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Stealhead · 12-11-13, 10:02 PM

Time to "reload"(pun intended) this thread.

I'd like to talk about a topic that many seem to have a great misunderstanding of......optics and what exactly they do and a bit about there development history.I not afraid to say that I am no expert on the topic but I know enough to spot a complete layman.

The other day I over heard a conversation in a gun store between two patrons they where discussing WWII era rifle scopes and what they said just made me cringe.They where discussing how basically useless WWII scopes where.

Oh how incorrect.Now granted a modern high quality rifle scope is going to be a much better bit of kit than a 70+ year design is but to say that they where useless is just baffling.I can not even comprehend where someone could come up with this assessment.Certainly not from reading the widely available information out there from various legitimate sources that can confirm that rifle optics of the era where in fact very useful tools and when combined with a good rifle and a good shooter where deadly accurate.

The Soviet PU scope for example was very innovative it was the first scope where windage and zero could be adjusted without hand tools very useful indeed in the field where a quick adjustment might mean the difference between seeing the next sun rise and becoming a tally mark for an enemy sniper.

So far as my amateur understanding allows by and large WWII era scopes where very effective in their intended role.The German and Soviet design scopes being the best.Granted they fogged up in certain conditions easily solved by a quick wipe down and you still have to deal with this issue with a modern scope.I also know that rifle optics have been is use in some form at least since the 18th century and a British general even was killed by an American using a rifled musket with a crude scope.

So far as I can tell the most notable leaps towards modern optics where made during the late 19th and early 20th century mainly due the advent of smokeless powder(which allowed for greater ranges) and the popularity of big game hunting (wealthy men able to afford expensive optics). In WWI they simply took scopes designed for the hunting market and mounted them on rifles.Some like the Germans and the Russians understood the value of a sniper well enough to develop during the inter war years optics designed specifically for the conditions and type of shooting that a sniper par takes in.

I think people get confused perhaps because they have seen or know someone who has a WWII ear rifle say a 91/30 and they purchased a PU either an original one or a reproduction.These usually are not very accurate but this does represent how a from the factory 91/30 with a PU scope would have performed.There are poorly smithed 91/30s out there that where cobbled together with PU scope which are utter crap and not comparable to an original sniper 91/30(which I bet goes for over $1,000 these days).

Anyway here is a fairly interesting read about Soviet WWII era scopes Also talks a little about a Czech version of the PU
http://www.mosinnagant.net/sniper%20...nipertext1.asp

A while back I read a very extensive article on the web about WWII era German scopes wish I jotted down the address I searched a bit and can't seem to find the same page.

12-11-13, 10:02 PM	#155
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Time to "reload"(pun intended) this thread. I'd like to talk about a topic that many seem to have a great misunderstanding of......optics and what exactly they do and a bit about there development history.I not afraid to say that I am no expert on the topic but I know enough to spot a complete layman. The other day I over heard a conversation in a gun store between two patrons they where discussing WWII era rifle scopes and what they said just made me cringe.They where discussing how basically useless WWII scopes where. Oh how incorrect.Now granted a modern high quality rifle scope is going to be a much better bit of kit than a 70+ year design is but to say that they where useless is just baffling.I can not even comprehend where someone could come up with this assessment.Certainly not from reading the widely available information out there from various legitimate sources that can confirm that rifle optics of the era where in fact very useful tools and when combined with a good rifle and a good shooter where deadly accurate. The Soviet PU scope for example was very innovative it was the first scope where windage and zero could be adjusted without hand tools very useful indeed in the field where a quick adjustment might mean the difference between seeing the next sun rise and becoming a tally mark for an enemy sniper. So far as my amateur understanding allows by and large WWII era scopes where very effective in their intended role.The German and Soviet design scopes being the best.Granted they fogged up in certain conditions easily solved by a quick wipe down and you still have to deal with this issue with a modern scope.I also know that rifle optics have been is use in some form at least since the 18th century and a British general even was killed by an American using a rifled musket with a crude scope. So far as I can tell the most notable leaps towards modern optics where made during the late 19th and early 20th century mainly due the advent of smokeless powder(which allowed for greater ranges) and the popularity of big game hunting (wealthy men able to afford expensive optics). In WWI they simply took scopes designed for the hunting market and mounted them on rifles.Some like the Germans and the Russians understood the value of a sniper well enough to develop during the inter war years optics designed specifically for the conditions and type of shooting that a sniper par takes in. I think people get confused perhaps because they have seen or know someone who has a WWII ear rifle say a 91/30 and they purchased a PU either an original one or a reproduction.These usually are not very accurate but this does represent how a from the factory 91/30 with a PU scope would have performed.There are poorly smithed 91/30s out there that where cobbled together with PU scope which are utter crap and not comparable to an original sniper 91/30(which I bet goes for over $1,000 these days). Anyway here is a fairly interesting read about Soviet WWII era scopes Also talks a little about a Czech version of the PU http://www.mosinnagant.net/sniper%20...nipertext1.asp A while back I read a very extensive article on the web about WWII era German scopes wish I jotted down the address I searched a bit and can't seem to find the same page.