US Athletes would use the US Rifle Cal .30 M1 aka the Garand.
Not a bolt action, but what they hey ... It's what our GIs used.
This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is MINE.
They used ‘03 Springfields in World War II too. And Marine and Army snipers were still using them in Korea and Vietnam.
For me, it would have to be bolt guns. I’d pick the M1903A2. Or a British Enfield No.4 Rifle (LOVE those...)
While I absolutely LOVE the M1 Garand (it was the first rifle I ever learned to shoot) and I have one, I think the bolt-action levels the playing field a but more. EVERY one would be handicapped by losing the sight picture from operating the bolt, re-acquiring the target, etc.,
And yes, there ARE many like it, but THIS one... THIS one is MINE, baby!! Haha!
BUT... here’s the kicker...
You put vintage Battle Rifles in the hands of people from other countries - countries than have been systematically disarmed, conditioned AGAINST guns, etc., and all those years of careful Pavlovian conditioning - all those “links” - will disappear as a segment of the population suddenly starts to remember what “Freedom” felt like... and suddenly understands that they have the ability to say “No” again.
And to Universal Big Brother, “No” is THE single strongest and most feared word in ANY language...
Yet another reason we here will never give up ours.