In July 1952 a wooden crate was delivered to the quarters of Robert Gates on Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The crate had a return address to Evaluators Ltd in Quantico Virginia - a weapons contractor which specialized in military and law enforcement firearms. 1952 was the year Evaluators Ltd began delivering on a contract with the US Marine Corps for the newest generation of USMC sniper rifles - a heavy barreled and accurized version of the Winchester model 70 target rifle. Per the contract, new model 70 target rifles were delivered from Winchester to Evaluators Ltd where they were modified and accurized to meet Marine Corps specifications.
Design of the rifles and oversight of the contract had been entrusted to USMC Brigadier General George Van Orden. Although retired, Van Orden was a natural choice to be brought back for this oversight role. 10 years earlier Van Orden had co-authored a Marine Corps report recommending adoption of the Model 70 rifle and the Unertl 8X scope for military use in WWII. While the intent of this 1942 report was ultimately unsuccessful and the Marines never did authorize the model 70 for combat use during WWII, George Van Orden's place and influence over the future of USMC snipers had been established. Following the unsuccessful 1942 recommendation, Van Orden was tasked with establishing the training program for USMC snipers and ultimately put in charge of the rifles they would use. As a result, Van Orden became known as "the father of Marine Corps snipers” and this new rifle from Evaluators Ltd became known as "the Van Orden sniper rifle”.
A USMC “Van Orden" Sniper Rifle
The barreled action of the Van Orden sniper rifle was identical to a Winchester model 70 target rifle. This included the stripper-clip slot, specially tuned and ‘T’ marked trigger, as well as the 24-inch medium-heavy contour target barrel hand-lapped and chambered in .30-06 Springfield. The rifle featured a Lyman 48 WH receiver sight, Lyman 77 front sight, and Winchester scope blocks ready to accept a a Lyman Super Targetspot scope, per Evaluators Ltd recommendation. The stock was similar to a straight-comb standard rifle stock, including the “claw” style Winchester steel buttplate. It differed from the standard rifle stock in that it was uncheckered and the stock geometry was adjusted to fit a shooter more like the Springfield 03A3 match rifles - the drop of the stock was reduced and the pitch was increased, resulting in a slightly shorter length of pull than a standard model 70 stock. The actions were hand-fitted into the stocks, which were finished with boiled linseed oil rather than the lacquer acetate used on the civilian model 70. A variation of the Van Orden rifle was also produced with a marksman style stock. This second style of Van Orden rifle was called the “SPECIAL TARGET” model.
A Van Orden Sniper Rifle in the Special Target Configuration
For Robert Gates, the crate delivered to his quarters in July of 1952 did not contain a rifle issued to him by the military. Instead, his was among about 90 Van Orden rifles which were special ordered by private individuals. We don't know a lot about Gates, other than his address was on Fort Bragg and that he must have been very aware of the military procurement of model 70 sniper rifles. We conclude this because his rifle was delivered very early in the production run of Van Orden rifles, which began in March of 1952 and ran through 1959. It is very likely Gates was not only member of the US military, but involved with a sniper unit or marksmanship team. Whatever the case, the arrival of this rifle at Gates' quarters represented both intimate knowledge of the world of military sniper rifles and also a considerable commitment to owning the rifle. The rifle had cost Gates north of $200, which in today's dollars was a sum of money more than 10 times that amount - a sizable investment for a man on military pay.
As Gates opened the crate, inside and wrapped in heavy cosmoline-impregnated paper was a new Van Orden rifle in the “SPECIAL TARGET” configuration. The serial number was 220619. Gates quickly checked to confirm his rifle had one unique feature he had special ordered for his rifle - a stainless steel barrel finished in Winchester’s distinct silvery satin “iron plate” bluing, rather than the standard chromoly steel barrel. The rifle was exactly what he had ordered and everything he had hoped it would be.
