Sporterizing: Taking a military rifle and putting it in a hunting stock, tapping the receiver for a scope mount, maybe changing the barrel/caliber and maybe shortening the barrel. Some people frown on this as they think you should leave a military rifle alone. But obviously you are well past that point and if it is a Nat'l Ord Cast receiver it does not matter anyway. Enjoy the rifle whatever it is.
I found this quickly via Google on National Ordinance (google is our friend):
Quote:
"In the book The Springfield 1903 rifles by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy, USAR, Ret., he discusses the National Ordnance 03A3 rifles. I'll try to summarize.
A company named Golden State Arms built 1903 rifles using investment cast receivers made in Yugoslavia and surplus 1903 parts. Workmanship was poor, with very poor fit and finish. After relatively few of these were sold, National Ordnance of El Monte, CA produced them under their own name, using a better investment cast receiver (better than the Golden State version, but still a poor substitute for a real '03), again with surplus parts . In the author's opinion, a collector is wasting his money if he invests in one of these ersatz rifles for any reason other than curiosity. The good news is, in1963, H.P. White Laboratory tested 3 of the N.O. receivers and found no weaknesses or flaws during the abusive and destructive testing. If yours headspaces correctly, it should be safe to shoot. Accuracy will depend largely on the condition of the barrel.
Seems to me the price was a bit high, though somewhat cheaper than decent originals. That said, I can't find a reference to N.O. rifles in any of my price guides, so your rifle may well be correctly valued."
End Quote
You may want to take it to a gunsmith you trust and have him check the headspace, barrel and the bore and give it a good once over.
