Sportco 62A .22lr

[Gwion]

Thought i'd share some pics of my old Sporti 62A .22lr that i have done some fixing on over the last few years.

When i first borrowed the rifle off a friend it was suffering somewhat from some very crude modifuckations. Someone had previously taken a hacksaw and lopped off the end of the barrel, including the front sight. I guess that mad the rear sight useless or it got in the way of a scope so the very roughly bashed that off as well. Then, they decided that the crew at Sportco didn't know what they were doing and that the rifle needed an rear action screw instead of just the single barrel lug screw that originally held the steel and timber together. In the process of drilling and taping the rear of the rear (expanding the hole that originally took one of the trigger group screws), they completely screwed up the timber in that area of the stock.

First thing i did was to bed the rifle, which meant i had to inlet a block of blackwood into the stock to rebuild some solid timber around the rear of the trigger group. I also installed a carbon fiber pillar there. Whilst doing this, the crappy screw the farm yard gunsmith had used gave out and i had to re-tap the hole and fit another screw, choosing a high tensile job this time 'round. I got it shooting quite nicely, even with the hacksawed off muzzle/crown, so i refinished the stock with my own little home made potion and sent the barreled action off to a gunsmith near Hobart to be re crowned; he also fixed the trigger which was sort of floating at the rear due to farm yard gunsmithing or 'modifuckations' (Rolf Hey, highly recommend him for quick turn around, good pricing and top notch work!).

Here is what it looked like after i had finished repairing it...

Sporti with scope mounted...

Sportco 62A 22LR 01.jpg (372.16 KiB) Viewed 10224 times

Rolf Hey crown job...

Sportco 62A 22LR 04.jpg (135.83 KiB) Viewed 10224 times

Well. As this is technically my wife's rifle and she can never get comfortable behind a scope, i decided that the rifle would be best with some iron sights so she can shoot it more comfortably; she'll never be taking longer shots than about 30m. Besides, i wanted a rifle with open sights to muck around with as well as take those bloody vegie thieves inside 10m, which a scope is just crap for.

Off it went back to Rolf..... he did the work that day with some sights he had lying around. Also re-crowned it again due to a unfortunate incident with a concrete floor. Photos below.

One QUESTION for you all. I am only familiar with open sights that have rear windage and elevation adjustment. This old leaf system has me a bit perplexed. I see how the elevation is adjusted but what do i do to correct windage for the rifle's preferred ammo???

Also, i'm interested to get an idea of year of production. I've looked up serial numbers and such but info on even a rough period of production is hard to come by. Anyone got some idea???

Iron sights fitted... now it looks somewhat more like it originally would have.

Sportco 01.jpg (155.76 KiB) Viewed 10224 times

The old girl... nice and simple.

Spotco 03.jpg (195.88 KiB) Viewed 10224 times

Leaf sights... how do i adjust for windage???

Spotco 04.jpg (233.05 KiB) Viewed 10224 times

[Gwion]

PS: I'll dig up some pics of how it looked when i first got it and the process of fixing it up a bit....

[Heckler303]

Damn it sucks when someone has to bubbarize something good on it's own. I've got 2 No.4 lee enfields and an M1917 that have really had a hard time in the hands of bubba + his blunt secondhand tools. Thankfully all have been saved and work brilliantly.

What kind of ammo does it like/what group sizes on average?

[Strikey]

Nice job on the old Sportco, Gwion, to adjust windage you will need to tap the rear sight either left or right to get to your zero, I take that it is in a dovetail on the barrel, don't hit it too hard as it won't need to move too far

[Gwion]

With the scope it was shooting Win PP42max very well. Around 0.75" and less @ 50m. Open sights will change things a bit and i'll have to tune the action screws back to where they were. I'll have to look up old test targets for those specs.

[jeff80]

I bought a Sportco 63 as my first rifle a couple of years ago, it looks pretty much the same as this however the rear sight is a bit different. They are a fun gun to shoot.

[Wm.Traynor]

Gwion,
Why will you have to, "tune the action screws back to where they were"?

[Gwion]

Nice job on the old Sportco, Gwion, to adjust windage you will need to tap the rear sight either left or right to get to your zero, I take that it is in a dovetail on the barrel, don't hit it too hard as it won't need to move too far

Thanks again, mate. Will let you know how it goes.

[Gwion]

Gwion,
Why will you have to, "tune the action screws back to where they were"?

From memory, it shoots better with the rear screw lighter than the front. About 17 inch/pounds: 23 or there abouts.

[deanp100]

That looks suspiciously like a lithgow mod 12 rear sight. but looks like the correct front sight.

[deanp100]

That looks suspiciously like a lithgow mod 12 rear sight. but looks like the correct front sight.

[Gwion]

Hey Dean.... My thoughts exactly. I just asked Rolf to fit whatever he had lying around that would work. If the rifle was in more original condition I might have made more effort to source the correct sights.

[Gwion]

Here are some pics of the state the rifle was in when i got it and some of my efforts to fix it.

Farm yard gunsmiths.......

muzzle-crown.jpg (16.81 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

This is where the "extra" action screw was supposed to be doing it's job....

Stock-before.jpg (49.58 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

So i put this....

cutting-block-2.jpg (57.56 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

In here....

