carlos hathcock model 70 rifle

With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! What many people don't realize is that the Unertl scope back in the day doesn't have glass amplification. Born in 1942, Hathcock enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 20, 1959the very day he turned 17. Stretching it past 500 and reaching out to 1000, put all of us in a humbling state of mind. As I remember from reading Henderson's book many moons ago, GySgt Hathcock deployed to VietNam in the '66-69 time frame. He managed to achieve an astounding kill record of 93 - including an impressive shot through an enemy sniper's scope, but it was with the M2 that he was able to take out a Vietcong soldier pushing a bicycle loaded with ammunition at . Carlos Hathcock accepting the Wimbledon Cup after winning the NRA National Matches. The rifle had a likeness of Hathcock's signature and his "white feather logo" marked on the receiver. This is a pretty cool thread. I had always thought that long tube scopes were originally used a long time ago and were more or less obsolete. By the end of his first deployment Hathcock's life was worth $30,000 to the North Vietnamese . Using this rifle, we shot at increments of 100 yards, all the way out to 1,000 to test our modern-day sniper skills. Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. Carlos used a Winchester Model 70 .30-06 match ammunition loaded with 173-grain boat-tailed bullets, also used an 8-power Unertl scope. The scarcity of these rifles mean few of us will ever get a chance to own one. His longest confirmed kill was 2500 yards. With complete disregard for his own safety and while suffering excruciating pain from his burns, he bravely ran back through the flames and exploding ammunition to ensure that no Marines had been left behind in the burning vehicle. 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. Their official role was for use in marksmanship training, but that's not where they would all end up. Your rifle is seriously motivating me to start a new project build .metal and wood just feel so nice together. Thats perfect! The sniper system shoots the M72 match ammunition loaded with 173-grain boat-tailed bullets (.30-06). The rifle most associated with Carlos Hathcock is the Winchester model 70 sniper rifle with an 8X-power Unertl scope. This recommendation made its way up the chain of command. The most well known Marine sniper of the Vietnam war has become a modern legend. The Model 70. Hathcock generally used the standard sniper rifle: the Winchester Model 70 .30-06 caliber rifle with the standard 8-power Unertl scope. In a book I'm reading about on Carlos Hathcock, there are some pictures of him with his rifle. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. .30-06 Winchester Model 70 National Match Rifles equipped with a medium heavy barrel for use during the 1955 National Matches. The recipient of the memo replied on Feb. 7, 1955: The total number of weapons required for the 1955 Matches is 204. It has been confirmed that the U.S. Army purchased in excess of 200 Model 70 rifles between 1954 and 1959, mainly from Van Ordens firm. Carlos Hathcock's sniper rifle! A 1951 U.S. Marine Corps report on the subject categorically rejected the procurement of any new Model 70 sniper rifles: There is no Marine Corps requirement for a special rifle for use by snipers in the Marine Corps. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II joined the Corps in 1959 at age 17. In November 1965, USMC Gy/Sgt. It was advertised as missing parts. While the causes and conduct of that war remain a subject of great debate, an interesting aspect of the conflict is the use of the Winchester Model 70 as a precision rifle by the US forces, especially by the US Marine Corps snipers. The machine work, barrel channel and bedding were completed in our shop. Carlos Hathcock, used the rifle with remarkable effectiveness. His heroic actions were instrumental in saving the lives of several Marines. 134,606 views Dec 6, 2020 Winchester Model 70 (.30-06) rifle review in Hindi. He sold quite a few, and claims they came from a USMC armorer. The rifle is in excellent condition showing only . If I was you, I might look up this guy on ebay and write him and see if he has anymore of these barrels. Hathcock is the subject of a number of books including: Hathcock generally used the standard sniper rifle: the Winchester Model 70 chambered for .30-06 Springfield cartridges, with the standard 8-power Unertl scope. Hathcock remains a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. 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. Item Number: R30701. Hathcock took possession of the dead sniper's rifle, hoping to bring it home as a "trophy", but after he turned it in and tagged it, it was stolen from the armory. On May 20th, 1959, at 17 years of age, Carlos N. Hathcock II fulfilled his childhood dream by enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. The stock were fitted with 1 1/2-inch sling swivels. The left side of the barrel has the standard Winchester legend and trademark followed by: "MODEL 70-30-06 SPRG.