. This Marine Was The 'American Sniper' Of The Vietnam War Thanks! Land later recruited Marines who had set their own records in sharpshooting; he quickly found Hathcock, who had won the Wimbledon Cup, the most prestigious prize for long-range shooting, at Camp Perry in 1965. Which honestly looking at the barrels, I think he was probably likely telling the truth. The optics are clear. Carlos Hathcock USMC Sniper Scope - Hi-Lux 8X Malcolm The Model 70 was originally manufactured by the . Head to the range this week with American Rifleman staff as they discuss a trim little repeater from Savage Arms that comes chambered for the .22 WMR cartridge. So if you are looking to own the first two Model 70's ever made then these are of interest to . On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: the M2 Browning machine gun, on which he mounted an 8X Unertl scope, using a bracket made by metalworkers of the SeaBees. Using this rifle, we shot at increments of 100 yards, all the way out to 1,000 to test our modern-day sniper skills. Confrontations with North Vietnamese snipers, NRA.org/NRA National Shooting Program/ NRA National Trophies/Wimbledon Cup, Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, Marine Corps Rifle Expert Marksmanship Badge, Marine Corps Pistol Expert Marksmanship Badge, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, List of historically notable United States Marines, "Marine Corps Sets Sights on More Precise Shooting", "The Story of Legendary Sniper Carlos Hathcock", "Etica ed estetica del cecchino nella narrativa di Nicolai Lilin", "Carlos Hathcock: Famous Marine Corps Sniper", "Ultimate Marine (Hathcock vs Mawhinney)", "Valor Awards for Carlos N. Hathcock, II", "A Quiet Man Uniquely Qualified To Stalk And Kill", "Marine Corps Distinguished Shooters Association Board of Governors", "2015 Marine Corps League Enlisted Awards Announcement", "Review: Springfield Armory's M-25 Whitefeather", "Range complex named after famous Vietnam sniper", Longest confirmed combat sniper-shot kill, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carlos_Hathcock&oldid=1142492093, United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War, Military personnel from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers, Articles with dead external links from November 2016, Articles with permanently dead external links, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2019, Articles with failed verification from February 2019, Articles with self-published sources from December 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hathcock's duel with Cobra was mentioned in the History Channel, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 18:11. On May 29, 1942, eager to do their part in the war effort, Winchester shipped 373 model 70 standard .30-06 rifles to the US Marine Corps. This is a pretty cool thread. The author says Carlos used a Model 70 Winchester with a long tube Unertl scope. M25 White Feather for sale at Gunsamerica.com: 998026257 Carlos Hathcock Method of Sighting in a Rifle | RallyPoint "The only difficulty I had with Carlos was that he'd stay out there too long. Here are the features to watch out for. One of the distant places where Americas commitment would come to be tested was in South Vietnam. Weaponry. The Carlos Hathcock Sniper Rifle! - SOFREP The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. The LR/T front focal offers an elevation range of 65-MOA and a windage range of 65-MOA. You can Cerakote the stainless barrela good artist can pretty much replicate any finish. Although never adopted for combat use by the U.S. military, some Model 70 rifles were used as sniping rifles during World War II, Korea and Vietnam.Soon after Pearl Harbor, two members of the U.S. Marine Corps Equipment Board, Capt. Hathcock held the record for the highest bounty and killed every known Vietnamese marksman who sought him to try to collect it. Through the PX system in Okinawa, Lands NCOs bought mounts, rings and scopes. You can pick up a replica of the Unertl Scope online for an MSRP of around $550.00. Before 1.02, the M70 Tundra was named the Winchester Model 70. All of the markings are crisp. 2023 Rock Island Auction Company. Marines like Carlos Hathcock proved the rifle was quite accurate and very effective. They are a little tedious to adjust but have very clear glass and a very fine cross hair recticle. The left side of the barrel has the standard Winchester legend and trademark followed by: "MODEL 70-30-06 SPRG.-". [23][22] He missed the Marine Corps, however, and returned to Vietnam in 1969, where he took command of a platoon of snipers.[10]. This US Sniper Crawled for 3 Days of Open Field, Killed NVA General The report concluded that the best rifle/scope combination for use by U.S. Marine snipers was the Winchester Model 70 topped with an 8X target scope made by the Unertl Co. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Hathcock used for much of his time in Vietnam. This is the rifle that Gy. Hathcock eventually picked up the hobby of shark fishing, which helped him to overcome his depression. The Story of Legendary Sniper Carlos Hathcock The subject rifles are not considered suitable for general service use for the following reasons: (a) Not sufficiently sturdy;(b) Parts are not interchangeable with M1903 and M1 parts; (c) Replacement parts will be difficult to procure; (d) Not fitted with sling swivels. Likewise, many of the 300-plus Model 70 rifles purchased by the Marine Corps during World War II remained in inventory and, except for the handful diverted for unofficial sniping use, continued to be used by Marine marksmen for match use throughout the 1950s. The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is a development of the earlier Winchester Model 54, itself based on a Mauser 98-type action. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Carlos Hathcock usually used a Winchester Model 70 in .30 .06. 