Guns 2012-08.pdf - Jeffersonian

Mike “Duke” Venturino
Photos: Yvonne Venturino
omehow or another during the decade-long process
Sof assembling my World War II firearms collection
numbering about four score and 10 at this writing, I’ve
become severely infected with sniper rifle mania. Some
of these scoped sniper rifles are originals I bought.
Others are reproductions I had built. One is a replica sold
complete with scope which can be purchased right off the
shelf. All are shooters.
My mania has even caused me to
buy a couple of post-WWII sniper
rifles simply because of their accuracy
reputations. One is a 1950s vintage
Swedish Mauser Model 41b 6.5x55mm
mounted with 4X Ajack scope. Model
41bs are merely Mauser Model 1896s
fitted with optical sights and so mine
is dated 1919 on the front receiver ring.
The US Model 1903A4
was the US Army’s
only official sniper
rifle in World War II.
It is more accurate than the average
21st century sporting rifle. The second
is a reproduction of the 1960s US
Marine Corps’ 7.62mm NATO Model
40. As were the USMC originals it’s a
Remington Model 700 with varmintweight
barrel, Parkerized metal
finish and oiled stock. Caliber is .308
Winchester, the civilian alter ego of the
NATO round. USMC Model 40s were
issued with Redfield 3-9X rangefinder
scopes. Because my repro Model 40
easily groups minute of angle (MOA)
I’ve fitted it with a new Weaver 3-15X
tactical scope with precise 1/8-MOA
click adjustments.
My least valued sniper rifle is the
Japanese Type 97 6.5x50mm. Why is
it so disrespected? Type 97s are rare
collectors’ items but I value mine less
because in my opinion the Japanese had
little idea of what a good rifle should
be. That fact is not surprising because
as a nation Japan has much more a
tradition of sharp objects instead of
firearms. The Japanese mounted 2.5X
scopes on the left side of Type 97
receivers in quick detachable mounts.
The scopes themselves have no
provision for adjustments. Riflescope
zeroing was done at arsenals
by tweaking the mounts. Soldiers
were not supposed to mess with them
thereafter. Instead the scope has a
complex reticle with various elevation
and windage hash marks. Snipers were
expected to memorize where their
rifles hit at different ranges and in
different conditions with the various
marks. It took an extreme amount of
patience, coupled with a plentitude of
ammunition and a friend’s extra set of
hands and IQ to finally get mine sighted
in adequately.
A sniper rifle I don’t disrespect but
am not overly enamored with is my
British one. It is the No. 4 Mk I(T)
wearing the No. 32 3.5X scope. Of
course caliber is .303 British. The heavy
scope mount bolts to the left side of the
receiver with two large thumb screws.
This makes rifle weight a full 12 pounds.
Its scope must be removed before the
bolt can be taken out in order to clean
the rifle from the breech.
Also this rifle’s bolt locks at the rear
which is an unkindness to handloaders,
a thought its designers never had in
their heads. Therefore its cases tend to
separate after just a couple loadings.
(I know the problem can be helped
by neck sizing but since I own six
.303-chambered firearms including a
machine gun, keeping brass sorted for
each is unrealistic.) Also my British
sniper rifle isn’t especially accurate,
being a plus/minus 2-MOA shooter
even with my best handloads.
On the other end of my favorite
spectrum are German, American, and
surprisingly—Finnish sniper rifles. If
there was ever a “nation of riflemen” it
was Finland. Their story is too long to
get into here so we’ll limit this to one
of their sniper rifles. It is the Model
1939 7.62x54mmR. During WWII they
fitted up a few hundred with captured
Russian 4X PE scopes and mounts
(Source: Rifles Of The White Death by
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WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • AUGUST 2012