I’m selling one of my Sedgley Sporters . 30-06 . Circa 1929 -1931. This one is a Beauty. All original finishes. Beautiful mirror bore. Original Lyman 48 peep. No pitting to metal . Bluing is original with thinning at edges. Wood is free of cracks of any major dings. Overall just a well cared for original example. Hard to find original.
$ 2100.00 shipped in the lower 48 from non FFL to FFL
Those not familiar with these they are the first commercial Springfield 03 based rifles. Made in Philadelphia, Pa ( as marked on the barrel). Sedgley used 03 actions that they re - heat treated. They used Winchester barrels . They came equipped with Lyman 48 sights and no rear barrel sights . If I remember right they came in 7 different calibers . Noted gunmaker Paul Jeager of Jenkintown, Pa worked at R.F. Sedgley before starting his own business. You can see the influence in his rifles.
Each rifle has a serial number assigned by Sedgley. (Mid 1000’s with this rifle. ) The original serial numbers and receiver lettering were removed by Sedgley in the process of building the new rifles . Also the rifles were fitted with the Sedgley Speed lock which enhanced the lock time. Both of my examples are very accurate. Sedgley took great care in fitting the stocks and the wood to metal fit is perfect. Checking is well done also. The rifle is very well balanced ant the comb drop is perfect for the use of the sights. The rifle comes to the shoulder perfect to align for shots quickly.
Reginald F. Sedgley, a Philadelphia gunsmith who formed R.F. Sedgley, Inc. in 1916, a company that remained under his ownership until his death in 1938. Sedgley was known for buying pre-existing actions—such as the remaining stock of Winchester High Wall receivers—and rebarreling and restocking them. His most prolific claim to fame, though, was purchasing Springfield actions, grinding off the markings, annealing and re-heat treating them, then rebarreling them with Winchester barrels. The barrels were stamped “R.F. SEDGLEY. INC. PHILA, PA. U.S.A.,” along with his circled “S” proofmark.
Sedgley rifles were stocked with attractive, but not overly fancy, European walnut. A typical Sedgley sporter was chambered in .30-’06 Sprg., had a 26" barrel, a distinctive hooded, ramp-based front sight, a Lyman No. 48 rear sight and sold for $65. A schnabel fore-end, checkered steel buttplate and hard rubber grip cap were standard, although rifles with fancier-grained stocks with a cheekpiece could be special-ordered for $150. Sedgley rifles have unceremoniously been called “the poor man’s Griffin & Howe,” but this does an injustice to an excellent custom hunting rifle of the period.
Here’s a listing to a very similar rifle . The bluing in that listing does not have the similar high gloss finish that my Sedgleys had so I’m not sure if it’s reblued plus the bolt handles on mine we’re never blued . Their asking 3,995 .
Here’s a listing to a very similar rifle . The bluing in that listing does not have the similar high gloss finish that my Sedgleys had so I’m not sure if it’s reblued plus the bolt handles on mine we’re never blued . Their asking 3,995 .
That particular rifle has been listed for quite sometime. Over a year I think and it does look refinished. As a casual observer 4k seems very high for a sedgley unless it had some custom and rare features including a more rare chambering than 3006.
I believe the Sedgley rifle were hot blued and not rust blued like Griffin and Howe rifles of that time . The rifle in that listing looks more like rust blueing in finish . I could be wrong .
I have owned several Sedgley rifles over the years, most were .30-06. I agree that $4K is wishful thinking and also think it has been reblued. All the Sedgley rifles that I've owned or examined were hot blued and the bolt handles were in the white. Also note the rifle in the ad has the bolt handle reshaped, all the Sedgley rifles that I've owned the bolt handles were unaltered. I have been fortunate to have owned a Sedgley mannlicher stocked .250-3000 and a Deluxe model with floorplate engraved with a Christmas gift inscription. One of the rarest Sedgley rifles that I've owned was an 1895 Winchester lever action in .30-06 that was restocked with a horn forend tip and a Lyman 48 receiver sight machined to fit the 95 receiver contour. It was the one and only 1895 I've ever seen, I've also seen 1886 lever actions and LoWall and HiWall Winchesters. Of course I'm going back 40-50 years, Sedgley rifles of any kind are rarely encountered now. Having owned Paul Jaeger rifles and Griffin & Howe rifles I agree totally that Sedgley rifles were just as fine workmanship and aren't in my opinion "poor man's G &H's".
This rifle has the 4 digit Serial number on the back of bolt handle and in the bolt race near the tang . The barrel is marked with Sedgley “S” proof mark , 30-06 Cal and RF Sedgley Philadelphia,Pa
I believe the Sedgley rifle were hot blued and not rust blued like Griffin and Howe rifles of that time . The rifle in that listing looks more like rust blueing in finish . I could be wrong .
The original one I owned years back was not hot blued it had a low luster rust blued finish. Did they even have hot bluing then ? Only number on mine was inside the stock stamped in the wood 117.
Yes , they had hot blue then. Here’s a description from Michael Petrov book: (note the last sentence)
A typical Sedgley sporter was made on a Springfield action in caliber .30-06 with a 26” barrel that was made by Winchester. The stock was without cheek piece and made from imported walnut. If you wanted a cheek piece you had to order a better grade of wood that ran from 15 to 30 dollars more; they would not build a rifle with a cheek piece using their plain wood. The stock had a Schnabel fore-end, Winchester steel buttplate, hard rubber pistol grip cap and barrel band sling swivel that went through the stock. The pistol grip and fore-end as well as a small section to the rear of the tang was checkered. All Sedgleys that I have examined show above average inletting and checkering. Sighting equipment was a Lyman 48-receiver sight and a banded ramp front sight with gold or ivory bead. The receiver ring where the serial number had been removed was matted to cut down on glare. The gun was hot blued and the color is a shinny blue that is, in my opinion, not as attractive as rust blue found on most custom sporters of the day.
