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Vintage Sniper Rifle Picture Thread
- Thread starter Ledzep
- Start date
Very cool. Hows the SSG82 shoot? Do you handload for it? Whats your favorite loads or ammo for it? Its 5.45x39 right?
Yes 5.45x39 .
Actually, I’ve had it about 6 months and have yet to shoot it.
That is a very hard choice. They all have pros/cons. The M1D is one of my favorites because I love the M1. The enfield is quickly becoming one of my favorites because it is beautiful and a beast of a sniper with the way it was built. the A4 is just cool. The ZF41 is just really cool and hard to find being all matching. The Mosin PU ive been able to shoot consistently out to 800 yards. But the 03a1 clone has been able to do 2.5 inch groups at 300 yards so its my best shooter and just took a deer with it last weekend.
Here's my baby.
WW1 Canadian Ross rifle MkIII in .303 British. In working order...complete and non sportserized made in 1916 and engraved on the butt with CEF16 which stands for 16th Regiment Cdn Scottish.....This is the rifle the Cdn soldiers hated so much cuz it jammed all the time.....especially when they needed it the most !!
All it needed was to get out of the trenches/mud and to enlarge the chamber slightly. It also has a rivet in the bolt to prevent missassembly after cleaning the firing pin thus preventing the bolt hitting you in the face when firing.......No wonder they hated this rifle so much. It was replaced by the Lee Enfield MkIII Aroung mid 1916. This example fires fine today
WW1 Canadian Ross rifle MkIII in .303 British. In working order...complete and non sportserized made in 1916 and engraved on the butt with CEF16 which stands for 16th Regiment Cdn Scottish.....This is the rifle the Cdn soldiers hated so much cuz it jammed all the time.....especially when they needed it the most !!
All it needed was to get out of the trenches/mud and to enlarge the chamber slightly. It also has a rivet in the bolt to prevent missassembly after cleaning the firing pin thus preventing the bolt hitting you in the face when firing.......No wonder they hated this rifle so much. It was replaced by the Lee Enfield MkIII Aroung mid 1916. This example fires fine today
Attachments
What a lovely set! And to think they are virtually all originals! I'm very partial to the Swede and I love the woodwork on yours. It's very hard to have favourites when you have so many beautiful historical pieces. I'm glad you still shoot them, it must feel pretty special. Bravo!
I meant to say this few days ago, but if ya wanna good read on the first hand experiences in WW1 of an American who went up and joined the Canadian Army because he wanted action and America was too slow in getting involved for his taste.. check out "A Rifleman Went to War" by McBride. The Ross rifle is talked about extensively, and IDK bout other Canadians but McBride and his outfit LOVED the Ross, though I should probably caveat that with the fact that McBride mostly acted as a sniper through the war. Extremely accurate rifle... believe it was the 1913 Palma matches in which the Canucks kicked our butts with their Rosses!
That'll keep him out of your huckleberries for a day or twoDoes this count?View attachment 7223336
An old guy said he took it off a German K98 during WWII and brought it back. The Scope was a CP Goerz "Tricertar", one of the first adjustable magnification scopes made. The variable points are 3-3/8, 4-1/2, and 5-3/4. Kind of weird being so precise.
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Very cool! What loads you running?
Its a DAMN SHAME Hornady discontinued their "Vintage Match" line. They made match grade ammo for 6.5x55, .30-06, 7.62x54R, 8x57, and I believe 7x57 as well, for the CMP Vintage Sniper matches. Whoever was behind the decision to stop making that line of ammo needs to be fckn fired!
Sadly like an idiot I sold the rifle about 7 years ago and have been regretting it ever since.
Thank you Coyote !
I will definitly look for the book and read it
You are absolutly correct about the snipers loving the Ross despite the infantry hating it. It was accurate because it was a competition rifle modified for millitary use to start with.
Snipers kept their rifles ultra clean and did not fight in the mud of trenches so they kept sand and mud out of them. They found a nice spot and waited patiently. They only used Cdn .303 and not the British ones because the British .303 bullets had very loose mecanical tolerances and the shell jammed in the chamber very often. Even the venerable Lee Enfield MkIII jamed now and then but far less often . The Ross jammed when it got hot too......(How can a soldier baby his rifle under fire ???)
