Weaver 330 SCOPE-M8 Value?

[No4Mk1(T)]

Hello All. I have in my collection of bitts and pieces an old Weaver 330 SCOPE-M8 I’m looking to sell and would like to get a realistic value on. The scope is well warn but the remaining finish looks to be the original blued and as can be seen in the photos is somewhat blotchy on the upper surface. No rust or pitting and the only damage I can see is a very small dent in the ocular end of the tube. The optics are clear, the controls move freely and it has the post reticle. All the screw heads look to be in great shape. The scope is marked:
330 SCOPE-M8
PATENTS PENDING
W.R.WEAVER CO.
EL PASO TEXIS
There are no other markings so I assume this to be a civi scope but I understand this is the type used on the early 03-A4 rifles. The only other issue I can see is in the area where the scope rings were originally fitted there is two very small horizontal lines scribed in the tube the same width as the rings. When I removed the rings that came with the scope I found the person who had mounted the scope had lined the rings with card and I assume cut this card to length on the scope. Any feedback would be great.









This is an attempt to show the optics. The post actually looks centered when viewed by the eye.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[218bee]

Heres what looks to be an earlier, pre-war scope...Without the large, sniper knobs yours has...It went for $338, I believe.....I would say closer to the $450 mark on yours...Throw a set of parked 3/4" rings on it and you'l probably get $500, easy...


US WW2 Rifle Scope Weaver M8(same as 330, M73B1 EXC +++ - eBay (item 140384046173 end time Feb-23-10 17:30:32 PST)

[Jim Tarleton]

Heres what looks to be an earlier, pre-war scope...Without the large, sniper knobs yours has...It went for $338, I believe.....I would say closer to the $450 mark on yours...Throw a set of parked 3/4" rings on it and you'l probably get $500, easy...


US WW2 Rifle Scope Weaver M8(same as 330, M73B1 EXC +++ - eBay (item 140384046173 end time Feb-23-10 17:30:32 PST)

On what do you base your statement that the M8 is a pre-WWII scope? I can find NO reference to the M8 until during the war, and believe me, I have looked long and hard. Don't get me wrong, if you have such a reference, I know, at minimum, two people on this forum that would love to see it.

As best I can tell, the M8 magically appears on the scene in about 1943, having never been advertised by Weaver. I know of no other Weaver scope for which I can't find a commercial advertisement. By the way, the scope above is marked 330-M8, which I haven't seen before either. All I have seen are marked Model M8, some with post and some with crosshair reticles.

Jim

[JGaynor]

Wow!.thats what i love about this site. You can still learn something new every day.

Until this morning I had never seen an M.8 with the nomenclature on the W&E plate. All previous examples I have seen have had the the nomenclature in either one of two places:
1. on the side of the tube adjacent to the W&E plate or,
2. on the side of the tube near the objective lens.

Now we have a third variation.

This variation in the markings and style of the adjustment knobs just reinforces my personal opinion that the "M.8" variation was a scope produced for the civilian market.

As Jim mentioned above the 330 Scope - M.8 is something of a mystery. As yet no mention has been found in any company catalogs and nothing in any military TM's, SNL's or other pubs that have surfaced.

Regards

Jim

[Neal Myers]

Well, we know that the 330 scope is a pre-war model. It is listed in Weaver catalogs, with the post reticle shown as an option. Certainly Weaver would have had no reason to change the markings unless it was required by a wartime contract.

I have seen the M8 markings on a minimum of 3 locations on the scope tube; a reasonable guess is that the contract didn't specify where it should go. I have seen several M8's with adjustment screws before, & they looked righteous to me; I know, the experts say that they all have knobs, but I think wartime exigencies may have called for the substitution.

But, screw adjustments & M8 on the name plate? I'd need to see it in person, with a 10x loupe, before I would be willing to accept it.

[No4Mk1(T)]

Thanks for all the feedback! As I said I'm looking to sell this one and will post a link for any eventual sale if there is any interest.

[218bee]

Jim, you're right about the M8 coming into the picture mid-war.......I thought differently, due to the small knobs & data plate of this Ebay scope......but I was mistaken........In fact, here's what Senich says about the M8 in his "Complete Book of US Sniping"..pg. 98:


"Of further interest are the variants bearing an "M8" designation, which the Weaver firm cites as having been manufactured for military use during WW2 as well"....

....I wonder if they mention the M8 in training manuals?

218bee

[JGaynor]

Jim, you're right about the M8 coming into the picture mid-war.......I thought differently, due to the small knobs & data plate of this Ebay scope......but I was mistaken........In fact, here's what Senich says about the M8 in his "Complete Book of US Sniping"..pg. 98:


"Of further interest are the variants bearing an "M8" designation, which the Weaver firm cites as having been manufactured for military use during WW2 as well"....

....I wonder if they mention the M8 in training manuals?

218bee

I have been unable to locate any mention of the "330 Scope - M.8" in TM's, FM's, SNL's or other official pubs.

The only mentions of that scope are the comments in Senich that you cited and the section from Clark Campbell I cited above. A few other authors mention it but when you check their information turns out to be derived from one of the two sources already mentioned.

Not withstanding what was published in Senich I don't believe the suggestion that the 330 Scope - M.8 was manufactured for the government is correct nor was it made during or after WW2.

Some reasons:
Non standard nomenclature - (e.g. you would expect "Telescope, M8" on a GI scope)
No serial number
No GI stock numbers (e.g. as were applied to military scopes starting in late 43/early 44)
No mention in official publications
Markings in at least three different places.
Two different styles of adjustment knobs/data plates - one of which does not meet spec. (no clicks and tool required)

There's more but you get the idea. I sometimes think that some folks place great store in the fact that the model number has an "M" in it.
Well at some point that seems to have been SOP at Weaver.

Regards,

Jim

[Jim Tarleton]

1. 330 Scope - M8 (on data plate)
2. Model M8 (on data plate)
3. Model M8 (on tube below data plate)
4. Model M8 (on tube near objective lens)

We have at least 4 variations. I seldom disagree with Jim Gaynor (very risky unless you know your stuff, because JG certainly does), but I suspect it was made for the military; otherwise, why differentiate between the 330 and the 330-M8? There had to be a reason.

Jim

[mark1]

There is another 330 - M8 on Ebay right now. Watch this and see what it sell for to get an idea.