Rifle Scopes Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

[fdkay]

In one scene he attaches a different objective lens to his Weaver M73 scope?

I though at the time, well that's bullshit.
Lo and Behold, in one of my books at home, I found reference to that very device. Just stumbled upon it really.
It was known as the Litschert optical Attachment, it increased magnification to 6x.
They actually have one for sale on a broken scope on flea bay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/WEAVER-440-MODIFIED-...=item1c13b970d7

I haven't been able to uncover anything on the specifics on the internet.
has anyone actually seen one or have good photos available?
I am just intriged by the damn thing. i wonder how many were issued etc...

 

[jevonniespapi]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

That link goes nowhere!

 

[Switchblade]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

SHoot Weaver an e-mail and ask them. WHo knows what you might get back

 

[xarmor]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

In the moveie he did not put an attachment on, he swapped scopes. Total bullshit. Looks similiar to the USMC M1941 Sniper configuration but it's not. I also love the way he turns the parallax on the objective to get the range! Great movie though....

 

[popeye089]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

That link is dead

 

[MontanaMarine]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

I remember the sniper was a southpaw with a RH rifle.

 

[sandwarrior]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

I was a good movie. But, sometimes I wonder why they totally ignore the military technical advisors they hire. You're right though when he turns the parallax, which I don't even think they had on WWII scopes, to dial up the range.

<span style="font-style: italic">Note: I checked and the Lyman Alaskan, Weaver 330 and Redfield all show "universal" focus. Meaning no parallax adjustment and no focus even. You see what you see.</span>

 

[BillCominos]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

Screw on magnifier increasers are still around.... There was a guy peddaling them on here not too long ago and it seemed like he sold more than a few.....

 

[crockett007]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

Well, the advisor for SPR was Dale Dye. I'm sure he's a fine gentleman. He put the actors through a mini boot camp etc. While I have no doubt he is an expert on general grunt stuff, probably not an "expert" on period weapons. I doubt he is an expert on the '03, that probably accounts for the descrepencies. Just like the ersatz Tiger tanks, sometimes you just have to roll with it

 

[doubs43]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

The sniper was played by Barry Peppers. Hollyweird is lazy when it comes to ensuring that the guns in a film are historically accurate. Few movies escape criticism in that regard and I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to picking them apart.

IIRC, John George in his book "Shots Fired In Anger" wanted to take his own personal Model 70 Winchester to the Pacific for use as a sniper rifle. A friend borrowed it and ruined the bore using corrosive ammo and Winchester hadn't finished replacing the barrel when George shipped out. His first experience as a sniper was on Guadalcanal using a Springfield with a Lyman Alaskan scope.

He also did a first hand evaluation of a captured new-in-the-crate Japanese Arisaka sniper rifle. He concluded that it was an excellent arm for it's intended use.

His evaluation of the US issued '03 sniper rifles wasn't favorable at all. He thought that the optics were not suitable for military use in the tropics or rough use in general. He also found accuracy to be lacking and the absence of iron sights a disadvantage. Much of the blame he placed on the US military's lack of interest in dedicated snipers and equipment. Everything seems to have been more of an afterthought than conscious and deliberate planning.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

Litschert made target scopes, hunting scopes, mounts and scope attachments. From the mid teens to WW11 approx. They were marked R.A. Litschert, as I remember. I have had and used the scopes and also the attachments for Lyman Alaskans. Made them 6X. It was not a field type thing to put on and off. You had to remove a tiny screw from the bottom of the Alaskan as I remember and screw on and replace the screw. They did work though. Made a cute rig for a pre war Mod 70 Win Hornet that I shot for years. I had several new in the boxes with instructions. Cool stuff.

 

[sandwarrior]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

Dale Dye has been a technical advisor on a lot of military movies. I'm pretty sure he would've gotten that one right had he gotten the chance to advise on it. I could be wrong though.

It is funny, we bitch about some of the most inane things because those of us who ever did stuff in the military, you know the stuff inside and out. One of the funny things is when they're sitting around it's like the "smokin' and jokin'" is the same shit we said 40 years later.

Oh, and FWIW, I was most offended when they call the P-51's "tank busters" That title clearly went to the Typhoons....

 

[doc76251]

Re: Remeber the sniper in Saving Privat Ryan????

IIRC the scope changed completely in the movie from a M73 to a incorrectly mounted Unertl. Only seen it once so I could be wrong.

Cheers,

Doc