These Marines were aware of the impact Hathcock's death would have and took it upon themselves to make themselves targets in order to confuse the counter-snipers. Carlos Hathcock: The Marine Corps Sniper With The M40 Rifle It was advertised as missing parts. Hathcock was an excellent sharpshooter by then, winning the Wimbledon Cup shooting championship in . The "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better-known as the M1903 Springfield, has become one of the most popular U.S. military small arms to collect. Before 1.02, the M70 Tundra was named the Winchester Model 70. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting/hunting rifle. 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). THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. Receiver is engraved with likeness of Carlos Hathcock's signature, along with the White Feather logo. Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. Van Orden had envisioned the Model 70 as the ultimate platform for a highly accurate sniper rifle, but which was light enough to be carried into battle. The sniper system shoots the M72 match ammunition loaded with 173-grain boat-tailed bullets (.30-06). The LR/T front focal offers an elevation range of 65-MOA and a windage range of 65-MOA. Editors note: Carlos Hathcock Born this day, May 20, 1942. . Hathcock passed away in 1999 at the age of 57. It was the performance of these Snipers in Vietnam that secured the sniper concept as a permanent fixture in the United States military. There are no internal adjustments to zero these old style Unertls. A memo dated July 29, 1942, stated in part: Subject: Rifles, Winchester, Model 70, .30 Government 06. These scopes now used in Vietnam are the same scopes on newer rifles. This effort was ultimately unsuccessful from a military procurement standpoint, but cemented the Model 70's place in USMC sniper history. An important note about part conditions - pre64win.com Would you like to visit Winchester International? .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. 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. On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: the Browning M2 machine gun, on which he mounted a 10X Unertl scope, using a bracket of his own design. The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting rifle.It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". This rifle is illustrated and described on pages 66 and 67 of "The One Round War" by Peter Senich. 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. On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: . In 1936, Winchester introduced the Model 70 bolt-action rifle to the American market. The barrel is a "sendero" profile made by Bartlein and installed by Moon. The Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock Award is presented annually by the National Defense Industrial Association "to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions in operational employment and tactics of small arms weapons systems which have impacted the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. military or law enforcement. This US Sniper Crawled for 3 Days of Open Field, Killed NVA General All Rights Reserved. Their official role was for use in marksmanship training, but that's not where they would all end up. . Built with glass-bedded actions and heavy barrels, and used for long-range target competition, the M70s were capable of great accuracy with the Unertl scopes. Enjoy the photos and let us know if there's a special model 70 project we can take on for you! His parents separated so he grew up with his grandmother in Geyer Springs, Pulaski County. 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." The sniper system shoots the M72 match ammunition loaded with 173-grain . 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 . SIGHTS: Folding rear, bead front The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt action sporting rifle. A few Model 70 sniper rifles saw service in Korea, particularly during the Chosin Reservoir campaign-under difficult winter conditions that rendered other rifles -like the M-1A carbine -ineffective or inoperable. This Marine Was The 'American Sniper' Of The Vietnam War [3], During the Vietnam War, Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong personnel. He and other Marines who were riding on top of the vehicle were sprayed with flaming gasoline caused by the explosion. [2] Jo gave birth to a son, whom they named Carlos Norman Hathcock III. [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. Sniper historian Peter R. Senich reported: [A]ccording to firsthand accounts, a fair number of unauthorized telescope-equipped personal and Marine Corps property Model 70s brought the reality of war to Japanese combat personnel during the early stages of World War II in the South Pacific. The U.S. Army also procured a limited number of Model 70 rifles during World War II, but little is known about their subsequent utilization, and it appears they saw virtually no actual use.The end of World War II essentially spelled the end of the bolt-action as a front-line U.S. military service rifle, but its inherent accuracy was too important an attribute to totally abandon, and bolt guns enjoyed a new lease on life as sniping rifles. 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. 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. Winchester 70 300 WIn Mag 3+1 26" Vortex Crossfire II 6-24x50 70 He purchased a Winchester Model 70 and fitted it with a Unertl 10 power telescopic sight to test his theories. Stretching it past 500 and reaching out to 1000, put all of us in a humbling state of mind. But on several occasions, he turned to the M2 .50-caliber machine gun for longer . Lots of posts I haven't come back to as of late. Carlos Hathcock was born on May 20, 1942, in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Just 55 days short of the 20 years that would have made him eligible for regular retirement pay, he received a permanent disability separation. Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device. They are fragile and the external rings may or may not offer as fine adjustments for windage and elevation. 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. Carlos Norman Hathcock II (20 May 1942 - 23 February 1999) was a United States Marine Corps sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Unless you plan to go humping through the boonies, the fragile nature of the old optic is not much of an issue. The legendary Carlos Norman Hatchock II learned to shoot with this gun. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps. While the war in Vietnam ushered in a number of new technologies, particularly the widespread use of helicopters and night vision equipment, much of the equipment had been tried and tested on the battlefields of earlier wars. The late Marine sniper set the record in 1967 with a M-2 .50 caliber Browning machine gun.. Decorations. The rifle retains nearly 95% of the original blue finish with very minor handling wear. Marines like Carlos Hathcock proved the rifle was quite accurate and very effective. 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 .. Hathcock's first round disabled the bicycle, the second struck the enemy soldier in the chest. At that point Jim told Carlos to take her down. In some cases, Douglas barrels were fitted to the Winchester actions to attain optimum accuracy. The anodized aluminum Unertl target mounts have a blue-brown patina that is typical of these WWII production mounts. This success led to the adoption of the .50 BMG cartridge as a viable sniper round. Which honestly looking at the barrels, I think he was probably likely telling the truth. Hathcock was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic action. Virginia Beach's legendary sniper Carlos Hathcock M25 White Feather for sale at Gunsamerica.com: 998026257 And, yes, I am extremely fortunate to have the most wonderful private range at my disposal. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. Hathcock's Scope? | Northwest Firearms If I was you, I might look up this guy on ebay and write him and see if he has anymore of these barrels. Pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 Specs MANUFACTURER: Winchester Repeating Arms TYPE: Bolt-action repeater CALIBER: .270 Winchester MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 5 rounds BARREL: 24 in. Your browser is out of date and may not be able to properly display our website. Using this rifle, we shot at increments of 100 yards, all the way out to 1,000 to test our modern-day sniper skills. However, we are happy to build tribute rifles and were very pleased torecently completea USMC sniper tribute rifle. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. A limited number of 3X to 9X variable power Marine Scopes of Japanese manufacture saw early use, but target mount, 8X Unertl telescopes, unchanged basically from those first adopted in 1941, were fitted to the Model 70s as were many of the original World War II Unertl contract scopes, which had survived official obsolescence and the post-Korean War surplus sell-off. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.
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