I thought they were meant more as a target rifle than anything else, but could be a general "sporting" rifle.
Lewis Hepburn's design was indeed aimed at target or competitive shooting. But Remington quickly decided to make the Hepburn rifles in every configuration available in other Remington models to increase sales. I have Hepburn Match B rifles, Long Range models, deluxe engraved model, and a few other Sporting versions.
