USMC Unertl Snipers
Here is my totally legit USMC Unertl sniper.. have owned it since 2016, known about it since 1998 or so.. researching them since then as well.
Rifle came into a LGS in 1998 and was bought from the grandson of the USMC Officer who bought it from Organic Sales in 1953/54 for $25.00. Grandson wanted to trade it in towards a modern handgun. An employee of the LGS bought it, as you see it less sling and scope for $500 and called me to discuss.
I immediately thought ?Unertl rifle? and contacted the then leading experts. After speaking with Big Larry (Larry Reynolds) and others felt the rifle was legit, but the stock being a Type S was throwing us off. Larry and myself discussed at length and were able to find photographs showing Type S sniper usage on Okinawa as well as late 30?s USMC Rifle Team usage.
I tried buying the rifle from my buddy but never was successful. Ended up buying it in 2016 from his estate.
The rifle is a textbook Unertl rifie.
I?m also part of a group of fellow collectors, numbering about 28 who document and research USMC Unertl rifles (as well as other USMC sniper rifles). The group is made up of some very prominent collectors and researchers who have been studying these rifles in some cases for over 40 years. The members come from across the country and even overseas.
A lot of the members prefer to stay off gun forums, yet their names are instantly recognized by long time 1903 collectors. Unfortunately as some of these threads show, there is a lot of incorrect information often discussed when the topic of ?USMC snipers,? comes up.
When a reported riffle surfaces we collectively discuss to get both a consensus as well as different perspectives. It is truly collaborative.
As Steve stated it is always good to get opinions from multiple sources, and our group does just that. Steve, Tim, Andrew and others have been instrumental with utilizing the National Archives and other repositories to better understand these rifles through documents. The archival information coupled with really digging down and understanding physical traits, logistics, and manufacturing has allowed us to determine originality on these rifles.
I also maintain a database of reported Unertl rifles, which is shared amongst our group.. over 130 serial numbers to date.. with only about 27 being what the group collectively feels are authentic.
I look forward to the discussion on a rare rifle..
Greg Carlson
https://imgur.com/gallery/9o5fhXE
https://imgur.com/gallery/EVh81uY
Reply With Quote