NRA Sporter with a Fecker

[mjmd]

Interesting stock on this one . Does it look factory ? Not sure i have ever sen one with a Fecker. Winchesters, Lyman, Unertl..but Fecker. Scope serial is around 3000 . Anybody know the year of production on it or the power? Was in a auction a few months ago.

I always thought the nra sporter should have been America"s WW2 sniper rifle. Super accurate for the era.

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[#1oilman]

Beautiful rifle!

[browningautorifle]

Would I ever like to get my hands on that for a look...so to speak...beautiful.

[rcathey]

I love those Lyman peeps with the target knobs. Definitely something on a gun that makes me sit up and take notice!

[XTrooper]

Beautiful rifle! The stock is exceptionally handsome!

[CINDERS]

Agreed the patternation on the butt area of the rifle both sides is beautiful I would definitely put that one in the gun safe.........

[cplstevennorton]

I always thought the nra sporter should have been America"s WW2 sniper rifle. Super accurate for the era.

The Marines trialed a couple that were similar in the 1940 Sniper Rifle trials. Even though one of these below is called a Sporter, there really isn't evidence the Marines picked up any that were SA built. All I have seen points to they built all this stuff in house. There were many notes that describe they put 1903's in a M2 or commercial stocks and described them as a Sporter.

One was described as: A M1903 less fixed base, fitted with a lyman 48-C Receiver sight and mounted in a M2 Stock. With a Lyman 8X Junior Targetspot scope in lyman mounts

Another was described as a M1903 Sporter fitted with the lyman Alaskan 2.5X power hunting sight in the Niedner side braket mount.


From reading documents and adds back then, it seems Fecker's timeframe was mostly the 1920's. You especially see them a lot in that mid to late 1920's.

[Promo]

While I agree on the nice staining of the wood, I might point out the oversized buttplate, an evidence for the stock having been sanded.

[mjmd]

Thanks for the observations gentlemen and I agree. The rifle was built circa 1925 and I believe the stock was sanded and refinished at some point in time or possibly restocked with a aftermarket. Thus my question The butt plate can easily be adjusted to fit properly with a little remilling on the top (1-2 mil) but I think I will leave that for the next guy in the chain. It also has a set of plugged taps slightly in front of the rear base, so somebody had a different rig on it long ago. The muzzle gages at 0 to .5 so it was not misused. I have not done the chamber yet. The finish is in excellent condition and so close to original color I can not tell l if it is original or restored. I will inspect it later for the tell tale signs . Originally owned by a Charles Stark of Portland.

Are there any notes in the USMC record regarding the result of the trials. Having shot many NM Springfields and Sporters it is my opinion that the sporter is a far superior platform for field use on many levels.

[Cosine26]

Fecker target telescopic sights were available into the mid 1950's. John Unertl worked for Fecker until he went into business for himself. Unertl used Fecker target mounts for a while; then started making his own just prior to WWII..
FWIW