The infantry soldier had mud, rocks, sand blown on them every time an artillary shell blasted closeby. They were told to ration ammo and so they took some .303 ammo from dead British soldiers and their rifles jammed. One soldier letter described an account of him seeing a soldier lying in the mud under fire while kicking the bolt of his Ross to try to eject the cartridge and simply could not.......He had "tears of rage" while trying.....I keep thinking about this each time I hold my Ross.
The letter does not say if this brave man survived the battle.......A lot of US volunteers crossed the border to join in the fight. It was all volunteers. The draft only came on Jan 1-1918. That's the kind of stuff they should teach in history classes...... Lest we forget.
Thanks Coyote !
Thank you Coyote !
I will definitly look for the book and read it
You are absolutly correct about the snipers loving the Ross despite the infantry hating it. It was accurate because it was a competition rifle modified for millitary use to start with.
Snipers kept their rifles ultra clean and did not fight in the mud of trenches so they kept sand and mud out of them. They found a nice spot and waited patiently. They only used Cdn .303 and not the British ones because the British .303 bullets had very loose mecanical tolerances and the shell jammed in the chamber very often. Even the venerable Lee Enfield MkIII jamed now and then but far less often . The Ross jammed when it got hot too......(How can a soldier baby his rifle under fire ???)
The infantry soldier had mud, rocks, sand blown on them every time an artillary shell blasted closeby. They were told to ration ammo and so they took some .303 ammo from dead British soldiers and their rifles jammed. One soldier letter described an account of him seeing a soldier lying in the mud under fire while kicking the bolt of his Ross to try to eject the cartridge and simply could not.......He had "tears of rage" while trying.....I keep thinking about this each time I hold my Ross.
The letter does not say if this brave man survived the battle.......A lot of US volunteers crossed the border to join in the fight. It was all volunteers. The draft only came on Jan 1-1918. That's the kind of stuff they should teach in history classes...... Lest we forget.
Thanks Coyote !
Found the book on Amazon
I am sooo looking forward to read it
Thanks Man !!!
Those subtensions might be closer if you thought of them in metric, particularly CM’s.?
For ranging, think of the distance between the vertical/side crosshairs. 3 3/8's" is about 10 CM @ 100m. Or, if you are talking powers, what is the size you see at a given distance where the power is turned to?I've only had about two hours sleep so you might need to explain it to me
Absolutely sir. Also tho I aint read it @sirhrmechanic says "The Emma Gees" also by Mcbride is great as well.Found the book on Amazon
I am sooo looking forward to read it
Thanks Man !!!
However I have read "A Storm of Steel" by Ernst Junger and its very good, a companion book if you will, to A Rifle Went To War, but from the German perspective. Junger was a real deal badass, as was Mcbride.
Junger was a interesting fella. Hitler greatly admired him, and Storm of Steel was something like required reading for Nazis early on, until some Jewish veterans from Junger's unit were deported or something like that at which point Junger distanced himself from the Nazi party and even wrote a book criticizing them. Pretty sure Junger was never even a Nazi party member,. Later on he hung out with Albert Hoffman quite a bit and tripped balls on LSD with him many times. Hes gotten quite a bit of criticism as I understand because he was always proud of his combat service, even describing combat as the most transcendental experience one can have LOL. I could be butchering a good bit of this info as its been a while.. but Im certain Im fairly close.
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Cool !
Found Emma Gees and Storm of steel on Amazon
Very good reviews and they sound like classics !
I'm going to enjoy those 3 books
You're a good man Coyote !
