Rem Lee 1899 sporter

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green
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:16 am

Rem Lee 1899 sporter

Post by green »

I recently examined a Rem Lee M1899 sporter in .303" British.
Is there a record of how many M1899 sporters were made in each calibre?
GeneM
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:57 am

Re: Rem Lee 1899 sporter

Post by GeneM »

The source used to provide the Remington Lee Sporting Rifle Shipment Record on p.67 of my book The Remington Lee Rifle was a February 2, 1973 memo by then Remington Historian Sam Alvis. He did not list any information by caliber. Over the years I found that the most popular caliber reported was the .30-40 US Army. At the time the book was published the .35 Winchester and the 7.65 Belgian Mauser had not turned up - since then both have appeared. I had known of 5 rifles in .303 British, since then 4 more have turned up. Most have been in Australia and New Zealand.
green
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:16 am

Re: Rem Lee 1899 sporter

Post by green »

Thank you. This .303" Rem Lee is in Canada. It is regular grade with Lyman sight on cocking piece. Were the 303s in a distinct serial # block?
GeneM
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:57 am

Re: Rem Lee 1899 sporter

Post by GeneM »

The Remington Lee M1899 Sporters started at serial number 75001 in 1899. The highest serial number noted by Sam Alvis is 76446 shipped in 1909. The military rifles started at 100000 and the military carbines at 150000. Only about 2200 military rifles (2001 sold to Michigan National Guard) and 50 military carbines were sold. The Cuban Rural Guard ordered 3000 carbines in a separate serial number range starting at 1.

The sporters were probably done in batches but I have not seen enough to establish any kind of serial ranges for the different calibers or models. There were 3 different models - Standard, Heavy Weight and Special. Most were standard, I have seen only 3 heavy weights and know of four Specials. The heavy weight sporters had heavy barrels and the Specials had 1/2 oct 1/2ound barrels and a high level of finish.
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