Weaver 330 M8 Scope Value?

[Helka]

I picked up this scope at auction today and just cleaned it up. There is very little info on the web on this scope. What little I could come up with was that these were made in the 30’s and used on Springfield 1903 A4 or something like that. Curious if anyone has more info and what the value might be if I decide to sell it?





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[Bent Ramrod]

It was called the “3-30” or “330” because it was 3X and production started in 1930, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Soon thereafter, the operation was moved to El Paso Texas, and the Model was produced until 1947. Your specimen looks to be the one with the locking grub screws; there was also a 330C, which had click adjustments.

They had enough eye relief so they could be mounted on unaltered Mauser and Springfield rifles without interfering with the bolt, and they were made to stand the recoil of high-powered cartridges. You could get a post or a crosshair reticle and the cost was $19. Next step up were the Noskes and Zeisses, which started at $50 and went up (and up) from there. Needless to say, they were very popular, especially in the cash-strapped Depression.

It was drafted into the War as the M73B1 and put on the 1903A4 sniper rifle. I would guess that the military issue would be marked in some way; in any case, they probably made many more civilian examples than military ones.

According to Stroebel, the 330s go for $80-125, with a $25 premium for click mounts. He must be talking about pristine specimens in the midst of auction fever. I’ll scarf them up on the chance that they might still be working for $25, but my interest wanes above that. Constant-centered crosshairs were well in the future when this model came out. Gunsmiths used to have to shim and brace the sheet-metal “t” mounts eight ways from Sunday after drilling the receiver holes, and add some more shims to the rings, in order to get the crosshairs more or less centered enough so that the final sight-in adjustments wouldn’t move the reticle into a corner of the field of view. Many of them were cranked over so hard anyway that the adjustments don’t work at all anymore, and shimming testing, cursing and more shimming and testing is the only recourse. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Still, I like the little things. They are very “period” looking on a 1930s-style rifle, and one so fitted looks much less cluttered and handles more easily than one with a large-belled modern scope.

[Helka]

Thanks for all that info! Great to know!


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[Alstep]

Would the screw be the sight adjustment and the knurled nut function like a jam nut?

[Helka]

Would the screw be the sight adjustment and the knurled nut function like a jam nut?

Yes sorry bad picture. There are two knobs. One for elevation and the other for wind age.


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[Alstep]

Thank you Helka, just confirms what I thought. I have a scope very similar to yours, and the jam nut is really bound up tight. Now that I know how the adjustment system is set up, I can apply a little more force to loosen it up.

Bent Ramrod, the history lesson on the 3-30 is most interesting. $19 was a lot of money back in those depression days, about 2 week's wages. I remember my neighbor saying he made $10 a week, and that was considered good back then.

[Bent Ramrod]

Yes, you could get a pretty good used rifle back then for $19; even some good new ones.

The legend was that Weaver got the Government contract for the scopes, and the program manager for the Army procurement sent the usual ton of forms down to El Paso. The scopes started showing up on time and budget, but no paperwork.

They sent a Lieutenant down to see what was going on, and he hung around Weaver’s office until he showed up. When asked where the forms were, Weaver pointed to a large pile on his desk. They had never been touched.

The Lieutenant told Weaver he had to fill out the forms. Weaver said sorry; he was too busy making scopes to fill out forms, but the Lieutenant was welcome to do it himself. Weaver then exited the office for the shop floor.

The Lieutenant went back to Washington to report the problem. They sent a Captain, and later a Major and after that, a Colonel, to demand the forms be filled out. They got the same response from Weaver: Sorry, too busy; fill ‘em out on your own.

Washington finally gave in and detailed the Colonel to fill out the forms. He used Weaver’s office and desk to do so. No problem, as Weaver spent most of his time out in the shop, making scopes. One of the many Hidden Struggles of WWII.

Bob Bell’s DBI book, Scopes and Mounts, has a lot of this historical stuff, on all the scope companies, plus his own experiences with the ones he used. Definitely worth grabbing up as a reference, if you come across a copy. Stroebel’s books on sights and scopes are more for collector types, with more formal thumbnail histories and the emphasis on the models and their valuations.