-". It's my job. His parents separated so he grew up with his grandmother in Geyer Springs, Pulaski County. It is used by not only sportsmen, but military and police snipers as well. 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. Calvin Lloyd, wrote a 72-page report titled Equipment for the American Sniper, which discussed the various types of rifles and telescopic sights available at the time. They are a little tedious to adjust but have very clear glass and a very fine cross hair recticle. Hathcock was soon a member of the USMC rifle team, and in 1965 he won the Wimbledon Cup, a 1000-yard individual match fired at the National Matches in Camp Perry, Ohio. The late Marine sniper set the record in 1967 with a M-2 .50 caliber Browning machine gun.. The optics are clear. He only used the .50 M2 on less than a dozen shots. NRA photo. Interestingly, Hathcock won that prestigious trophy with a Winchester Model 70. Carlos Norman Hathcock II (20 May 1942 - 23 February 23 1999) was a United States Marine Corps sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. One of the distant places where Americas commitment would come to be tested was in South Vietnam. If you decide that you wanted an original Unertl, they are out there and available. Hathcock made a number of kills with this weapon in excess of 1,000 yards, including his record for the longest confirmed kill at 2,500 yards (since surpassed). Btn., 7th Marines, under young Marine Capt. Regardless, the fact that there were a number of Model 1903 Marine Corps match rifles, along with spare parts, already on-hand resulted in the idea of a standardized Model 70 sniping rifle being doomed from the start.Despite the Marine Corps firm rejection of the Model 70, some of these rifles did, in fact, serve overseas in combat, albeit on an unofficial basis. Again, I would presume the heavy profile (slightly bigger than a varmint profile) was used as a compromise between multiple-round accuracy in the heat and weight, as seen in these pictures. This shot covered a distance of 2500 yards. Nice! The Model 70 was largely based on theModel 54, and is today still highly regarded by shooters and is often called The Riflemans Rifle. The sniper system shoots theM72 match ammunition loaded with 173-grain boat-tailed bullets (.30-06). But I guess I was wrong. I'm not. This was confirmed in McGuires article: The rifle team of the 3rd Marine Division had been using the Model 70 with the heavy barrel and the heavy Marksman stock. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting/hunting rifle. . The only downsides are that its in the foothills just on the east side of the Rockies and the Chinook winds can get up to 100mph on bad days! There are no internal adjustments to zero these old style Unertls. Two months later the Marine Corps replied to Winchester in a memo which stated: Based on the Marine Corps response, the door appeared closed to the Model 70 ever seeing use by the US military during WWII. On this occasion he used a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun, to which he attached his scope with a bracket he designed himself. There are currently no customer product questions on this lot. Known as Van Orden rifles, these model 70 sniper rifles were at last procured under the watchful eye of Brigadier General George Van Orden. The rifle is a Winchester M70 in 30-06. [20] During a volunteer mission days before the end of his first deployment, he crawled over 1,500 yards of field to shoot a PAVN general.[who? I think the GSgt used the 10x but the 20x looks just like it. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting/hunting rifle. The scope tube is roll-stamped: "J. UNERTL/USMC-SNIPER" in two lines above the serial number "2232". In 1966, Hathcock started his deployment in the Vietnam War as a military policeman and later became a sniper after Captain Edward James Land pushed the Marines into raising snipers in every platoon. The scope has a fine crosshair reticle and is fitted with screw-on steel lens covers. Hathcock's first round disabled the bicycle, the second struck the enemy soldier in the chest. During the closing stages of the war, the M1903A1/Unertl was replaced by the semi-automatic Garand M1C sniper rifle, which was soon followed by the M1D. 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. