Weaver 330 Genealogy

In 1930 Bill Weaver launched the sporting optics trajectory that we are still on to this day by making a reliable optic that the average hunter could afford. It was first named the 3-30, then the 330-M8, then telescope M73B1 (military), and finally the 330. It was manufactured from 1930 to 1947. Its history ended up transcending the sporting market when it was used as a sniper scope by the U.S. Military during WWII. Throughout its entire lifespan, the guts of the scope (aside from the reticle options) remained identical with only slight changes to its functionality. Here at Vintage Gun Scopes we recognize three generations and a few variants of the Weaver 330.

In 1930 Bill Weaver revolutionized sport optics with his Weaver 3-30. At $19.00 it represented the first time an affordable scope could be mounted on a hunting rifle. His closest competition was Noske at $50 and Zeiss at $70. For reference: a gallon of gasoline was 10c and a car was $600. This is an example of the First Generation of Weaver 330.

Generation II of the Weaver 330 was the 330 Scope-M8. The M8 did not include the grasshopper spring mount. Rather it paved the way to be forever used with any of the up and coming mounting systems. The first M8 included no markings whatsoever(top), just like the First Generation 3-30. The next variation included side stamping at the objective end of the tube (lower left). The final M8 variation was side-stamped next to the baseplate (lower right) presumably so that the branding was not covered up by the popular Stith mounts at the time. The M8 had the additional variations of adjustment: small friction, click, and click with zero set.

Generation III of the Weaver 330 began with the the M73B1. It would bring only two very minor changes in before being shipped off to the military for sniper operations on the 03/A4. The ocular design changed slightly with a ring at the shoulder and the stamping would now be on the baseplate itself instead of the tube. These two minor design changes would remain for the remainder of the life cycle of the 330, therefore we do not consider the M73B1 scope a separate generation from the same design commercial 330 screw adjust and 330 click adjust scopes.

The 330 stamped scopes of Gen III were identical in every way to the M73B1 other than the markings. They had four variations of adjustments: medium screw, large screw, click, and click with zero set. These were the commercial scopes of this generation but were also commonly shipped out for military use with a serial number added next to the baseplate via electro-pencil.