I was playing Verdun, and I got into this huge (rather hostile) argument with another player about the quality of WW1 weapons - specifically bolt action rifles. It started when I mentioned that the Gewehr 1898 and M1910 Ross rifles had misaligned iron sights that were ineffective at long range. The player argued that it was common for WW1 rifles to be produced with broken or defective iron sights. Is there any truth to these statments? Or am I just going up against a troll.
Here's what I do know about WW1 rifles and guns in general:
Yes, guns will not be pinpoint accurate in real life. Many factors determine accuracy, including breathing, stance and wind speed.
Many guns prior to and during WW1 were actually produced with volley sights that extended up to 2000-3000 meters' range. These were used for mass volley fire against formations.
Bolt action rifles were made to be accurate for long distance shooting. This is part of the reason why they are still used today for hunting and military sniping.
As someone who's been collecting firearms for over ten years and owns many military Rifles from the period, I've never heard this. I'm not sure if you mean intentional defects or misaligned sights that slipped through the cracks.
Either would be highly unlikely. Prewar quality control was high. One of the last things done to a rifle before leaving the factory is Quality control where the rifle is checked for defects, including sights, loose screws, feeding and function of rounds, etc. Also most rifles were accuracy tested at the factory meaning they where clamped to a bench with no wind and sighted on a target and fired three to five rounds, and observing the group the sights are adjusted as needed.
Now an important thing to remember is during the war quality issues did show up for a multitude of reasons. Some WWI era Springfield 1903 rifles are believed not be safe to shoot due to having improperly heat treated receivers. I'm sure there were other countries that had similar problems but nothing comes to mind.
That said all armies fielded armorers in the rear who would handle problems with guns. Many armies kept stocks of rear sights and front sights to fix the problem.
That said another factory is human error. Whether it's a new recruit given a close to ten pound .30 caliber rifle who's never fired a gun before, or the worker in the factory who's attitude is "It's lunch break and this rifle is accurate enough". I can safely say any rifle pulled off an assembly line in the WWI era is much more accurate secured to a bench than in any human hands.