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action, sporting rifle that can be used for hunting or shooting. Just 55 days short of the 20 years that would have made him eligible for regular retirement pay, he received a permanent disability separation. This one is mine. Because the M25 is a big, heavy rifle, I wanted to keep scope size and weight to a minimum while still being able to maximize the .308 round. Oval Winchester "W/P" proof marks are stamped on the left side of the barrel and receiver. Due to the extreme injuries he suffered in Vietnam, he was in nearly constant pain, but continued to dedicate himself to teaching snipers. The ranging peice was plastic and many distort over the years. This year, H&R announced an expansion of its AR-15 lineup, bringing additional "retro" models to the market, including a 9 mm Luger-chambered Colt SMG clone, an M16A2-styled rifle and the carbine-size 723. OVERALL LENGTH: 44.8 in. Here are the features to watch out for. Great project. Very nice work. Unofficially and by his own estimates, Hathcock believed he killed between 300 and 400. The checkered panels are sharp; wear is limited to scattered visible sling hardware marks near the buttplate and upper sling swivel. The M40 (wood stock R700 & Redfield) was around but he was VERY familiar with the M70 target rifle as part of the USMC Rifle Team. [7][8][9] After a platoon of Vietnamese snipers was sent to hunt down "White Feather", many Marines in the same area donned white feathers to deceive the enemy. In addition to sniper rifles, model 70s were used extensively in marksmanship training and in match team shooting. A one of a kind rifle! Hathcocks primary set-up was a Model 70 (pre-64), 30-06 target rifle with a heavy barrel, and Unertle 8x scope. Hathcock pulled seven Marines from the flame-engulfed vehicle, suffering severe burns (some third-degree) to his face, arms, and legs, before someone pulled him away and placed him in water because he was unaware of how badly he had been burnt. A Lyman micrometer sight base is mounted on the left side of the receiver. Im sure with a lot of practice and tons of time behind the rifle, it could become almost second nature, but for the time we had it, it wasnt something to brag about. Nicknamed The White Feather for the small plume he wore on his boonie cap, Hathcocks incredible marksmanship skills soon struck fear in the hearts of the enemy, so much so that the Viet Cong reportedly placed a bounty of $30,000 on his head. It might be possible it's real as it came from a Marine officer who served back then, but I don't know how you could ever prove/authenticate one unless you had a document with the serial number on it. [2] Jo gave birth to a son, whom they named Carlos Norman Hathcock III. FOLLO .more .more 2.6K Dislike Share Indian Gunner 26.3K subscribers. This was standard issue on his Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle, and he even used the same scope on the .50 cal. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II joined the Corps in 1959 at age 17. sniper kill. 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. This is an excellent example of a Winchester Model 70 rifle in Vietnam Marine sniper configuration with scarce and very desirable WWII Unertl "U.S.MC.-SNIPER" telescopic sight and correct anodized aluminum target mounts. While the USMC used the Model 70 to greatest advantage during this period, a limited number were also employed by Army personnel for sniping, and Model 70s with silencers mounted on them were utilized for covert operations in Southeast Asia.James O. E. Norells article A Century Of USMC Sniper Rifles (August 2007, p. 44) related some interesting information by retired USMC Maj. Edward J.Jim Land, Jr., regarding the Model 70 rifles that were used by the Marines in Vietnam circa 1966: Land first scrounged 12 Model 70 sporting rifles that had been procured by Special Services for deer hunting at Camp Pendleton. For these reasons, we regularly get inquiries about building "tribute" and "replica"USMC Sniper rifles. George Van Orden and Chief Gy/Sgt. These later rifles were delivered to the US military already modified to be sniper rifles, including a heavy barrel and accurized stock. The reward was never collected. But it's a total rebuild. After ensuring his escape route was in place, he took his shot. 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. As events transpired, the Model 70s pressed into service as sniping arms, especially during the Vietnam War, were really never meant to be more than a stop-gap or interim measure until a standardized sniper rifle could be procured. A list of modern browsers is below; simply click an icon to go to the browsers download page. Hathcock passed away in 1999 at the age of 57. Introduced in 1936 as an improvement on the Model 54, the Model 70 soon set the standard for commercial bolt-action rifles. The Complete History of Winchester Repeating Arms. Hathcock was one of several individuals to utilize the M2 Browning machine gun in the sniping role. Gunnery Sgt. Above, Marine rifleman Dalton Gunderson eyes the enemy through an 8X Unertl scope on top of his Special Services-procured Winchester Model 70 in Vietnam. S. Jay Ratliff On this occasion he used a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun, to which he attached his scope with a bracket he designed himself. The rifle excelled in USMC sniper trials and target competitions, making it the preferred rifle of most USMC snipers. 