SmokeEaterPilot
Active Member
- Jun 3, 2011
- 527
I bought this rifle a few years back, finally got around to repairing and doing some restoration work on it. More importantly, I finally found a USMC Unertl scope I could afford (thanks to a friend.)
I just got lucky and wasn't sure positive on what I was looking at at first. Two interesting things that were among the Quartermaster records were...
1) Collectors called them the "Model 1941 Sniper" or "M1941 Unertl Sniper rifle." They were given no such designation. They were simply referred to as "rifles fitted with telescopic sights."
2) The USMC looked for scopes as early as 1940. They approached "Noske" but he replied that he has not made any scopes in years and the last ones he sent to the USMC, the Marines never paid him for. Someone at the Quartermaster's office said "doesn't John Unertl make scopes?" The rest is history.
I got it relatively cheap because the rear sight base was severely damaged and the handguard wasn't even a proper reproduction. A good friend installed a rear sight base (with the proper service rifle drawing number) and fitted a handguard with the scope block cutout.
It's an interesting rifle because it's (likely) one of the 574 Special Targets (reconditioned Match rifles) which were set aside as potential platforms for the USMC sniper rifle. The rifle also has a bolt with National Match polishing characteristics, it was then blued (as mentioned in the paperwork). And when a polished bolt is blued, the finish on the bolt turns to a "plumb brown" as described by collectors. The bolt also does not have Springfield Armory handwriting but USMC style electric penciling. It could just be a replacement bolt that was force matched by an armorer, but no way to be certain.
The rifle's serial number is 1496175, the stock is serialized 1496210.
The barrel is stamped at the top and collectors commonly refer to them as the "Philly Star" but no evidence has surfaced to definitively say what it meant at the time.
The handgun pictured is M1911 SN 3175 which was in the first lot of 300 M1911s that went to the USMC in 1912. Thought it paired well with it for some reason.
Have a great day all.
I just got lucky and wasn't sure positive on what I was looking at at first. Two interesting things that were among the Quartermaster records were...
1) Collectors called them the "Model 1941 Sniper" or "M1941 Unertl Sniper rifle." They were given no such designation. They were simply referred to as "rifles fitted with telescopic sights."
2) The USMC looked for scopes as early as 1940. They approached "Noske" but he replied that he has not made any scopes in years and the last ones he sent to the USMC, the Marines never paid him for. Someone at the Quartermaster's office said "doesn't John Unertl make scopes?" The rest is history.
I got it relatively cheap because the rear sight base was severely damaged and the handguard wasn't even a proper reproduction. A good friend installed a rear sight base (with the proper service rifle drawing number) and fitted a handguard with the scope block cutout.
It's an interesting rifle because it's (likely) one of the 574 Special Targets (reconditioned Match rifles) which were set aside as potential platforms for the USMC sniper rifle. The rifle also has a bolt with National Match polishing characteristics, it was then blued (as mentioned in the paperwork). And when a polished bolt is blued, the finish on the bolt turns to a "plumb brown" as described by collectors. The bolt also does not have Springfield Armory handwriting but USMC style electric penciling. It could just be a replacement bolt that was force matched by an armorer, but no way to be certain.
The rifle's serial number is 1496175, the stock is serialized 1496210.
The barrel is stamped at the top and collectors commonly refer to them as the "Philly Star" but no evidence has surfaced to definitively say what it meant at the time.
The handgun pictured is M1911 SN 3175 which was in the first lot of 300 M1911s that went to the USMC in 1912. Thought it paired well with it for some reason.
Have a great day all.
