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Rifles fitted with telescopic sights were used long before The Great War. During the American Civil War, some very amazing feats were reported using the target rifles of the day. But these were civilian production weapons and were never officially adopted.

The very first “official” sharpshooter rifle were three M1892 Krag which were fitted with telescopes manufactured by the Cataract Tool & Optical Company. These three rifles were the first in the US Army’s tradition of sniping. Further development was delayed as the Krag was going to be replaced by a new rifle.

Instead of discussing the M1903 and M1917 rifles, I will be discussing the optical sights that were used.

Soon after the M190s entered service, the Small Arms Firing Regulations of 1904 and 1906 stated that “to properly equip a special class of shots who shall not only be designated as expert, but, who, in action shall be employed as such, the telescopic sight is adopted,” there was just one problem with this, there were no telescopic sights in service.

The first real sight was the Warner & Swasey Musket Sights, Model of 1908. This was a prismatic design that allowed for a wide field of view for the high power (6X) of the scope. It was fastened to the M1903 by a dovetail base fastened to the left side of the receiver. A spring-loaded plunger held the scope and allowed it to be easily removed from the rifle. This placement allowed the rifle to be loaded and fired in the normal manner as well as allowing the iron sights to be used. The only alterations to the standard rifle was the removal of a small amount of wood from the left side of the receiver and the attachment of the receiver base. It was made from steel and brass and weighed a hefty 2 ¼-pounds. Two brass plates containing firing and sight adjustment data were mounted on the scope. The sight had a cross hair reticle and three stadia lines for estimating range. The short eye relief of the sight required a rubber eyepiece to properly position and protect the shooter’s eye. At first the sights were stamped with a serial number that matched the rifle it was intended for, but this practice was soon discontinued. The M1908 was carried in a leather carrying case with cartridge belt hooks and a shoulder strap. In spite of its initial impression, the M1908 was not a good design. Among the problems was that its prismatic design meant that any flecks of paint or dust that found their way inside the scope were magnified six times in the sight picture. The short eye relief, rubber eyepiece and awkward shooting posture did not make for good marksmanship. Still, some 2,075 were purchased.

The next design was the Telescopic Musket Sight, Model of 1913. The main difference between this one and the M1908 was the lowering of the power to 5.2X to improve light-gathering characteristics. The outside configuration were modified but everything else was identical to the M1908...right along with the same problems. Some 5,000 were purchased.

The Warner & Swasey musket sights were the most common scope issued, but by no means were they the only ones issued. The Winchester A5 scope was introduced in 1910 and was very popular on the civilian market. The USMC acquired several samples and fitted them to M1903 rifles.

The A5s front scope mount was attached to the barrel, which required that a hole be routed in the hand guard in order to provide the necessary clearance. The rear mount was screwed directly to the receiver. Since the modifications were done by marine armorers at various facilities (basically on a individual basis), there is quite a bit of variance from one rifle to the next. The A5 was a long steel tube and provided 2X power with a narrow field of view. It could be dismounted, in which case it was carried in a leather carrying with a shoulder strap. The exact numbers of A5s purchased by the Marine Corps is not known with any certainly, many appeared to have been purchased with unit funds and hence there is little or no paper trail. Best estimates place the number at roughly 1,000. There is very little mention of Marine use of the A5s in France. Army Ordnance records do show that 400 were purchased prior to the Armistice, but again, their use is not widely known.
Although superior to the Warner & Swasey sights, the Winchester A5 sight is basically a civilian sight and was considered to be too fragile to be an effective military sniper telescope.
The M1903 sniping variants coupled the superb accuracy of the ‘03 with a telescopic sight. There are many reports of AEF snipers taking up positions in no man’s land and harassing the Germans to great effect.

While the M1903 served as the primary sniping platform, the M1917 was also selected for modifications. The Model of 1918 Sniper Rifle combined the Enfield with a new Telescopic Rifle Sight, Model of 1918. This was a 2.6X power scope and was considered to be superior to both the Warner & Swasey and Winchester sights. Sadly, out of a contract for 57,742, only 189 were built before the contract was canceled in January, 1919. None ever saw combat.