US WWI Sniping Rifles (USMC & Army)

[@achristy446]

I hope that buyer of that Winchester scope case traces M. H. Van Camp's family. It would be a very fitting and interesting way to remember one of the wars many forgotten heroes.

[@Tunkkis]

Someone in these comments already did.

[@redjoshman]

Forgotten Weapons, I found a Pvt. Melvin H. Van Camp in the United States Marine Corps Muster Rolls. Enlisted June 5, 1917. In November 1917 he was stationed with the 61st Company, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, New York, NY. He seems to have been there until July 1918 when he was assigned to Headquarters Overseas Depot, Quantico, Va. In August he is assigned to Co. "A", Overseas Depot, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Va. August 26, 1918 he is transferred again to Co. M, 3rd Battalion, 13th Regiment. The 13th Marines leave for France September 15 and arrive September 28th. In October he is promoted to Corporal. Upon the Regiment's return to the US in August of 1919 he is promoted to Sergeant where he then musters out. He does not appear to have seen any combat service. Just occupation duty in the post-war period. The Armistice saved him from involvement in the Spring of 1919 Offensive.

[@drmaudio]

Thanks for doing that.

[@redjoshman]

No problem, was fairly easy and simple to do.

[@mortisCZ]

Good to know. It adds to the story of the rifle.:-)

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Well done that is really interesting info. Thank you.

[@bigbramel]

Holy shit, I already thought that the Pvt had to be from dutch descent. But together with his dutch first name I am pretty sure his parents or even him come over from the Netherlands.

[@Dogemeat2077]

The musket sight might not be the best, but at least it doesn't give off any scope glint

[@pivotboy2062]

Bf1 referance?

[@dr3144]

a certain finnish sniper would agree

[@wmk0078]

@@dr3144 Simo Häyhä would indeed agree

[@ericswain70]

It must be hard for Ian not to buy all the guns he shows us.His passion for them really comes through in the videos.

[@Buzbikebklyn1]

Bravo! There's always a history lesson with every weapon you display. My Father (ex army sharpshooter) was big on older rifles. Here's 2 rifles I'd enjoy hearing your history for: #1- the Browning 30-06 " safrari semiauto. #2- the 1959 Rugar .44 Magnum carbine bush gun. Both have been passed down to me from my Dad. Needless to say they are well kept and used every year. I intend to pass them down to my son. What ever happens to KZbin I'll watch your vids anywhere. Thanks.

[@skullboy1977]

Your depth of knowledge about these old firearms is incredible. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@Deraios]

Thankfully I can't blame DICE for screwing with these yet. Fantastic video

[@G-Mastah-Fash]

Well they put the musket sight on a Lee Enfield even though the british had their own (Altis) scopes.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

And they put it way too far forward and gave it a schutzen front grip for some mysterious reason.

[@WARXion]

Battlefield games were never realistic but authentic. They put it forward so the player can see the whole scope, not just a big bulky box. The whole theme of the game is about "How can we make the Great War look as badass as possible?"

[@Deraios]

You'll probably be able to combine any number of features in the full game. But yeah...

[@b0nenana]

dont forget that u cna only zero to 75, 150 and 300 meters

[@TheBitwise]

YES. Thank you for these. I really like seeing comparisons of weapons of the same type that were used in a lot of action.

[@Kamwi_003]

What a great way to start the morning.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

I can see a German officer thinking exactly that as he had his coffee. Then two seconds later his morning was somewhat ruined.

[@nicklewis7291]

Thank you for bringing these historical weapons and their accessories to us, your audience.

[@ristoalanko9281]

Nice early rifles! Finnish Army had a box-type scope in WW II, but with internal adjustment. An odd piece high above the action, you needed a neck a foot long to get a good view through it. Later it was put on the side of the action, but you couldn't get a cheek weld without a thich pad on the stock.

[@MatthewBaileyBeAfraid]

Spinning ship propellers and airplanes that have only one prop or screw (or should I say Screw and Prop) have the same problem with "drift," but it is called "prop walk." And it exists for the same reason as bullet drift. The tiny difference in pressure between the top and bottom of the prop (which on aircraft and bullets is made more pronounced by the lift generated by the objects creating lower pressure above. And in boats this causes the boat to move in a direction opposite the torque (same with planes with pusher-props), and airplanes to be pulled in a direction of the torque. In model airplanes, this is so pronounced that you must angle the engine down and in the direction of spin by about 5° to 10°. In smaller models, this can be as much as 15°. For motors of .049 to .09 displacement, the offset is usually about 12°.