Thank you
No need for any thanks @CygnusX1, if you're on this site then its highly likely you're a like-minded kindred spirit on MANY subjects. Aint sure how old ya are or if you're into this sort of stuff... but Im one a the quite young fellas on this site, so yea I play video games(Xbox One)... and as you can tell WW1 in particular is of great interest to me(more so than the 2nd go around), if you have a game console then you NEED Barrlefield 1 !!!!!!! @sirhrmechanic Im tellin ya sir you'd love this game, even if you dont like video games! Youre 10x the history fanatic I am, and if you look past the somewhat limited weapons choices and the little bit of artistic license taken, you'd really enjoy it. They have infantry missions on the Western Front and in the Alps as well as Gallipoli, tank missions on the Western Front, Fighter pilot missions, you get to fight in a shootout on top of a flying airship, you even get to play as Lawrence of Arabia! Its amazing, favorite game in ages.. tho I aint played Red Dead Redemption yetCool !
Found Emma Gees and Storm of steel on Amazon
Very good reviews and they sound like classics !
I'm going to enjoy those 3 books
You're a good man Coyote !
Thank you
ETA: one thing I thought was tarded, they included the Hellreigel in the game..!!!! LOL like wtf theres literally like 2 pics in existence of the thing from trials/testing and thats it it, no surviving examples. Why TF would they include that weapon when they left out several GREAT ones that saw extreme amounts of use!
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Hi Coyote !
I got really interested in WW1 during the centenial anniversary. Bought a book on an unknown battle (Unknown to me at the time...). It was about Paschendaele in 1917. I just could not put the book down and must have read 70 more books on WW1 since. That's how I discovered the Ross rifle and all the trouble it caused the infantry on the battlefield and in the Cdn goverment corridors !. I did find one for sale so I took my gun course and bought it. Because it's a historical piece, I only shoot it on Memorial day. That's Nov 11 here in Canada. But that gave me the itch for target shooting so I'm looking at 6.5 creedmoor rifles and I love the Cadex Defence gear !
As for my age, I'm 59 and I used to own the very first generation Nintendo games........It's a world of difference compared to Battlefield......I can't beleive the graphics !...WOW !!
I enjoy decifering the markings and serial numbers on my brother-in-law's Lee Enfields from WW1 and WW2 and get a story about them. The build and authenticity and revisions I found out my Ross belonged to the CEF 16 Cdn Scottish Regiment and will eventually donate it to their Legion's museum in Victoria, BC . Imagine.....After 100+ years, the old Ross stayed intact, complete and still fires so I will make sure it goes back home to them when I'm too old to shoot it. Their Legion's President was elated over there cuz they don't have a Ross marked for their WW1 Regiment
It makes me feel good to do this in honour of these soldiers and yes, there is a book on the 16th Regiment called "Brave Batallion" and you can folow their battle honours as they fought in WW1
Here is a link https://books.google.ca/books/about...=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y
Ah, youre a Canuck. Well I know it aint WW1, but its a damn good show!!!!!!!!!!! Give it a watch!
Coyote....You won't beleive what I'm about to tell here....A sniper legend story will be shared:
That Blackwatch film from the Hystory Channel shows the snipers I have just finished a book on !!!!......Thanks to you, I can put faces on guys such as Jimmy "Hook" Wilkinson, Bennet, Saunderson......and also hear their voices....I sat looking at this in awe !!!
The above film continues where the book left off. The book is "7 days in Hell" and is written by a Canadian millitary historian present on the filmcrew. His name is David O Keefe and his book takes place in and around Verrieres Ridge. The Blackwatch suffered ninety four percent casualties because of 3 consecutive, back to back and ill-concieved operations and was basically a suicide mission to distract the Germans while the US infantry and tank division broke through the German lines with General Patton about 6 weeks after D day and these surviving Canadian snipers continued over to Belgium after that massacre to continue their duty..
The following was told by David O'Keefe when I met him in December 2019 when he did a talk about his book in my home town. ....During the filming, the producer asked Veteran "Hook" Wilkinson if he wanted to go and get re aquainted with his venerable Lee Enfield and shoot some rounds on a range. Hook was 92 years old and had not held a rifle in 70 years. "Hook" often spoke of his marksmanship abilities being the best shot in his battalion and everybody he shared this with was saying ...."Sure thing Hook"......"If you say so Hook". Well, the old sniper put 5 rounds in a clip and in less than 12 seconds, placed 4 out of 5 shots inside a 2 inch circle at 100 yards. Everyone present were stunned and speechless.....The old sniper still had it !! .....This is also in the book in the preface.
