Antitank rifles were obsolete even before they were issued. The reference to them being used against periscopes etc comes from the early stages of WWII (as early as the invasion of Poland in 1939) when it was found the projectiles simply bounced off armour that was virtually little more than tin foil.
The only hope was if the gunner managed to slot a shot through a vision slit, damage a track or burr the turrent so that it caught on the hull.
All in all they were heavy, with a huge recoil (the British .55 Boys had a well earned reputation for causing spinal injury), ineffective and extremely unpopular with the soldiers.
They did though eventually develop (in idea rather than design) into the antimaterial rifles HQ mentions, a role in which these high calibre and long ranged weapons excel (although I'd still prefer to hit the target with something possessing a warhead).
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If it moves, shoot it, if not push it, if it still doesn't move, use explosives.
Nothing happens in isolation - it's called "the butterfly effect"
Mors ante pudorem
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