Between hiking with the dogs...hunting in the fall and spring...camping most of the summer...fishing when I can...trying to capture Montana's beauty through the lens of a camera...hosting 2 websites, 3 Facebook pages, and 9 blogs...writing a few magazine articles through the year...and still taking care of the real work I have to churn out to keep the lights on and food in the refrigerator...I honestly do not have any time for anything else in my life. But, it's going to happen anyway. I know that before 2012 winds down, I will be the proud owner of a vintage sniper rifle...pretty much like the one seen in the photo above.
I'm sure there are plenty of you who readily recognize the rifle, a military Springfield Model 1903 in .30-06 caliber. Likewise, I'm sure many of you will recognize the individual holding the rifle, Jack Hoffman of the very popular GOLD RUSH television series which airs on the Discovery Channel.
I ran into Jack Hoffman at the 2012 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, held at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, January 17 thru 20. We chatted for about ten minutes, about guns and wolves. During that conversation, two other cast members of the show walked up - Jim Thurber and Dave Turin. I had just gone up to the upper level of the show (a 630,000 sq. ft. monster) and was on my way back to the Leatherwood Hi-Lux Optics booth, carrying one of the new-made 8x USMC Sniper model scopes I had taken up to show my good friend Glenn Hatt, product manager of Winchester Repeating Arms. The scope had caught Jack's attention, prompting our discussion...which led to talking about wolves. Seems Jack is an elk hunter in his home state of Oregon, and with wolves now moving in from neighboring Idaho, like many sportsmen in that state, he does not want the elk herds destroyed as they have been in Idaho and Montana.
I had to get the scope back to the Leatherwood Hi-Lux booth, which was just down the aisle from where I had enjoyed visiting with the three cast members of GOLD RUSH - and to realize they are just common folks like most of us. Jack wanted to know where the booth was located, and I just pointed it out to him. And about ten minutes later the crew came for a second visit. Jack and I had the photo above taken, with him holding an '03 Springfield sniper rifle with one of the new Hi-Lux USMC Sniper scopes mounted on it - just like the rifles used by the Marine Corps during WWII, Korea and the first half of Vietnam.
When Jack picked up the rifle, his comment was, "Now, here's a real rifle!" He added that he'd sure like to own a rig like that.
"Well, have you found enough gold to pay for one?" I asked. But before he answered, I blurted out, "Don't tell me...don't tell me...I have several more episodes to watch this season!"
I had played a role in getting Hi-Lux Optics to recreate the scope used by the Marine Corps from 1941 until the late 1960s, and was extremely pleased with the quality of craftsmanship and the optics found in the reproduction. The originals of this scope were produced by the old Unertl company. USMC marked scopes in excellent condition have sold for $3,500 or more in recent years. But Leatherwood Hi-Lux Optics has made owning an authentically styled and built scope of this type far more affordable, retailing the Wm. Malcolm version of the USMC Sniper scope for $549.
I love shooting. I love shooting 1903 Springfield rifles. And I love great rifle optics. My fear is that in the foreseeable future, I will also own a scoped rifle very, very similar (if not identical) to the one Jack Hoffman is holding in the photo above. And I just don't know where I'll find the time to get out and fully enjoy sniping at 500 to 600 yard targets - but I'm sure I will. It's a good problem to have. - Toby Bridges
For more on the Wm. Malcolm 8x USMC Sniper scope, go to - www.hi-luxoptics.com
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