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Yes, I have an original that I've had for probably close to twenty five years. Let me dig....
nolan
M21 "Sniper Rest"?
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nolan
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Found it. I knew I had one. This was probably the product of one of my many NG dumpster diving expeditions in my younger days. "Why buy when you can scrounge?" GI2
TC 23-14
Sniper Training and Employment
October 1969
The rear cover has the Army AG Publications return address and prepaid fourth class US postage printed on it. It's a legit USGI edition, not a clone. GI6
OK, let's see what's inside. Sure enough, Figure 1 "Indiviual Sniper Equipment" on page 9 shows what can only be a Freeland rifle fork. It is item 10 and labeled "Rifle fork.". I never paid it any attention before. I guess that I didn't see anything special about it. Like I said, they were cheap and I owned a number of them over the years. It was nothing to see a half a dozen or more on the firing line. I checked all thru the book and couldn't find any detailed listing or stock number etc. for any of the equipment listed, sorry.
I did find a listing for a 28 minute training film TF 9-2970 oon the operation and cycling of the M14 rifle. That would be fun.
Hahaha. Figure 3 "Special Equipment" shows a 100mm spotting scope, yoke, and tripod. I know exactly what that is is. Anyone that shot HP for any length of time will know too.
The Pascagoula Mississippi HP range had two of them that I remember back in the 1980's. We used them off and on for years when we felt frisky. It's a 100mm Unertl Team Scope. In it's transport and storage box, we called it the "coffin". The damn thing must have weighed close to a hundred pounds. It was stable as hell and and had wonderful optics. Yeah, I can see someone dragging that thru the jungle. It was hard enough for two of us to carry that bulky sucker between the 200, 300, and 600 yard firing lines. Sheesh......
Looks like that guy buying the Freeland forks for 6 bucks and reselling them for a hundred has a hell of a scam going on. It'd be a real shame if someone had a throwaway ebay account and emailed past buyers with a link to the six dollar source page, huh? Especially before they had already posted feedback.....
nolan
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That's great, Nolan. Thanks. Glad you were able to find it.
From what you wrote, ... it's too bad there was no mention in the text about how it was to be used.
Strange about the guy selling on e-bay, ... like you said, probably a huckster, but I looked through the recent items in the guys feedback and it looks like he specializes in antique camera and watch parts. I wonder if he really did get ahold of some old ones, in a stash of old junk or something and really believes his ones are legit? Just thought it was odd that they are missing the tubing.
From what you wrote, ... it's too bad there was no mention in the text about how it was to be used.
Strange about the guy selling on e-bay, ... like you said, probably a huckster, but I looked through the recent items in the guys feedback and it looks like he specializes in antique camera and watch parts. I wonder if he really did get ahold of some old ones, in a stash of old junk or something and really believes his ones are legit? Just thought it was odd that they are missing the tubing.
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This thread peaked my curiousity. I knew I had a copy of the early Draft for the M21 Sniper Rifle, given to me by Bill Brophy. I had to find it.
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I guess I too had to do some homework. It seems no matter how much time you put toward researching something, there is always something that pops up that you missed. It is shown in the layout. This is a little better photo than the one already posted.
The image is quite large, so go here to view it.
BTW I know a guy who is sitting a nice quantity of those Vietnam area camouflage ponchos, all brand new. I envy him.
I guess I too had to do some homework. It seems no matter how much time you put toward researching something, there is always something that pops up that you missed. It is shown in the layout. This is a little better photo than the one already posted.
The image is quite large, so go here to view it.
BTW I know a guy who is sitting a nice quantity of those Vietnam area camouflage ponchos, all brand new. I envy him.
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What Nolan said.
It is a rest to ground your weapon in a match between stages. I have one and used it back in the eighties, as did many others.
CX
It is a rest to ground your weapon in a match between stages. I have one and used it back in the eighties, as did many others.
