Were snipers in WWII using the M1D and 1903A1/1903A4 Sniper rifles using the same M2 Ball or M2 AP rounds as everyone else or was their originally a "match" grade ammo that they were using?
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View thread Contact supportM72 match 30-06 was not standardized until 1958. The US Army didn’t issue any match ammo for its snipers until the late 1960s in Vietnam (ie, 7.62 NATO/ M118 used with accurized M14s). Translation: No match ammo was used in WW2 or Korea. It came much later…
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I’m still looking for a box of M1 Ball ammo, but theoretically it’s longish/ aerodynamic bullet design was the predecessor to the M72 ammo, and might have been a better choice for a dedicated sniper rifle than M2 or even AP, but it had been discontinued by late 1941.
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I was an infantry platoon leader in Korea and then 101st. I don’t know where we picked up the idea, (maybe David Hackworth’s About Face) but we (PL’s) usually carried 100% tracer in our hot mag. Figured if I popped 4 or 5 tracers rapidly into an area then it would draw additional fire. But who really knows; seemed like a good idea at the time.There are also reports of them being attached to Machine Gun Units teams and using tracer rounds. The Sniper would use the 8X scope to scan for targets and then shoot a tracer round where he saw movement and then the Machine gun team would hammer where the tracer round hit. Which I have always thought was absolutely a genius way to employ a sniper.
I’d read a common thing to do was to remove the bullet and reset ass backwards.IMO the AP ammo relation to sniping from that era would be tribal knowledge passed down from W.W. I with the actual reason for it lost.
McBride referenced the sniping use of AP by both sides for its intended purpose, penetrating the armor plates used in trench loopholes.
I’d read a common thing to do was to remove the bullet and reset ass backwards.
The flat base side would become an ersatz AP round.
If those things are steel core it’s some pretty serious steel.
I wouldn’t expect it to be some strategic metal, but that steel can hit, pas through, and still look perfect after shedding the rest of the round.
Like lasing a target without a laser. Love it.There are also reports of them being attached to Machine Gun Units teams and using tracer rounds. The Sniper would use the 8X scope to scan for targets and then shoot a tracer round where he saw movement and then the Machine gun team would hammer where the tracer round hit. Which I have always thought was absolutely a genius way to employ a sniper.