May 23rd 2015 Premier Firearms Sale
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/22/2015
At the outbreak of World War II, the Marine Corps were in dire need of accurate sniper rifles for special troops. The Marine Corps in particular took matters into their own hands. They procured standard star gauge national match rifles that were in inventory at the armory in Philadelphia and converted them by cutting away an area on the hand guard, installing scope blocks, and outfitting these already target grade rifles with an Unertl 8x scope. The top of the scope is stamped "J. Unertl" and underneath is stamped "USMC - Sniper No. 2308". Features of the rifle are as follows: barrel is stamped "S A" with the flaming bomb and "6-30"; muzzle is stamped with the star gauge at 6 o'clock; right side of frame is stamped with the serial number; right side of barrel sleeve is stamped with two inspector marks; there is a gas hole on the right side of front receiver bridge; top of bolt is stamped "N.S." for nickel steel; bottom of each scope block is stamped "O" and "E". It has the flat rear sight wheels. Bottom of stock is stamped "D7836-4" and "1360263". It has a National Match buttplate and a steel frog 1903 leather sling. Left side of stock is stamped "RA-P" in a box. When the hand guard is removed behind the block on barrel stamped "DW4625". There is a "3" stamped under the bolt, "S" stamped on the side of the extractor, under the hand guard into the wood is stamped "0263" with some white residue. The hand guard cut out for block is not polished and is left in the rough. ME reading is one. Optics are fine. Wood is excellent with no cracks or chips with an "S O" stamped in safety cut out. There is an "H" stamp on bayonet lug, a "U" stamped on rear barrel band, a block "P" in a circle stamped on the inside of the pistol grip on the C stock. There is a brass museum or ID tag tied to the rear swivel, stamped "562". It has two stock bolts. Frame retains 90% of the original finish. Barrel sleeve finish is thinning. "J Unterl" and " Pat. 2208913" stamped on rear adjustable mount. Mounts retain approximately 30-40% of their blue-black finish. Scope tube is a pleasing mix of blue turning plum. Bore is clean and action is perfect. Standard features include 24" barrel and chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. Extremely scarce firearm from the United States Marine Corps.