CX
fork prone rest
these rests have been around for over two hundred years,called fork prone rests and have not change in design.
they were also fitted to small punts,supporting a 4 gauge shot gun,the hunter lying prone on the punt would aim the rifle by moving the punt on to the target with 2 small hand held paddles along the lake banks.the musket shot guns were around 2 meters long. I have a antique bronze fork rest,but do not know how to load photos here to show.
these rests have been around for over two hundred years,called fork prone rests and have not change in design.
they were also fitted to small punts,supporting a 4 gauge shot gun,the hunter lying prone on the punt would aim the rifle by moving the punt on to the target with 2 small hand held paddles along the lake banks.the musket shot guns were around 2 meters long. I have a antique bronze fork rest,but do not know how to load photos here to show.
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Look for a Benrus or Hamilton MIL-W-3818, or the slightly later GG-W-113, DTU-2A/P, I am pretty sure those were preferred over the plastic cased Benrus MIL-W-46374.
The DTU-2A/Ps were hacking 17 jewel movements in a SS case, the 46374 didn't hack and weren't as accurate.
There is a also a Bulova version of the MIL-W-3818, but those were late 1950's.
Those would be the most likely issued watch.
However, any really good waterproof watch with good luminous dial and hands (a diver's watch) sold at the PX would have been more likely to be worn.
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Hi Guy's I have an original 1969 Dept. of the Army Training Circular TC 23-14 Sniper Training and Employment manual and the photo on page 9, figure 1 individual sniper equipment shows it as item 10, rifle fork. I saw these many years ago but I doubt if they were ever used much.
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Most likely you will see one at a small bore prone match with Anshutz match rifle being supported by the so called "fork," has no use for anything other than supporting the rifle away from the ground and does not care which rifle it is supporting. The device has been replaced by a small bipod that fits into the hand stop rail in modern times and only for temporarily supporting the rifle, not for shooting purposes.
As I recall from reading a number of US.mil Sniper manuals, frequently a sniper may be stuck observing from one hidden position for a full day or more, watching the enemy through binos or a spotting scope. Rather than laying my precision fitted M21 (and ART Scope) down in the wet grass, mud, etc, it seems to me that keeping it slightly off the ground, with the scope vertical, would have some utility to me. And with the seven round magazine, it would not be a problem to do this.
The guys who wrote that manual were GI High Power SHOOTERS - and probably knew their way "Across the Course" on an Army Rifle Range rather well - and had used the fork there, and thought it useful to "keep off the dew".
But just because it is shown as standard Sniper issue in a 1969 Manual doesn't mean it was actually issued or used. Field Manuals are not always right, and a lot of combat soldiers I knew would throw the Joker out of their deck of cards to keep from carrying dead weight.....
CC
The guys who wrote that manual were GI High Power SHOOTERS - and probably knew their way "Across the Course" on an Army Rifle Range rather well - and had used the fork there, and thought it useful to "keep off the dew".
But just because it is shown as standard Sniper issue in a 1969 Manual doesn't mean it was actually issued or used. Field Manuals are not always right, and a lot of combat soldiers I knew would throw the Joker out of their deck of cards to keep from carrying dead weight.....
CC
I have one of the Rifle Forks that I purchased in 1963 while shooting with the Biggs AFB rifle team. They were available through Freeland's, but I got mine in an El Paso sporting goods store. I'm sure I didn't pay more than $3.00 for it. and I still have it. I don't remember ever using it since the ground was too hard to stick it in on most ranges. They are made of cast aluminum with a red plastic sleeve to protect the rifle. Oops... I just dug it out and it still has the original price marked on it - $1.25! I'd gladly accept $99 for it...
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Some of us who've been around here a while don't mind seeing some of these old conversations come back around. Brings back good memories GI2
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Are you getting royalties on re-runs?
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I also have one of these forks in my gear box, got it in the late 80's and seem to remember it was inexpensive, probably less than $10 when I got mine. I was shooting with an M14 on a National Guard team. Theory as stated before was just a rest to hold the rifle off the ground, but the firing line was usually too hard for it to stick.
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