[@boristhebarbarian]

At 19:01 you said that all the old guard UK soldiers from august 1914 where dead. There is actually a medal clasp for the WWI campaign medal known as the the 1914 bar. It was issued to anyone who served for 10+?? days in France and Belgium before November 14, 1914 (last day 1st battle of Yper?) who was left alive at wars end. Its is known as the "Old Contemptables" bar... It is one of the rarest bars ever issued for Commonwealth campaign medals and sadly was very badly made so it would fall off if not properly attached.

[@paint_thinner]

*Shell explodes next to you* Welp, gotta get a new optic.

[@paint_thinner]

Sorry, I gotta get this headshot boi.

[@austing5951]

I remember The Great Emu War, how did we lose to those bloody birds? (Probably cause their chest is bulletproof)

[@paint_thinner]

Shhhh

[@austing5951]

+The Great Emu War why because we're a laughing stock for losing a war against birds, I'm proud to say, I'd like to see the yanks do better.

[@paint_thinner]

Yes

[@calumlg1480]

I'm glad you give the metric equivalent for most things, helps those of us who don't use imperial units.

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Agreed, it is very thorough, very professional and very helpful.

[@yeaman992]

Come to the dark side of measurement.

[@mauritsschoonderwaldt676]

you mean "non-retarded units"

[@UltimoMantis21]

you mean the whole world except Liberia, Myanmar and the us? we do pretty good actually.

[@yorkazuna5934]

@@UltimoMantis21 We are in such fine company...

[@SNOUPS4]

Thanks for having made this cool comparative video, Ian, and for the views through the scopes, such is always nice! (and thanks to cpl. (or pvt.?) van Camp for his service...)

[@3ducs]

Interestingly, the rear sight on a1903 compensates for precession, the drift due to bullet spin. It is actually a precision sight when raised and the peep aperture is used.

[@xrtsplash]

I have a feeling this channel is going to blow up once BF1 comes out. Which is good, because this channel is super interesting

[@tyleryoung9819]

What happened to your sweet intro video? the machine gun fire seemed to sync up with the music and it sounded awesome.

[@lckgilmo43]

Trench war. They were aiming for helmets/heads in WW1. That's why they wanted powerful scopes.

[@TheStowAway594]

Very cool video. Optics are so fascinating, especially old ones. Thank you for sharing!

[@coldnorwegian4716]

That's very interesting! Those optics looks so fragile. How well does those A5 scopes actually hold their zero using that spring tension system? I'm assuming pretty well, or they wouldn't be in use. Compared to modern standards and equipment, what kind of accuracy can be expected from such old classics as these sniping rifles? I mean in their time using period correct ammunition, and not in their current potentially worn condition.

[@MTMind69]

Can you measure the trigger pull weight for these the amazing historic firearms you study? I cannot speak for anyone else, but I would like to know.

[@Mos2311USMC]

A very nice job on these WWI 1903's enjoy learning history, Semper Fidelis

[@RaDeus87]

Hmm, it almost seems like you could use a stripperclip with the Winchester scope if you slid the scope all the way forward, but I guess that it's a few cm too long for that to work.

[@EcclecticNerd]

Very interesting to see the differing approaches to sniping by the various services.

[@imbeauski8872]

Hey Ian, was the M1903 the only rifle typically mounted with an optic in US service, or did the M1917 also receive optics in some cases during the war? Great video by the way.

[@miscmilitaria8566]

Im Beauski Yes the M1917 received optics sometimes

[@charles_wipman]

Damn it, the history behind those rifles is amazing; and the custom 03 one it's very pimp.

[@ren52]

Thanks! You have a lot of great information on a lot of weapons that I've never seen before. Great channel!

[@Darkwolf1942]

1:15 Sounded like you were going to say "It's a bitch" then caught yourself lol.

[@itsconnorstime]

I love your videos Ian but I've never finished one. Your voice is so calm it makes me fall asleep!

[@Phoenixx6]

EA should love videos like this right now with the release of Battlefield 1 coming up in the near future. The gameplay is definitely not WWI but all the technologies are based on emerging concepts from that time. Rifles like these and many others you've showcased definitely fit into the era.

[@perfidiouspomegranate1599]

These are all in the game, the 1908 musket scope is available for all rifles at the moment, and the A5 will likely be in as well.

[@slaughterhound8793]

Though I know it is just a telescopic sight, that Warner & Swasey has the appearance of some sort of crazy camera you could use to film your kills.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

It seems like the Best rifle brought the least at Auction. Great Video!

[@RobertoRuizHBK]

Snipers are my passion. Congrats from Brazil.

[@jonpayne4931]

Strange. Whenever I see these, all I can think of is Pepper's character in 'Saving Private Ryan'. A lefty marksman using a righty bolt operator.

[@itswoods]

I've asked before but do you think you'll ever get the chance to do some videos at the Springfield armory museum? Maybe next time you go up to Maine you can make a stop here in Western Mass

[@mikeallen7830]

Yes!

