Sportco

Sportco was an Australian manufacturer of rifles and shotguns in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1947 until the early 1980s. Founded by Jack Warne, also known by its full name Sporting Arms Limited, began by manufacturing single shot 22LR rifles. Sportco purchased ex military Martini Cadet rifles from the Australian Government and converted them to both rimfire and centrefire calibres as well as rebarrelling Lee Enfield rifles to .303/22 and .303/25.

Soon they began producing their own designs of bolt action and 'Sportomatic' semi-automatic rifles as well as single shot shotguns followed by semi-automatic shotguns and pump action rifles. They also started to export to Great Britain, Rhodesia, Borneo, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America.

Sportco supplied the British military with a blow-back action self-loading training rifle with a ten round capacity. Sold in Australia as the Model 71S the British dubbed it Rifle,L29A2. An example is to be found in the Enfield Pattern Room collection [ [http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Sportco_Martini_rifle.htm Rifleman UK] ] . Sportco also supplied Winchester with actions for their Model 320 10 shot bolt action repeater and Model 310 single shot.

Sportco also sold ammunition under its own brand name that was manufactured by Riverbrand and Winchester Australia [Barnes, Frank C., Cartridges of the World, 10th Edition, p473] .

Their longest lasting model was the Model 44 target rifle which would later would be known as the Omark Model 44 and would be produced by MAB Engineering when Sportco would close its doors [ [http://www.mab.com.au/products/firearms/model44.htm MAB] ] .

Sportco was sold to Omark Industries and shut its doors in the early 1980s.

Jack Warne would later leave Australia for the United States and found Kimber of Oregon.

Models

Calibre .22 l.r.
*Sportco Martini
*Sportco 2A semi automatic box magazine
*Sportco 10A bolt action box magazine
*Sportco 15 bolt action tube magazine
*Sportco 43 bolt action single shot
*Sportco 46 bolt action single shot
*Sportco 62S bolt action box magazine
*Sportco 63A bolt action box magazine deluxe
*Sportco 71S semi automatic box magazine
*Sportco 73A semi automatic box magazine deluxe
*Sportco 87A semi automatic tube magazine
*Sportco 93A pump action tube magazine
*Sportco carbine semi automatic box magazine
*Sportco Martini Clubmaster single shot target rifle

Calibre .22 Hornet, .222 Remington, .222 Rimmed
*Sportco Hornet bolt action box magazine
*Sportco 33 bolt action box magazine
*Sportco Martini

Shotguns
*Sportco 55 single shot
*Sportco 80 single shot
*Sportco 81 bolt action box magazine
*Sportco 88 semi automatic
*Sportco 103 semi automatic
*Sportco 103 type 4 semi automatic deluxe [ [http://www.sportco.org.au/models-gallery.html Sportco] ]

7.62mm Target Rifles
*Sportco Model 44 bolt action single shot [ [http://www.tsengineering.com.au/index.php?page_id=31 TSE] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.sportco.org.au/ sportco.org.au]
* [http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Sportco_Martini_rifle.htm UK NRA Historic Arms Resource Centre]