Monday, August 20, 2012

Carlos Hathcock USMC Sniper Scope – Hi-Lux 8X Malcolm


Carlos Hathcock is probably the most famous sniper of all time. He had 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam, and until recently held the world record for a sniper shot at over 2500 yards, using a Browning M2 .50 cal. machinegun. During his entire career as a sniper, Carlos Hathcock used a U. S. Marines version of a Unertl precision riflescope. This was standard issue on his Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle, and he even used the same scope on the .50 cal. for his record shot. It is an odd scope by today’s standards. There are no internal adjustments to zero these old style Unertls. The scopes adjusts with turrets integral to the rear scope mount, and the tube of the scope floats inside adjustment pins.

To buy an original of this USMC scope today would cost you thousands, but Hi-Lux/Leatherwood this past year released an exact replica, called the 8X Malcolm USMC, and the scope really great, but hard to mount. It has an MSRP of $549 and the internet and street price is slightly below that. Hi-Lux sent us one, with the mounting hardware, and we were able to have it mounted for a full range test. Our friends at the American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) agreed to help us and you by making an instruction video on the difficult mounting process, included here, in the style of their monthly magazine and DVD subscription called GunTech that is available to their Gun Club of America gunsmith student members. If you have any interest in mounting this scope, the video will save you or your gunsmith a lot of headaches.

More with video @ Guns America

10 comments:

  1. Fame is a nebulous term, but I respectfully submit that Vassili Zaytsev should be considered the outstanding sniper. With a Mosin-Nagant like the one on which I mounted a scope Saturday he is reputed to have killed many more soldiers than any other sniper. From Wikipedia:
    Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev (Russian: Василий Григорьевич Зайцев; IPA: [vʌˈsʲilʲɪj ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjevʲɪtɕ ˈzajtsɨf]; March 23, 1915 – December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.[1]

    Prior to November 10, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin–Nagant rifle.[1] Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev made an estimated 400 kills.

    My rifle is shown here-
    https://plus.google.com/u/0/?tab=mX

    I own three other M-N's. They were all manufactured in WW II and the long ones will kill a very long way off.

    Jude Law played Zaytsev in Enemy at the Gates using this rifle, albeit with a shorter scope. Big 5 charged me 190 dollars for rifle and scope kit last week. I have seen these rifles at gunshows with short, long eye relief scopes mounted for $1400 and $1500 dollars.

    The Confederate sniper who killed Major-General John Sedgwick belongs with these famous marksmen. Sedgwick's last words were "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

    http://www.phrases.org.uk/quotes/last-words/john-sedgwick.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. The link to your picture didn't work for some reason.

    I have a M44:

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dnBg0Z4zMvE/TXhRqRAGZZI/AAAAAAAAAjI/oHtju3RyVpk/s1600/P1000719.JPG

    Also:

    Top 10 Snipers
    http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-10-snipers-in-history.html

    And:

    Jack Hinson's One-Man War, A Confederate Sniper
    http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=2406&highlight=sniper

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. Lyudmila Pavlichenko
    July 12, 1916 – October 10, 1974
    One of 3000 Russian female snipers. Have we ever had female snipers? She is shown with a Mosin-Nagant. She was a looker too.

    Thanks for all this great info. I am a fan of Junior Jethro Gibbs, Marine Gunnery sergeant/sniper of the famed NCIS series. Hah. Retired old men have time to watch TV.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If either of you two gentleman can recommend a good scope for an original (pre m44) M-N I would be grateful. I am aware that with the straight bolt I need a side mounting scope hardware.
    Thanks much....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Find a Big 5 store. For seventy bucks you get a 2-7X scope that fits into the holes where the ramp sight is now held. Easy to install. Bolt will clear the scope. Seems solid. Haven't fired it yet. I expect to do this to my other three Mosin-Nagants.

      www.aimsportsinc.com

      the kit is here
      http://www.aimsportsinc.com/catalog/index.php?l=product_detail&p=609

      Delete
    2. Thanks H.S..... got a Big 5 in town, i'll call first and see if they have it in stock. Really looking forward to getting my M-N scoped!
      (Thanks for the link)

      Delete
  5. straight bolt

    What about getting a curved one?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been giving that some thought. They are available through some online sources. One gunsmith told me he could just cut and reweld my current bolt into a "bent bolt" if need be. A curved, or bent bolt does allow for different/better scope & mount options.

      Delete
  6. Two other snipers deserve mention here. Famed finn Simo Hayha had 500 russian kills and was called the white death. And Francis Pegahmagabow, ww1 sniper with over 300 kills and move medals than one can count.

    ReplyDelete