[@itswoods]

I'd really like to see a video on their SPIW rifle

[@hotrodhendrix1]

Best channel on KZbin.

[@shadowjack8]

Really appreciated this video.

[@roderickformosa2423]

Very nice video thanks for sharing it

[@konstantin.v]

Why would the long scope break with recoil, while the other one would not? Was the tube made too thin, for some reason? Or maybe the lenses? Thanks.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

More an issue with the reticles than the lenses, so I understand.

[@dobypilgrim6160]

Superb examples. Thanks!

[@darc1027]

Very cool stuff thanks for the great videos

[@u4ia420]

Love your videos! I always learn something!

[@definebruh3416]

Loved the view of the reticules, you should try and put every iron sight or scope in first person view in your videos

[@1339LARS]

Amazing scopes thanks for the vid!!!!!

[@simplymadness8849]

Why is it called a musket sight?

[@GrimFaceHunter]

At the time, long barreled rifles were still sometimes referred to as muskets. Some cavalry and artillery bolt action carbines were called musketons.

[@gordonr703]

then why did you comment?

[@o.w.i.m]

Yeah like many other things people just are unable to decide what to call things. Like nowadays Carbines are being called Short Barreled Rifles for some reason........wonder why that is.

[@DeadlyBreath9790]

The Nazi liberals think it sounds scarier and if something has a scary name or looks scarier its more deadly and should be banned

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

+DeadlyBreath9790 The Nazis had a gun law that allowed people to buy military Grade weapons.

[@DoRC]

3000 yards with that scope power would be like iron sighting 1700ft away. ain't gonna happen.

[@SolidSativa1]

8:14 So nice of them to tell us all whitch way to install the scope 😅

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Awesome! Thanks Ian!

[@Deliverygirl]

It looks like you can push the A5 scope forward enough to use a strippper clip, would that be possible?

[@tutzdesYT]

The ocular part would still overlap.

[@CassandraFortuna]

Prismatic scopes are so cool, even if they're clunky and typically hard to use.

[@augustkeith9349]

Did they ever experiment with the 1917 for a sniper platform?

[@miscmilitaria8566]

August Keith yes

[@flyingninja1234]

I read somewhere that the crosshairs, were often made of spider silk.

[@zacflemo1994]

hey ian, how many guns did Australia create? i know we made the trench mauser( in gallipoli) what else did australians mainly use?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Australia used the same guns as the rest of the Commonwealth - SMLE rifles and Lewis and Vickers machine guns.

[@zacflemo1994]

ah okay, and did most of the infantry have green and gold camp on their rifles and machine guns? that's what I heard or is that not true?

[@Tiger351]

I think the camo you're talking about was WWII on the Bren LMG and Owen SMG but was less than common even then, used more in PNG on the Kokoda track than anywhere else.

[@zacflemo1994]

I'm sure Iv seen sten guns that the Aussie's used n WW1 have a slight Tint of gold and green on them

[@MrBaconperson]

I'm fairly certain that stens were not used in WWI

[@roymorris03]

very nice piece of history

[@DeepPastry]

Nice, Private Vancamp when issued that scope holster, became Corporal Vancamp when he wrote his name on top of the lid.

[@drmaudio]

Very cool to have the personalized case. Too bad there isn't one with the target rifle.

[@costantinoandruzzi2219]

The most effective sniper of WWI was a Canadian sergeant-major, though: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pegahmagabow And he used the notorious Ross rifle!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Keep it clean, and the Ross is an excellent rifle.

[@costantinoandruzzi2219]

Sure, and "Peggy" did provide substantial proof for that!

[@mikofthewat]

Ian, I noticed that these rifles all have a hood on the front sight. Is that something specific to these rifles? None of my 1903s have one.

[@timbaskett6299]

"Eye hickey"? Oh, you must be a sniper!! 😆 On a serious note though. My granddad's reel camera has a beautiful leather case with it. It is one of my favorite family inheritance pieces.

[@Charsept]

I like the look of those A5s. Would like something similar to go on my wards westernfield.

[@charleymitchell8904]

this video is going to get really really popular really fast because of "Battlefield 1" coming out! if i was you i would at least tag "#BF1 or #Battlefield1" it will help A LOT!

[@coreyg7575]

+Anthony C lol ikr we get enough gaming nerds stupid comments already lmao

[@SlavSuperstar]

generic this will be in bf1 comment

[@tnycrmb]

Did I see correctly that the inside of the A5 case was marked PVT and the top was marked CPL? Kind of a neat history if so showing his rank at 2 different times. Would be fun to get on Ancestry.com or a similar service and research more information about him. I'm sure it's easy to find with both the first and middle initials.

