| Original Message |
RedFeather (no login)
Posted Jun 30, 2009 8:35 PM
Although they were sort of second-line sniper rifles by that time. There was a 1903 Springfield used in WWI but it wasn't too successful. Scopes were a bit primitive then. By WWII, the US still did not have a dedicated sniper rifle. The 03-A4 was nothing more than a special run of the 03-A3 regular rifle with the bolt handle ground down to clear the scope, sights removed and a Redfield Junior base added. No special trigger job, barrels, etc (with the exception, perhaps, of those destined for the Marines). The US didn't even have a military rifle scope - the army went into sporting goods stores and bought up Weaver 330's and Lymans. I doubt an Army sniper would have had a Lyman Super Spot full target scope as in Saving Private Ryan, especially along with a Weaver. There were too few scopes to go around. (Weaver even ran ads in sporting magazines that asked "Where's the Weavers? They've gone to war!") There wasn't even special ammunition. A sniper would go to the ammo depot and sample lots of GI ammo until he found one which shot well, then grab as many boxes as he could get. And the snipers worked in two man teams, as well, with the odd man as the spotter. It was kind of on the job training. Things sure have changed a lot! |
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