Preferred platform for CMP vintage sniper rifle competitions is
highly subjective . Cost can vary a lot as well, depending on optics.
I happen to think the following are probably the best 3 flavors, but others will surely have different opinions.
Top: M1903 with 8X Leatherwood scope is used by most of the top shooters. I got mine for $2500. I have won gold, silver, and bronze
medals with that rifle since I started competing with it in 2012, and all of the local guys I shoot with use this platform.
Middle: Finnish M39 with 4x Accumont repo scope (aka 'M39SOV'). Not often seen at the CMP matches, but one was used
to tie the top shooter at Camp Perry a few years ago, I think 2016. Sometimes one can be found or built for $1500 or so.
I sold the rifle seen in this picture to fund another build without ever using it, but the new owner says its very accurate.
Getting the scope mount correctly mounted is a challenge, and its best to start with a rifle that was already drilled for a scope mount.
Bottom: Swedish M41B w/ original 4x AJACK scope. One of these rifles was used to win the first CMP vintage sniper match
back in 2011, but the downside is the lack of windage adjustment for those 600 yard shots in the wind. For compeition,
a better scope is the Weaver K4 that has windage adjustment. It is allowed on this platform. Cost for a real M41B is $3k plus.
Honorable mention goes to the M1903A4 flavor with 2.5x Lyman scope with a fine crosshair reticle. Along with an M91/30, a reproduction 1903A4 is probably the lowest price of entry, as a repo 1903A4 can often found for about $1200. (Obviously a real 1903A4 is about 2 or 3 times more, depending on condition and configuration).
Regardless of platform, the rifle needs to shoot about 1 MOA with its preferred match ammo to win medals at this match, and the shooter needs to be able to make correct wind calls at 600 yards. I'm still working on my wind calls...
I will also note that over the past two years I have seen some truly excellent match scores with
guys shooting semi-auto M1D or M1C Garands, with either a 2.2X M84 scope or 4X Kollmorgen.
The two guys in this picture are top-level shooters who have won the event at the National Matches
from time to time, and their team score of 390-12X shows that
the shooter matters way more than
the platform. To encourage the use of M1C/M1D Garands, CMP offers separate medals under a
"semi-auto sniper rifle" class, but I have only competed in the "bolt-action" class with my 1903.
By Andrew Hall From the Garand Collector’s Association Journal We are a little embarrassed to admit that the exploits of two shooters at the 2018 D-Day Matches at the CMP ‘s Talladega Marksmanship Park were not noticed until recently. In the Vintage Sniper Team Match, only three teams fired...
thecmp.org
The cost of reproduction M1D versus a real, documented one is significant, and even more so for an M1C.
My 2cts.