History

The first usable spider silk reticles were invented in either 1639, 1662, 1755, (a little before) 1785, or in 1802, each with their own unique spin. Considering that Rittenhouse and Peale’s 1776 “Riffle with a Tellescope to it” was the first recorded scoped rifle shot… and that this is a rifle scope blog... it’s reasonable that Rittenhouse would get credit for the first ‘practical’ application of a spider silk reticle.

“I believe there is still room for tradition in this society, even as we race forward toward the 21st century. A tradition we must keep alive is the setting aside of a single day each year to honor the veterans of this Nation. And this day should remain the same, and should not be changed around to suit some arbitrary holiday schedule.”

Dominick Daniels, Representative NJ

There was very little development in the field of sniper rifles and telescopic sights post WWII to Vietnam. We take a deep dive and examine the major events that eventually led to development of the Army Sniper Program and standardized sniper equipment.

On the other hand, the rugged construction and longer range accuracy of the Sharps made it revered among foot soldiers.  And it was the outstanding reliability of Sharps-built rifles or carbines during this period that earned them their well-deserved "Old Reliable" reputation. Oddly enough, the man whose name became known around the world, thanks to the quality and accuracy associated with Sharps rifles, had very little to do with the company during this period.

In 1855, Wm. Malcolm opened the world's first true riflescope manufacturing company in Syracuse, NY. Several things set his scopes apart from all of the custom built scopes that had been produced prior to that time.

This is an excerpt from and article/report just published on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

This particular rifle, and telescopic rifle sight, was built by master riflesmith Morgan James, of Utica, NY in probably the late 1850's or early 1860's - and saw service during the Civil War as one of the very first telescopic sight (a.k.a. riflescope) mounted military sniper rifles, or as they were known then, a Sharpshooter rifle

The Royal Army Museum in Belgium recently held a World War I reenactment at the Trench of Death in Dixmude, Belgium. The Trench of Death is famous for being the site at which the German Army retreated during the Battle of Yser. After sustaining heavy casualties, the Belgian Army along with French and British reinforcements, were able to successfully hold off the German Army due to torrential downpour and flooding in the German Trenches.

Sharps rifles earned their reputation for long range accuracy during the Civil War when they were put into the hands of a volunteer group known as "Berdan's Sharpshooters". Those making up this elite unit were some of the finest marksmen in the country, and most were outfitted with the Sharps New Model 1859 Rifle, some of which had been fitted with early telescopic rifle sights. These shooters' ability to hit an enemy soldier at great distances became legendary among Union troops - and feared by Confederate troops.

It may or may not be entirely correct to claim that more rifles of Sharps' design have been built in the past 32 years than during the entire 32-year run of original Sharps rifle production - but the modern total wouldn't miss it by much! In the summer of 1974, two entirely different companies, separated by an ocean, independently set out to make a somewhat faithful modern-manufactured copy of the original Civil War era percussion Sharps breechloaders...