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LOT 409
Rare Documented Winchester Model 70 “Van Orden Sniper” Bolt Action Rifle
with Original Factory Box - Serial no. 220285, 30-06 Springfield cal., 24 inch heavy round bbl., blue
finish, walnut stock. Dubbed the “Van Orden Sniper”, this is a rare, highly sought after variation of the
Winchester Model 70 rifle. After World War II, retired Marine Corps Colonel George Van Orden opened the
Evaluators Gun shop outside the Quantico Marine base. Van Orden’s shop evaluated and sold equipment to police forces and to the military as well as to civilians all over the world. After the Korean War, the company began
AS LISTED BY SERIAL NUMBER IN THE BOOK DEATH FROM AFAR, VOL. I BY CHANDLER
selling the special ordered Model 70 rifles in his own favorite configuration, which became known as the “Van Orden Sniper”. During World War II, then Captain Van Orden and Chief Gunner Calvin Lloyd recommended the use of the Winchester Model 70 rifle
with an Unertl 8x scope as a sniper rifle to the Marine Cops Equipment Board President; however, wartime production delays caused the Corps to favor the Springfield
Model 1903A1 rifle. Although dubbed the Van Orden Sniper rifle, the specific rifle was never purchased by the Marine Corps. The key features of a Van Orden Sniper rifle
such as this example are a stripper-clip slotted receiver, Lyman scope blocks, and a 24 inch heavy target barrel chambered in .30-06 Springfield. This rifle is equipped with Lyman 77R front and 48WH rear peep sights and a standard checkered walnut stock with sling swivels. The rifle shows standard Winchester barrel and receiver markings, including the factory oval proofs. This Van Orden sniper rifle is listed by serial number on page 41 of Norman Chandler’s “Death from Afar, Volume 1” as sold to an individual in Silver Spring, Maryland, in May of 1953. Includes original factory matching number box.
CONDITION: Excellent, retaining 95% plus original blue finish with a few light handling marks and some honest handing wear on the bolt handle. Stock is also excellent, with some light handling marks and fine checkering. Mechanically excellent. Box is fine.
Estimate: 8,500 - 13,000
LOT 410
Very Scarce and Desirable Vietnam Era U.S. Marked Winchester Model 1200 Slide Action “Trench” Shotgun with Bayonet and Box of Ammunition - Serial no. 415457, 12 gauge, 20 inch round bbl., parkerized/blue finish, walnut stock. These were the standard commercial Winchester Model 1200 shotguns produced during the late 1960s and early-mid 1970s that were purchased and adapted for the military with a bayonet lug/heat shield and U.S. marked. By the time most of these were delivered to the U.S. Military, the Vietnam War was nearing its end and very few are believed to have made it overseas to Southeast Asia. Some of these remained in service and saw use in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Most were destroyed after their service, leading to their scarcity today, with sparse government records of contract deliveries. The barrel is equipped with a six hole pattern heat shield with the bayonet lug adapter, marked with part number “11686389”, on the front end that is secured to the barrel with three screws. The bayonet lug on this shotgun is sized for the M1917 bayonet, which remained in service through the time this gun would have been in use. The barrel is marked as cylinder choke and with 2 3/4 inch chamber, with “U.S.” above the standard markings, and the frame is “US” marked on the left. Blue/black anodized alloy frame and trigger housing, blued magazine tube and loading gate, parkerized steel barrel, heat shield and bayonet adapter, and jeweled bolt. Fitted with an extended forearm and pistol grip stock with a Winchester branded hard rubber buttplate. 14 inch length of pull. Includes a green canvas sling, a parkerized M1917 bayonet with black plastic grip panels and an olive drab green plastic scabbard, and a March 1979 dated sealed box of Olin Corporation XM162 12 gauge 00 buckshot. Winchester Model 1200 trench and riot shotguns as well as similar examples are pictured on pages 177-180 of “Complete Guide to United States Military Combat Shotguns” by Bruce Canfield. CONDITION: Excellent, retains 97% plus original parkerized finish on the barrel, heat shield/bayonet adapter, and magazine tube; 90% original blue anodized finish on the receiver, 95% black painted finish on the trigger guard with a few small scratches and spots of flaking, scattered mild surface freckling on the bolt, and some light handling marks. Wood is also excellent with some scattered light scratches and handling marks, a small chip at the toe, and crisp defined edges. Mechanically excellent. Included bayonet and ammunition box are both very fine.
Estimate: 8,500 - 13,000 339