[@atticcamper8177]

I wonder if anyone has tried to do a modern accuracy test of the Warner Swasey scope.

[@fowlergaming5140]

Watching again four years later!

[@Mildcat743]

Were there ever issued scopes on m1917 enfields?

[@miscmilitaria8566]

Lucas Hagg yes

[@herkwrencher107]

The receiver of the "Marksman" rifle is also a 1908 manufacture.

[@spikelowry2724]

Are Springfield rifles getting harder to find or are they easy to find

[@SmokingGun4570]

Spike Lowry I have one that I got way back when CMP used to have them. they are available, but they can be expensive

[@4991Ares]

On the A5, could you possibly shove the tube all the ways forward, so you could load it using stripper clips?

[@762rk95tp]

You didn't notice that M.H. Van Camp got promoted. That implies that pencil marks have faded. If he would have got out of corps as Pvt or LCpl M.H. Van Camp it's likely that pencil marks would have never existed.

[@alecthomas33]

what kept the scope from rotating clockwise or counterclockwise? the tension from the springs? If you do have to re-adjust that after each shot, do you just have to take your best guess that the sight is level?

[@eariamjh71]

Interesting how on the inside of the telescopic scope case the individuals rank was listed as a private but yet on the outside of the case he had been promoted to corporal.

[@bigblockcrx]

What prevents the scope from rotating in those free float mounts?

[@prestonhenson263]

bigblockcrx damn you... I wouldn't have noticed that until you pointed it out... no I'll be dying to figure it out lol

[@clover4522]

Were those A5 scopes used in the first world war or was it an aftermarket thing?

[@mysss29]

Why are historical slings so complicated? Also, you mentioned, I think in a ZH-29 video, that cavalry carbines would have used sling mounts on the side of the rifle, but infantry would have used bottom-mounted slings. Why is that?

[@Pprokop87]

the "artillery sniper scope" is back!

[@MrSimon117]

infinitesimal..... adding that one to my vocab

[@jgedutis]

I have read that bolt action rifles are more accurate because they don't have moving parts during the shot. Are there any rifle designs that don't have moving parts until after the shot has left the barrel? I am thinking like a bolt action rifle that has an electric motor to cycle the action.

[@archangel20031]

I guess the description and the prices that the guns sold for is not available on the phone app

[@SkyPilot54]

Dam fine rifles

[@dmg4415]

Hi Ian, is it possible to move the scope (A5) forward to allow use of stripper clips?

[@Sir_Godz]

can you check the trigger group on the match rifle to see if it's been modified? I would assume a competitive shooter would have that done.

[@ToMeTheFool]

If you could push the scope out any further, could you load the rifle with stripper clips?

[@SoWe1]

pretty sure you can still see the dope marks in there :) look!

[@Franky46Boy]

What about the Enfield? I always heard it was the preferred sniper rifle of US armed forces in the Great War.

[@treatb09]

i've always wondered, are you an encyclopedia, or do you read from a teleprompter? is a mixture of both depending on the weapon or do you educate and read up before you talk about the weapon?

[@reach483]

I got myself a 1903 a3. Unfortunately while I can use it for the national matches I can't use it for the vintage sniper match at Perry as it doesn't have a scope.

[@donnkelley6823]

You can use it at our service rifle matches just the way it is....... I ran mine for one year and took first place with it. Loads of fun, great shooter.

[@Theswordfish9090]

Can you not slide the A5 scope forwards far enough to use stripper clips in the gun?

[@billhacks]

If one was to adjust the elevation to 3000, would the rubber cup be out of the way for use of the iron sights?

[@catfuz]

I have a question; Would it be possible to use a stripper clip on the A5 version if the scope was all the way forward after a shot?

[@Mrguccigarcia]

Yut! All Marines are lean, mean fighting machines🤘🏻

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

Were rifles called muskets up until WW1?

[@thunderkatz4219]

Battlefield wasn’t playing

[@GreenDayFanMT]

Thanks for telling the weight of the scope in kilogramm. Man, that''s a really heavy piece.

[@legofreak7432]

I see a lot of 1903 springfields if I am correct. Which I might not be.

[@whyidontknow7113]

I have a warner and swaze 1903 without the scope :(

[@paulevans4021]

I have a very similar Winchester Scope to the A5, it has a single verticle reticle (opose to a cross hair, and while it is still floating the sighting screws are more basic, and this is in the UK, did the british army use a similar, winchester scope?

[@paulevans4021]

Cancel that, its a later but still rare P3 23/4 power, Post , it was fitted to winchester 22 rimfire model 67,68.69 around 1937 -1941

[@jollyjumper1873]

is it possible to look through the scope with the camera?