You should have seen my face as I watched the film you shared........There they are !!
Thank you Coyote !!
Thank you VERY much !!
That Blackwatch film from the Hystory Channel shows the snipers I have just finished a book on !!!!......Thanks to you, I can put faces on guys such as Jimmy "Hook" Wilkinson, Bennet, Saunderson......and also hear their voices....I sat looking at this in awe !!!
The above film continues where the book left off. The book is "7 days in Hell" and is written by a Canadian millitary historian present on the filmcrew. His name is David O Keefe and his book takes place in and around Verrieres Ridge. The Blackwatch suffered ninety four percent casualties because of 3 consecutive, back to back and ill-concieved operations and was basically a suicide mission to distract the Germans while the US infantry and tank division broke through the German lines with General Patton about 6 weeks after D day and these surviving Canadian snipers continued over to Belgium after that massacre to continue their duty..
The following was told by David O'Keefe when I met him in December 2019 when he did a talk about his book in my home town. ....During the filming, the producer asked Veteran "Hook" Wilkinson if he wanted to go and get re aquainted with his venerable Lee Enfield and shoot some rounds on a range. Hook was 92 years old and had not held a rifle in 70 years. "Hook" often spoke of his marksmanship abilities being the best shot in his battalion and everybody he shared this with was saying ...."Sure thing Hook"......"If you say so Hook". Well, the old sniper put 5 rounds in a clip and in less than 12 seconds, placed 4 out of 5 shots inside a 2 inch circle at 100 yards. Everyone present were stunned and speechless.....The old sniper still had it !! .....This is also in the book in the preface.
You should have seen my face as I watched the film you shared........There they are !!
Thank you Coyote !!
Thank you VERY much !!
Important details I should add...
The 3 ill concieved operations came from Cdn Field Generals.
General Patton was not in the vicinity of Verrieres Ridge but the 3 ill fated attacks on the German SS panzer division at Verrieres Ridge kept them from relocating elsewhere
No buckle either it makes to much noise.
Running the sling in this configuration keeps the adjuster from digging into your forearm and out of the way when your shooting slung
- Jon
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Swedish M/41, Swedish M/41B, Tula SVT-40, rare type of Mosin PU sniper...
M/41b is the BEST SHOOTING out of em all
BC Canadian Black Bear, taken out behind my dad's place
Sort of a bastard vintage "sniper rifle"
1926 Mosin I picked up for $100 a buddy had laying around in his garage. Was in really good condition (for a mosin) and I've loved the looks of them since seeing Enemy At The Gates. Its all numbers matching, if that means shit for a mosin, so I sent the original bolt off to have the handle bent, ordered a PEM scope/mount and had it engraved to match the SN and date.
Also threw a Timney in it.
I really never planned on doing anything with it, but took it out to the range and walked it out to 400 on a steel turkey we have with the irons and started throwing money at it.
1926 Mosin I picked up for $100 a buddy had laying around in his garage. Was in really good condition (for a mosin) and I've loved the looks of them since seeing Enemy At The Gates. Its all numbers matching, if that means shit for a mosin, so I sent the original bolt off to have the handle bent, ordered a PEM scope/mount and had it engraved to match the SN and date.
Also threw a Timney in it.
I really never planned on doing anything with it, but took it out to the range and walked it out to 400 on a steel turkey we have with the irons and started throwing money at it.
I just put one of those together I have a 1933 hex receiver and put the PE setup on it. I wanted to ask, have you had any trouble with the mount screws getting loose? I've had it back to the smith twice now, it seems like thirty rounds and the screws back out.
Thanks, Kevin
I haven’t. But I did notice that the metal is SUPER soft when I was drilling and tapping.
I used sleeve retainer on my threads because the hardware was so short and coarse threaded I figured there was no way they wouldnt come loose.
If I were to do it again, I would probably use a bigger fine thread screw or maybe even use a large thread insert along with the finer thread screws.
They also made it for .303 British... I still have some and use it as a baseline when breaking in newly acquired Lee Enfield's before working up handloads.
