by wildcat junkie

[Mr VJP]

I wouldn't consider paying more than $200 for a semi sporterized 1917 Enfield.  You have to take into consideration the cost of everything you want to do to it after you buy it and what it's final value will be when you are done.  Custom military rifles are never worth what they cost to build when finished, even if the work is all done by the owner who's an expert gunsmith, at the lowest possible cost.

 

I believe the main objective, when buying an old military rifle to rebuild, not a collector, is to pay as little as possible for it and calculate the cost of the sporterizing you want to do, prior to buying it.  If you want to have a unique, one of a kind custom rifle for yourself, and the cost to build it is OK with you, fine.  But you should never think you can ever sell it and get what it cost you to make it.  They never do.

 

[Caveman]

I'm not too concerned about resale value.  I'm thinking more as a semi-unique deer rifle that I can pass on someday (and tinker with in the meantime).  That being said, I don't want to overpay for a rifle when a Remington 700 bdl from the 1970s can be had for $600 in good condition.  The gun I'm looking at, the guy wants $500 at the least.  I was originally thinking $300 was a fair price if it was in good condition when I finally saw it, but I don't want to be that guy that lowballs someone and offends them if it turned out to be worth what he was asking.  To get an idea about the condition of the gun, here's some pics.  

 

Is the consensus somewhere in the 200-250 range? 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2015 by Wildcats160

[Mr VJP]

After looking at the photos, I'd say $250 tops.  The stock would need replacing in my opinion.  The way the pistol grip was done would not be acceptable to me.  It's cut so deep, it actually weakens the stock at that point.  It's just not a good stock in my opinion, having a lot of drop, a high comb and a cheap recoil pad.  Rather than try to work with it, I'd have to scrap it.  The scope adds no value to the rifle at all as far as I'm concerned.  The seller seems to think the rifle is worth what he put into it, but it's not.  Not sure if the barrel on it is custom or original.  If it is a good custom barrel from a good maker, I might consider going as high as $300 if the bore was perfect.

 

 

BTW, how does the trigger feel?  If it doesn't have a trigger with a good crisp pull, it's accuracy will suffer.  A good trigger is worth a lot on a rifle, but they are also expensive if you need to buy a good one.

 

Edited February 15, 2015 by Mr VJP

[jjb4900]

go on gunbroker.com and take a look, there's a few listed on there..I would think $500 is top dollar, more like $300.

[Caveman]

After looking at the photos, I'd say $250 tops.  The stock would need replacing in my opinion.  The way the pistol grip was done would not be acceptable to me.  It's cut so deep, it actually weakens the stock at that point.  It's just not a good stock in my opinion, having a lot of drop, a high comb and a cheap recoil pad.  Rather than try to work with it, I'd have to scrap it.  The scope adds no value to the rifle at all as far as I'm concerned.  The seller seems to think the rifle is worth what he put into it, but it's not.  Not sure if the barrel on it is custom or original.  If it is a good custom barrel from a good maker, I might consider going as high as $300 if the bore was perfect.

 

 

BTW, how does the trigger feel?  If it doesn't have a trigger with a good crisp pull, it's accuracy will suffer.  A good trigger is worth a lot on a rifle, but they are also expensive if you need to buy a good one.

 

I haven't seen it yet.  I wanted an idea of value before I saw it.  It won't happen though.  The guy isn't moving from $500 and I'm not overpaying.  For $500 I can get a quality, used production rifle that hasn't been tweaked by a random guy with a hacksaw and a dremel.   

[Mr VJP]

I agree.  There are plenty of good used rifles on the market.  If you want a milsurp to pretty up for your own, there are plenty of them out there too.  Just take your time and keep an eye out for a good one.  That's part of the satisfaction of a custom rifle, saving an old war horse with a nice make over.

 

[wildcat junkie]

Not worth $500. $300 would be a stretch. Looks like the scope mods, bolt handle, safety, bases, might be well done, but hard to say W/the PIX. If the work was done correctly & the barrel looks good, $300 might be OK, but that's tops.

 

It would be a good idea to have a look under the bases. If there are extra holes or the holes are crooked/off center, it's junk. not even good for a doner action.

 

The stock is horrid.

Edited February 15, 2015 by wildcat junkie