Ye Olde Sniper Rifle Choice?

The.303 Lee Enfield mk 4 1t everytime. With the mk32 scope. This was the best rifle built in it's day and age, and also it was very hard to damage.

As for a sniper weapon of today it would have to be from the Accuracy International range of weapons.

http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sour...

http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sour...

The .338 lapua round it fires takes some beating.

This answer would be dictated by variables not included in this question.

What scope is being mounted? What terrain am I going to be operating in?

I think the most accurate would be the Springfield M1903 with a top notch high magnification scope like the Unertl 8X or 12x...but as those scopes are fixed power they can actually be a detriment for engagments between 100 and 300 yards, at those ranges the Mosin Nagant with a 4X scope would be a superior tool. So exactly where I'd be fighting for the war would impact what kind of shooting I'd likely be doing which would in turn impact what kind of scope.

Second, there is the issue of the M1C Garand's off-set scope. On one side the idea of a semiauto rifle sounds good because of quick follow-up shots especially at close range, but really with a 30-06 you aren't going to be making that quick of follow-up shots, at least nothing faster than what a good boltgun operator could get. And there are some problems inherent with having a scope side-mounted when shooting at any range. Does this overbalance the ability to switch to iron sights and fire 8 rounds fast plus a quick reload for 8 more repeat as necessary if enemies are overrunning your position? Probably so...IF you are an area where this may be a likely outcome.

It comes down to which team I would be fighting with because that is where I would get my ammo.

I believe the Lee Enfield 32 MKII is a scope, not a rifle. However the Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1 (T) that used that scope is a great overall choice. This article pretty much sums up the reasons better than I can: http://www.shootingtimes.com/2012/07/02/historys-g...

I would pick the Springfield M1903A4 as a very close second.

Okay(not biting the mosin bait) but your number 2 on the list does excite me. I do not like the M-1 carbine as a collectable,wall hanger,truck rifle,etc. and feel the same way about it as mosin haters do about mosins.

The M-2 with the infrared pack I would love to have for "sniper" patrol. I am aware that it was little used in WWII and it is the base rifle for the T-3. I have experience shooting the M-2 (not in battle, but garrison)

I am a night hunter.Hogs and coyotes.

That being said I would have volunteered for designated marksman....I never heard the word "sniper" used very much, if at all, in the Corps....Strange....you would have thought snipers would have been hanging around the PX or hiding in the ice plant zeroed in on Johnny Miller`s pogey bait truck....no, not even in sea stories did I remember the term "sniper".

I know why the M-2 was used and also select fire is because of spray and pray at night nevertheless.

I did enjoy the one time experience of operating one and would enjoy the looks on those green faces that would be priceless after seeing some of the demoralizing things done to troops in later wars.

I would have to have a "swamper" now to carry that heavy battery pack.

Since your question is highly hypothetical and my answer is totally out of time frame I give you my best for 2 points.Anyway.....beats the heck out of airsoft and BBs.

EDIT; Lust you dreamers...http://weaponsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/M...

@ LIME...thanks...since we are hypothetical and not experienced with a M-1 C Garand I`ll choose and interpret the way I want.

SOOoooo little that you know a M1 Carbine Was a "Sniper" rifle.

Aw shucks you guys...give me a little slack...I really mean`t to choose the `03....feel better now?

and the M-2 was late WWII.http://weaponsman.com/?p=4192

@ Lime Green...just for the records and you can call me out on it 24-7-365...I mounted a few of those Griffin & Howe scope mounts on M-1 Garands while still active duty but it was after the introduction of the M-14(fall of 1962) Early October to be exact.

. I did not ask questions but skuttlebutt told me they were officers that had a small shooting club on base at Uncle`s expense.

Believe me....I know all about M-1 Garands. And also worked in the 12 area armory 1st MarDiv light support co. Camp Pendleton Ca.

The 1903

I remember reading that the '03A4 never worked out very well. It wasn't as accurate as you think it would have been, and the optics were terrible.

(From a simple Wikipedia search: The M1903A4 was the U.S. Army's first attempt at a standardized sniper weapon. M1903A3 actions were fitted with a different stock and a Weaver Model 330 or 330C 2.2x telescopic sight in Redfield Jr. mounts; the front and rear iron sights were removed.[13] Barrel specifications were unchanged, and many M1903A4s were equipped with the two-groove 'war emergency' barrel.[20] By all accounts, the M1903A4 was inadequate as a sniper rifle.[21] The Weaver scopes (later standardized as the M73 and M73B1) were not only low-powered in magnification, they were not waterproofed, and frequently fogged over or became waterlogged during humidity changes.[13][21] When this occurred, the M1904A4's lack of open front or rear sights rendered the weapon useless. Normally used with ordinary M2 ammunition with a 152-grain flat-base bullet, accuracy of the M1903A4 was generally disappointing;[22] some Army snipers who came across Japanese or German sniper rifles quickly adopted the enemy weapons in place of the Springfield.[23] The Marine Corps declined to issue the M1903A4, favoring instead a modified M1903A1 rifle fitted with a Unertl 8x target-type telescopic sight.)

The Mosin was one of the most successful sniper rifles of WWII. They were build on rifles that were selected to have minimum standards of roughly 1MOA. I just read a test of a PU sniper a few months ago, and the rifle was extremely accurate even out to 500 yards which was the limit of the test range.

The Garand is an extremely accurate rifle when accurized. My Dad used National Match Garand to compete at distances up to 1,000 yards with iron sights. With a scope, I wouldn't want to be down range of him even now that he's in his '70s.

The Garand would be my choice.

(I don't know when BBean was in the USMC, or what his MOS was, but as an 0311/0351, I saw the STA guys fairly regularly. They would often train with us during field operations either on our side or as OP4. They would ask our company for volunteers to go through their indoc. I considered it several times, but never went out. When I served in the Army, we had "Designated Riflemen" and I never personally had any contact with our actual trained snipers.)

Then? Lee-Enfield Rifle No. 4 Mk-I (T) with a Mk 32 scope.

Now? Something else.

I would go with the mosin... cant beat the 7.62x54r easy to operate and most shots would take place under 1000 yards. Dirty russians made 37millon during wwII.

Today i would not pick any of those, today i would pick a nice 26inch Armalight 10. Through a bipod on there with a powerful scope & bam you got your mobile neutralizer.

The Garand. It is still being used worldwide as you can hit a multiple target group with ease and the rifle is totally reliable and accurate beyond belief.

Springfield. It's the one I'd be most comfortable with making distance shots.

And no, today my choice would not be the same.

Edited to add: Yep. I knew the M3 carbine was for night sniping. I used to collect 'em when they were cheap and being imported by Blue Sky in the 80's. It wouldn't surprise me about the shooting club at Pendleton, either.

Semper Fi.

Edited to add: My MOS was going to be 6511 and then 6531.