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. The serial number of this rifle, "48213" falls within the serial number range of Marine WWII Model 70 rifles listed on pages 49-50 of Death from Afar Volume 1" by Chandler & Chandler but is not included on the list. In 1967 Gunny Carlos Hathcock set the record for the longest. Sgt. The Model 70 was largely based on the Model 54, and is today still highly regarded by shooters and is often called "The. AFAIK, Crane only made two of these on the 721 action. In 1936, Winchester introduced the Model 70 bolt-action rifle to the American market. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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".In 1999 Shooting Times magazine named the Model 70 the "Bolt-action Rifle of the Century". 30-06 caliber rifle equipped with an 8-power Unertl scope, was the deadliest sniper in Marine Corps history, but that title belongs to Mawhinney. It was missing a bolt part and the National Guard had designated it for "decommissioning" (a.k.a destruction). A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II joined the Corps in 1959 at age 17. [10] When Hathcock saw a glint (light reflecting off the enemy sniper's scope) in the bushes, he fired at it, shooting through the scope and killing the sniper. When I first saw the pic I assumed it was a short action. Thanks! He would go into the woods with his dog and pretend to be a soldier and hunt imaginary Japanese soldiers with the old Mauser his father, Carlos Norman Hathcock (19191985), brought back from World War II. They were intended primarily as match rifles and were not procured for use as sniper rifles. I was out yesterday trying to test a few loads at 400 yards but the wind quickly picked up to about 30 gusting 40mph and it was quickly becoming a waste of powder. But on several occasions, he turned to the M2 .50-caliber machine gun for longer . Springfield Armory designed a highly accurized version of their M1A Supermatch rifle with a McMillan Stock and match grade barrel and dubbed it the "M-25 White Feather". 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. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Enjoy the photos and let us know if there's a special model 70 project we can take on for you! It was the performance of these Snipers in Vietnam that secured the sniper concept as a permanent fixture in the United States military. Would you like to visit Winchester International? I had a few of those hanging around. However, we are happy to build tribute rifles and were very pleased torecently completea USMC sniper tribute rifle. During trips to Mississippi, he started developing an interest in hunting and long-range shooting. The 1047 rifles, U.S., caliber .30, M1903, Snipers Equipment on hand at this Depot are believed to be superior to the subject rifle both in accuracy and durability .. This success led to the adoption of the .50 BMG cartridge as a viable sniper round. The Model 70 was originally manufactured by the . His parents separated so he grew up with his grandmother in Geyer Springs, Pulaski County. In some cases, Douglas barrels were fitted to the Winchester actions to attain optimum accuracy. The LR/T front focal offers an elevation range of 65-MOA and a windage range of 65-MOA. Hathcock was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic action. [38] He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. Typically enemy soldiers were paid anywhere from $8 to $2,000 for taking down an American sniper. The owner had provided us with the stock already featuring a nicely aged appearance, which we maintained in the build. He stayed in the Marine Corps, but his health continued to decline. He copied Hemingway's words on a piece of paper. Van Ordens rifles also enjoyed some measure of success on the target range, as Marine Col. Walter Walsh won the 1952 National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, with one of the Van Orden Snipers.. This shot covered a distance of 2500 yards. I was quickly brought back to reality when shooting this system. Unless you plan to go humping through the boonies, the fragile nature of the old optic is not much of an issue. [18][19], Hathcock only once removed the white feather from his bush hat while deployed in Vietnam. FollowingWWII, popularity of the model 70 with Marine Corps snipers grew, eventually drawing the attention of other snipers from other branches of the military as well. Agree sandwarrior there was a thread on old old hide many moons ago regarding this. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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