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. The Marine Corps clearly believed that the existing Model 1903, tuned to match grade, was a superior sniping rifle as compared to the Model 70. Click here for more information. The Model 70 was largely based on the Model 54, and is today still highly regarded by shooters and is often called "The. Gunnery Sgt. Typically enemy soldiers were paid anywhere from $8 to $2,000 for taking down an American sniper. [17] However, scholars such as Jerry Lembcke have cast doubt on Hathcock's account and questioned the existence of "Apache". What rifle did Carlos Hathcock use? - Quora On this occasion he used a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun, to which he attached his scope with a bracket he designed himself. But I guess I was wrong. The metal was reblued as required. And thus, with regard to sniper rifles, most of the US military inventory in the mid-1960s consisted of well-worn Model 1903A4 Springfields and M1C and M1D Garands, all of which dated from WWII, or perhaps the Korean War. There are currently no customer product questions on this lot. April 30 marks the 41st anniversary of the fall of Saigon (since renamed Ho Chi Minh City) and the end of American military involvement in that country. After World War II, George Van Orden, who had authored the Marine Corps Equipment Board report in 1941 recommending adoption of the Model 70 as a sniper rifle, started a firearms business named Evaluators, Ltd. Van Orden (who had subsequently been promoted to colonel and, later, brigadier general), eventually concentrated on marketing the Van Orden Sniper, which was a Winchester Model 70 customized to the specifications of his customers.Van Orden was successful in selling the arms to many clients, including the U.S. Coast Guard, which purchased 10 of the rifles in June 1954. [10], One of Hathcock's most famous accomplishments was shooting an enemy sniper through the enemy's own rifle scope, hitting him in the eye and killing him. There was no real reason to stay with Winchester because the Model 70s used by the Marines were not the latest production models anyway, and no advantage would be gained as far as standardization of equipment was concerned. By the late 1960s, the Winchester Model 70 sniper rifles were in the process of being phased out by the new Remington Model 700s. The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock, II (MCSN: 1873109), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Sniper, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in connection with military operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on 16 September 1969. Winchester Model 70 (.30-06) Review. Carlos Hathcock's sniper Your browser is out of date and may not be able to properly display our website. You know it's funny how just a simple duplex reticle, like what you find in most scopes can be a real help in ranging and holding. 1942 dated receiver, with a 56 dated WRA barrel, mismatched bolt, all the metal looks like it's been refnished, and the stock has been beat to crap and then heavily sanded. When the need arose for more Model 70s the rifles procured by Brig. Carlos Hathcock, in Vietnam (left) and receiving the Silver Star (right). He only used the .50 M2 on less than a dozen shots. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting/hunting rifle. The Model 70 was largely based on the Model 54, and is today still highly regarded by shooters and is often called "The Rifleman's Rifle.". Nevertheless, Winchester Model 70s teamed with the Unertl scopes were superb sniping arms, certainly better than anything else in the militarys inventory at the time. Pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 Rifle: Accurate, Reliable Classic This is yet another example of the truism that a great civilian firearm does not always equate to a great military rifle. After returning to active duty, Hathcock helped establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. He stayed in the Marine Corps, but his health continued to decline. The White Feather Sniper: Carlos Hathcock - VA News Lots of posts I haven't come back to as of late. Yeah it was, it was missing the an action screw and one that held on the trigger guard. The Winchester Model 70 represented perhaps the epitome of the bolt-action sporting rifle. Introduced in 1936 as an improvement on the Model 54, the Model 70 soon set the standard for commercial bolt-action rifles. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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The slings are embossed with Hathcock's signature. I told a gunny, 'Bring [him] back here.' It was this . Hathcocks primary set-up was a Model 70 (pre-64), 30-06 target rifle with a heavy barrel, and Unertle 8x scope. In the background is radio operator Jerry Dunomes. George H. Hurt of the 3rd Marine Divisions newly formed sniper school at Da Nang, Vietnam, checked the 8X Unertl scope mounted on a Winchester Model 70. Just under 1200 yards of room if I stretch it and hills in every direction for natures perfect back stop! I have a 53 heavy barreled action that needs the same treatment. Charles Henderson, in Marine Sniper, his biography of legendary Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock, tells of a 1967 incident when Hathcock, used two shots from a Browning M2 50 caliber machine gun to dispatch a Viet Cong soldier . . The ranging peice was plastic and many distort over the years. This US Sniper Crawled for 3 Days of Open Field, Killed NVA General ][21][22] He was not informed of the details of the mission until he accepted it. It's my job. However, we are happy to build tribute rifles and were very pleased torecently completea USMC sniper tribute rifle. My Daily Kona: The Military Model 70 - Blogger Although the model 70 was never officially approved for combat service during WWII, a number of Model 70s made their way into combat with USMC snipers. Early Vietnam Sniper Rifles - Guns and Ammo [24][25][26][27][self-published source], After this mission, Hathcock returned to the United States in 1967. A Lyman micrometer sight base is mounted on the left side of the receiver. As a sniper of a modern era, I am truly amazed at what the guys were able to do using what they had at the time. [43] In 2002, this record was broken by Canadian snipers (Rob Furlong and Arron Perry) from the third battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the War in Afghanistan. Snipers Hide is a community of Snipers of all kinds, focusing on long range shooting, accuracy, and ballistics.