Inletting-block.jpg (47.7 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

To give some solid material for the screw....

block-fitted-with-new-action-screw1.jpg (48.39 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

And bedded it.

stock-rebedded.jpg (120.74 KiB) Viewed 10122 times

[Gwion]

PS: before anyone says it.... it really didn't like a floating barrel at all, so i pressure point bedded it after experimenting with business cards to find the right points and thickness of bedding.

[Gwion]

Sighted it in @ 25m(ish). Took a bit of doing because i started adjusting the wrong way to being with. With a bit more practice i should do alright with it.

[Supaduke]

The way I remembered for adjusting windage was to imagine the sights aimed directly at the target and the rifle moving. So if you are shooting to the right the rifle needs to move left. Hence the front sight goes right.

Or you move the sights towards the bullet hole relative to the target. Shooting right, drift it right.

Funny one of those simple things that can take a little bit to initially get your head around.

[Gwion]

My brain isn't working the best this morning...

[RDobber]

Classy photos there.

[bigrich]

thought i'd bring this old post back to life . anyone got any experience or opinions on these old aussie made 22's . i'm interested in the 62-63 series bolt guns . i understand this design was used for the 320 winchester, and eventually went to the USA and morphed into kimber 22's . i'm thinking of getting one of these as a cheap shooter to tinker with . cheers

[allan]

I owned a 63A for about 40 years - Very reliable little 22 with accuracy more than adequate for any small game hunting situation.
Rolf Hey refurbished the stock and did a few ignition mods for me at one point and it would put 10 of just about any decent ammo under a 10 cent coin at 50 metres.
I replaced the FP spring with a J&P Gunsprings Kimber 82G unit after I started to have a few misfires sometime after 2000.

https://imgur.com/y3VPjGY
https://imgur.com/PuyJXx2
https://imgur.com/6dJkEkv

[bigrich]

I owned a 63A for about 40 years - Very reliable little 22 with accuracy more than adequate for any small game hunting situation.
Rolf Hey refurbished the stock and did a few ignition mods for me at one point and it would put 10 of just about any decent ammo under a 10 cent coin at 50 metres.
I replaced the FP spring with a J&P Gunsprings Kimber 82G unit after I started to have a few misfires sometime after 2000.

https://imgur.com/y3VPjGY
https://imgur.com/PuyJXx2
https://imgur.com/6dJkEkv

thanks for the info mate . i'm wondering with a bit of tinkering , how well these things can shoot ? do you know if the barrels are threaded or pinned ? i know i said i was looking at one of these old rifles cause they're cheap , but i like to modify and customise stuff . there's a lot of swap barrels available for current 22's like the cz457 . was just thinking a new $299 cz barrel from cleaver, or a good second hand sako quad barrel could be screwed into one of these old sportco's for not a lot of coin . it might actually be surprising

[allan]

Been a while but if I remember correctly, the barrels were pressed/pinned.
Either way, it's no biggie - I've got a couple of Savages here that I had threaded for Maddcos & had other actions like Weihrauch and Anschutz threaded to accept after market barrels.
Biggest draw back with the old Sportcos is the single action screw - My stock inletting was quite good & I didn't even have mine bedded.
Good luck if you go down this road.

https://imgur.com/TjydFgo

[bigrich]

Been a while but if I remember correctly, the barrels were pressed/pinned.
Either way, it's no biggie - I've got a couple of Savages here that I had threaded for Maddcos & had other actions like Weihrauch and Anschutz threaded to accept after market barrels.
Biggest draw back with the old Sportcos is the single action screw - My stock inletting was quite good & I didn't even have mine bedded.
Good luck if you go down this road.

https://imgur.com/TjydFgo

single action screw hey . makes things more critical with bedding , but it doesn't seem to hurt early brno's . can you recall where the action screw is located on the receiver ? i have read of cz 452's having the rear receiver drilled and tapped for a extra action screw , maybe this is possible . it's also possible i'm getting carried away with ideas too thanks for your advice , cheers

[Jorlcrin]

We had a Model 62s here for years; recall shooting my first pig with it.
4x28 Nikko Stirling scope on it.

About the only problem we ever had was the extractor played up in later years(likely worn from hard use and abuse), and missed the shell when you worked the bolt.
Elder brother took it back down South, and I believe a gunsmith resolved whatever was wrong.

[Mind you; 25 years back, gunsmith might have simply replaced the extractor.]

Not as flash as my mates Anschutz, but it was a great solid repeater.

[allan]

Here's a pic of the action - Some fellows have fitted a rear action screw to these models - All OK if you can do the work yourself but cost prohibitive if you have to have this stuff done professionally!

https://imgur.com/G5Vis5K

[bigrich]

Here's a pic of the action - Some fellows have fitted a rear action screw to these models - All OK if you can do the work yourself but cost prohibitive if you have to have this stuff done professionally!

https://imgur.com/G5Vis5K

Thanks for the pic mate, it puts things in perspective for me. I know an old smith who likes me, loves my oddball projects, and looks after me on price. Thanks for all the information you’ve given me, lets me make a more informed decision. I’ll go away and ponder this. My local gun shop has a 63a at a good price which is calling to me. lol

[allan]

I know an old smith who likes me, loves my oddball projects, and looks after me on price. My local gun shop has a 63a at a good price which is calling to me. lol

Way to go! Re the trigger...I had PK (resident gunsmith at Lock & Load, Cairns) re-work the trigger - Broke very cleanly at 2 pounds and I never had to touch it again after he finished with it.