Can someone from the US clarify for me the difference between an M40 and an M24 apart from action length. I keep seeing plain timber stocked rifles being referred to as M40 when I was under the impression that the M40’s were ‘Forest Camo’ McMillans? And which had the Hilux ART scopes and which the Redfield 3-9x Accurange green anodised ones? Etc. I ask from the US as you guys seem to be very clued up on American firearms.
Very nice looking m/41B! I love it how the Swedes had accessories for the accessories! They had so much kit it must have weighed a tonne to carry it around. I have a lot of the bits and pieces but that looks like a pretty comprehensive set! That rifle looks almost the spitting image of an Oberndorf A/N 1900 M96 I used to own. Rifle shot < 1/2 MOA with handloads. Loved it.
Nice rifle! I have a PEM replica and a Genuine PU that was converted back to std issue but still had the plugged drill holes for the scope in it’s high wall receiver so I bought a replica mount and sourced a genuine PU scope from Latvia and put it back to glorious sniper rifle of soviet comrade’s struggle. Shoots very, very well. In fact they both do and I even found laminate stocks for them both. They look mean as hell.
The original M40 was a wood stocked rifle. The M40A1 (note the A1) and later variants had the McMillan forest camo composite stock(s).
The M24 started with a composite stock.
There are also variations in the different versions of M40 and M24 stocks.
First, none of these rifles used a HiLux ART scope. M21 rifles used an AR TEL scope, and later a Leatherwood ART II scope, but those are M14-based systems. There are tons of books on all these rifles, so I will only briefly describe them in chronological order: M40 vs M24
USMC:
1. M40 was in service from about 1967 to 1977: wood stock with a green anodized Redfield 3-9x scope or a black replacement Redfield 3-9x scope.
2. M40A1 was in service from about 1977 to 2001: McMillan HTG forest camo fiberglass stock (subtle variation in camo pattern over time) and initially with the Redfield 3-9X scopes in the late 1970s - but replaced with the Unertl 10X scopes beginnig around 1980-81 and used throughout the 1990s.
3. M40A3 was in service from 2002ish till 2009ish: McMillan A4 green stocks and Unertl 10x scopes initally, but replaced with S&B 3-12X scopes.
4. M40A5 was in service from 2009ish to 2016/17ish: McMillan A4 green stocks with S&B 3-12x scopes.
Replicas USMC sniper rifles from 1967 thru 2016ish.
-M40A5 top
(Not shown: M40A3)
-M40A1 middle
-M40 bottom
...so those are the 3 main M40 flavors from 1967 until about 2016 (M40A3 not shown, but
similar to M40A5 minus NV rail, bottom metal and muzzle brake).
US Army:
-M24 adopted in 1988 and used until 2010, with Leupold M3A 10x or Mk 4, 10x scopes with M3 turrets.
-M2010 was adopted in 2010 and used the M24 action, but all other parts replaced and chambered in 300 WinMag.
1. Top rifle is an M40A1 replica (stock is forest camo, but was painted in service). Scope is a Unertl 10X - used on M40A1s and early A3s.
2. Middle rifle is an M24R (HS Precision stock is black, but was painted tan while in service). Scope is the correct Leupold M3A Ultra 10x.
3. Bottom stock is a Navy Mk 13 Mod 0 (300 WinMag) take-off gray McMillan A2 stock also painted tan in service (a work in progress).
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My latest is a 1933 hex reciever, as I posted earlier there was an issue with the mount screws coming loose. After degreasing and the use of loktite it seems the problem is solved. I have about 75 rounds thru it and everything is tight.
I’m surprised at how well it shoots
I’m surprised at how well it shoots
What milsurp? I've tried the steel cased and the copper washed ammo, and neither shot worth a shit. Just curious
Thanks, Kevin
Someone asked me what the differences were between the M40 and M40 A1 bolt, safety, bolt shroud and area around the safety.
I thought I would drop the pictures on here. Maybe these could help someone else with a build.
Kind Regards,
- Jon
I thought I would drop the pictures on here. Maybe these could help someone else with a build.
Kind Regards,
- Jon
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The replica shot the Bulgarian 150gn very well and the original shot the steel core ?Romanian ?190gn very well.
