Rem-Lee M1899 sporter in 7.65: Ever seen one?

[GLMartin]

First post on Milsurps. This is my dad's old hunting rifle; I inherited it when he passed away in '87. I've done a lot of research on the Rem-Lee factory sporters and have not seen or heard of any other 7.65's known to exist. I don't know how my father came to own this rifle; he was born in Alabama 15 years after this sporter was made. 7.65 Belgian Mauser seems to me to be a very odd caliber to offer the American sportsman and hunter of that era. I've got Gene Myszkowski's ecellent book on Remington-Lee's, and would value any additional input on the possible early history of this rifle.

Best,
Garrison

[RCEMERalf]

Is the serial number in the correct range for a sporter? I have one in the correct serial range that is marked ".303". It is marked in the same type of script as yours, but on the bottom of the barrel, under the forearm. The magazine has been played with a lot with bent feed lips and solder. The magazine spring is very weak, preventing proper feeding. I have made a wax chamber cast confirming a .303 Br chamber. I will get some pictures up in the near future. Having similar script on the caliber markings helps support the opinion that these may be rare, authentic factory products. Many thanks for putting up the photos.

[GLMartin]

Greetings, and thank you.

Yes, s/n is in the correct range for a factory sporter:



I *think* this puts the year of manufacture as 1904. The caliber designation is in same the location as you describe on your Rem-Lee:



Do you have a copy of "The Remington-Lee Rifle" by Gene Myszkowski? It was published in 1994, and in it he mentions only five .303 British sporters turning up in his survey (all located in Australia and New Zealand), and "the .35 Winchester and 7.65 Belgian Mauser have not appeared." I have scoured the internet looking for the slightest mention of another 7.65 sporter in existence besides mine, to no avail.

Here's are some photos of my mag, including five rounds of my dad's old ammo:









You may already know this, but there's an exploded view of both the Rem-Lee M1885 and M1899, plus disassembly procedures for each rifle, in the April 1980 edition of American Rifleman. I picked up a mint copy off of eBay a couple weeks ago.



I hope you post up some photos of your sporter.

Best,
Garrison

[RCEMERalf]

Thanks again for the great photos. That "N.Y.S. S.A. F. " marking is of considerable interest. New York State ........?????. 757 looks like a rack number or issue number for some specific organization. It is impossible to imagine they had 757 1899s in 7.65. Yes, I have the book. I will get some pictures up in the next day or two. My serial no. is 75556. Metal on mine has been reblued and that lovely metal butt plate has been replaced by a rubber Pachmayr pad. 303 is on the underside of the barrel. The forward 3 starts 3 inches forward of the forend.

[GLMartin]

Here's a better look at the top of my receiver:



My s/n is F757XX, and according to Gene M. it's not known the significance of the letter "F" in front of the s/n; about 75% of the observed s/n's above 75650 have it, he says, but there are no discernible differences between a sporter with or without the letter preceding the s/n.

Based on your s/n your sporter *should* be an '03 model, which would mesh nicely with Gene's research that indicates Remington introduced the .303 British caliber to the M1899 sporter lineup in '02.

Best,
Garrison

[RCEMERalf]

Hope I am uploading these photos. Barrel is stamped Remington and 303 is marked as in the 7.65 of another poster. Unfortunately the metal has been refinished as evidenced by the elimination of some markings. Also the rubber butt pad is not as nice as the one from metal. Still, I believe a quiite rare example.

[GLMartin]

Excellent photos, thank you for posting. Your rear sight is fascinating. I'll keep an eye out online and at local shows for a mag. Have you had the bolt group out and apart yet? I'm curious as to how yours is numbered. You probably already know this, but the locking lever (it pins the bolt head to the bolt) pivots OUT, not up (see below). This piece is thin and relatively fragile.

Thanks again.

Garrison

[green]

Have one in .303" calibre marked on bottom of barrel also 303 stamped on tg and another place. S/n 755xx, has Lyman sight on cocking piece.

[RCEMERalf]

Thanks , Green, for the info. Please consider putting up some pictures. Especially interested in the 303 marking on the barrel, the Lyman sight and the shape of the lips on the magazine. Looks like our serial numbers are quite close. All this is very interesting and helping to verify that these are original factory products. Regards.

[AGB-1]

I have one in 6mm Lee Navy. AGB-1