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Origin of term “Sniper”


Irish Pat

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I was watching a British hunting show on TV today, they were shooting woodcock and Jacksnipe.  The guide made the comments hunters A two hundred years ago,  that could hit the little snipe while they were flying Were nicknamed “ snipers” And the East Indian company and the British army started calling their best shooters Snipers and the name stuck

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The term originated in the early 1900’s and was given to those who could catch the most snipe in a burlap bag, in the wee morning hours around 2:00AM. 
 

Cat Brules

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6 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

The term originated in the early 1900’s and was given to those who could catch the most snipe in a burlap bag, in the wee morning hours around 2:00AM. 
 

Cat Brules

Reminds me of Louisiana Saturday Night.
“My brother Bill and my other brother Jack

Belly full of beer and a possum in a sack“ :D

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That's interesting stuff.  As I am currently involved in crafting a TV show about snipers and the rifles they use, I will probably incorporate this bit if info.  Thanks!

 

Cheers,

FJT

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12 hours ago, Cat Brules said:

The term originated in the early 1900’s and was given to those who could catch the most snipe in a burlap bag, in the wee morning hours around 2:00AM. 
 

Cat Brules

Don't forget the dip net, too!:rolleyes:

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17 hours ago, Frederick Jackson Turner said:

That's interesting stuff.  As I am currently involved in crafting a TV show about snipers and the rifles they use, I will probably incorporate this bit if info.  Thanks!

 

Cheers,

FJT

Hey, Bubba, did you know the Russians used some '95 Winchesters as sniper rifles.  had a side mounted scope and a stripper clip guide on them.

 

BTW, Winchester produced just over 400,000 model 95s and over 200,000 of them went to Russia.

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Of course the standard sniper rifle of Russia was the Mosin. Remington had a contract with the Tsar for a million rifles. They produced 850,000. A little over 100,000 were delivered before the communists took over in. 1917. They cancelled the contract with Remington and 

New England Westinghouse. They said the rifles were sub standard. :lol:

Remington and Westinghouse lost a lot of money on the deal. The US govt bought the remainder of the rifles and designated them the Russian 3 Line Rifle Cal 7.62mm. Some went to US troops but most were sold or given to foreign countries.

68140A4D-8C17-4E39-8333-9780171B1035.jpeg

1A64660A-548B-48B5-B06B-68FD64F2572F.jpeg

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37 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Of course the standard sniper rifle of a Russia was the Mosin. Remington had a contract with the Tsar for a million rifles. They produced 850,000. A little over 100,000 were delivered before the communists took over in. 1917. They cancelled the contract with Remington and 

New England Westinghouse. They said the rifles were sub standard. :lol:

Remington and Westinghouse lost a lot of money on the deal. The US govt bought the remainder of the rifles and designated them the Russian 3 Line Rifle Cal 7.62mm. Some went to US troops but most were sold or given to foreign countries.

68140A4D-8C17-4E39-8333-9780171B1035.jpeg

1A64660A-548B-48B5-B06B-68FD64F2572F.jpeg

 

I had a chance at an auction to buy one of these made by Westinghouse that had Finnish capture marks on it.  I figured nobody else had an interest in Finnish captured pieces like I did.   Boy was I wrong.  Fifteen seconds into the bidding the bid was over $400 and climbing.

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25 minutes ago, punxsutawneypete said:

 

I had a chance at an auction to buy one of these made by Westinghouse that had Finnish capture marks on it.  I figured nobody else had an interest in Finnish captured pieces like I did.   Boy was I wrong.  Fifteen seconds into the bidding the bid was over $400 and climbing.

The Finnish Mosin market is very ......robust. $$

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The snipe hunting references remind me of an instance in John Masters excellent memoir “Bugles and A Tiger” about his adventures as a young subaltern in the old Indian Army in the 1930s. During a snipe hunt while his fellow officers were shooting dozens of birds he shot terribly and went through boxes of shells but only hitting a couple of birds. Naturally his fellows made him and his marksmanship the butt of many jokes after that disaster. Shortly after that the battalion was deployed to the frontier while he was left behind with a few men to watch over the base.  At that time a man eating tiger showed up in the local village and killed several people. Masters heroically set out with an issue .303 Enfield to slay the beast and was successful, killing it just as it was trying to strike again. He was lauded and celebrated by the villagers as a true hero and basked in the glory. News of his feat quickly found its way to the frontier and his battalion.  Instead of receiving congratulations he was immediately bombarded by a series of anxious sounding messages from fellow officers expressing concerns about the state of supply of .303 ammunition at the base and whether any might still remain following his recent successful hunting expedition. Soldiers of every army have a lot in common and this story illustrates one trait rather nicely. Masters by the way is an outstanding writer and this memoir and his WWI trilogy beginning with “Now God be Thanked” are my favorites. 
 

Seamus

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16 hours ago, Seamus McGillicuddy said:

The snipe hunting references remind me of an instance in John Masters excellent memoir “Bugles and A Tiger” about his adventures as a young subaltern in the old Indian Army in the 1930s. During a snipe hunt while his fellow officers were shooting dozens of birds he shot terribly and went through boxes of shells but only hitting a couple of birds. Naturally his fellows made him and his marksmanship the butt of many jokes after that disaster. Shortly after that the battalion was deployed to the frontier while he was left behind with a few men to watch over the base.  At that time a man eating tiger showed up in the local village and killed several people. Masters heroically set out with an issue .303 Enfield to slay the beast and was successful, killing it just as it was trying to strike again. He was lauded and celebrated by the villagers as a true hero and basked in the glory. News of his feat quickly found its way to the frontier and his battalion.  Instead of receiving congratulations he was immediately bombarded by a series of anxious sounding messages from fellow officers expressing concerns about the state of supply of .303 ammunition at the base and whether any might still remain following his recent successful hunting expedition. Soldiers of every army have a lot in common and this story illustrates one trait rather nicely. Masters by the way is an outstanding writer and this memoir and his WWI trilogy beginning with “Now God be Thanked” are my favorites. 
 

Seamus

 

2B320825-D665-49B5-9BC2-AF5FB96FDDF0.jpeg

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