The first Israeli military sniper rifles were German K98k snipers obtained by the nascent Israeli armed forces in the late 1940s. These were used in Israel’s independence war, and served well. When the IDF decided to adopt the 7.62mm NATO cartridge and converted its Mauser rifles to that caliber using new barrels, the best-shooting examples were help aside for use as sniper rifles. These were initially fitted with Swiss Wild Heerbrug 4x30mm scopes, using a rather unusual (and not particularly good) QD mounting system.
After experience against Dragunov rifles in the 1967 Six Day War, the IDF moved to adopt semiauto sniper platforms, including the 7.62mm Galatz and the M14. These were fitted with more modern optics which were then available, in particular Japanese-made 6×40 and 10×40 Nimrods. The K98k snipers were moved down to territorial use, and over time many of them were fitted with those improved scopes.
Thanks to Mayer Antiques and MCT Defense for helping me with this video!
In the video you refer to shooting across the Nile River. I think you meant the Suez Canal.
Still an interesting presentation.
I may be mistaken, but that scope looks a lot like the ones they were putting on recoilless rifles and such, back in the day. The mounts are vaguely like some of the ones I remember seeing on European stuff, soooooo… Maybe something got repurposed?
Wouldn’t be the first time. Or, the last…
It all goes back to the debate nobody wants to have, namely “just what kind of optics should a sharpshooter’s rifle have?”.
A fixed-power low-power (2.5X-4X) scope?
A variable-power high-power (3X-14X) scope?
Automatic ranging (Leatherwood ART type)?
Or something in-between?
I’ve found through experience that simple variables in 3X-9X are good, all-around choices for police sharpshooting, just as they are for deer-sized game. The higher magnifications are pretty much wasted at normal law enforcement engagement ranges (under 100 meters).
For military, assuming engagement out to 500 meters, a 5X-12X scope is probably a better choice.
I’m still not sure that all the frippery (automatic ranging, etc.) is all that useful or even desirable. It’s that much more “stuff that can go wrong” in the field.
The KISS Principle is still probably the way to go. And no amount of technical gee-whiz is going to make anybody a Carlos Hathcock or Chris Kyle if the potential isn’t already there.
clear ether
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