Mid 80s to 90s FBI HRT sniper build

[Cockedandglocked]

Hey gents,

I recently acquired an Unertl 10X Tactical that I've dreamed of owning for years. I originally thought of building an M40A1 of course, but have recently reconsidered and am thinking of a retro FBI HRT build. As most of you already know, John Unertl is most famous for the scopes he built for the US Marine Corps and reached his zenith with the coveted USMC 10X Sniper, but he also built scopes for the Canadian C3A1, and even fewer for the FBI Hostage Rescue Teams and a couple other federal alphabet agencies.

My research has found that the FBI HRT rifles were built on:

Remington 700 or 40X actions

24" barrels

Unertl base, rings, and 10X tactical scope

Harris/McMillan M86 stocks in black or OD green with or without adjustable metal cheek piece (probably shooters preference)

Rifles were possibly built at Quantico by USMC armorers (?) to FBI specs

I'm especially interested in the trigger/action of these rifles and am wondering if they are just M40A1 rifles with the Harris M86 stock or a whole different rifle.

I did find two pics on google that weren't yearly helpful with a sniper holding one rifle and two snipers ranging in another the Unertls are clearly visible, but the actions are covered.

Any help would be appreciated.


John

 

[Cockedandglocked]

No love for the new guy?



John

 

[M40_A1]

FNG;-), I'd be interested in knowing more about this too. Were all the HRT rifles alike? Or were they personalized.

In Death From Afar there are photos of a couple "police" rifles with the 10X Sniper scopes. They look every bit like M40A1s, but with what appear may be heavier recoil lugs (and they were USMC, Quantico built). The captions didn't say what "police" agency they belonged to, but they both seem to be privately owned.

The funny thing about these Unertls, there were much fewer of the LE 10X Sniper scopes made than the USMC Snipers, yet the 10X Sniper scopes seem to have made it into private hands early on. Were agents allowed to order for themselves (one set of photos in DFA suggests this was sometimes the case), or were they given an option to purchase, or were the scopes sold off as newer optics were adopted? That's what I'd like to know, how they came to be privately owned while the military ones were not (understandable on the military side).

Also, is the HRT still fielding the 10X Unertls (or any other agency for that matter)? Or, when did they finally move on to other optics?

 

[rideHPD]

Late posts don't tend to see much love til the next day. Best guess is that if they were in fact built by USMC armorers at Quantico, start calling up 2112's to see if anyone actually worked on one. I'm sure someone knowledgeable on LEO rifle history will peep up sooner or later.

 

[M40_A1]

If this could be moved or reposted under Bolt Action Rifles, I'd bet you get more of a response.

 

[Emilio]

Its been a couple of years since I read it but I think the rifle might be described in the book Cold Bore.

 

[MJ1]

They have a nasty history and don't get much love. The most press they received was from killing unarmed women and children or religious quacks.

 

[onethousandmeters]

They have a nasty history and don't get much love. The most press they received was from killing unarmed women and children or religious quacks.

Exactly. I'd reconsider the HRT rifle build, and look at an M40a1 or something, but that's my personal feelings. Not a lot of love for HRT rifles / teams, IMO.

 

[RTH1800]

Agreed. M40 will be more popular.

 

[Cockedandglocked]

Yeah, I'm not into the politics behind the rifle, just like I don't judge guys that collect German WW2 rifles or Russian guns. My mi d isn't made up just yet, but I still find these rifles interesting.

Thanks for the replies and ill check out the Cold Bore book. I have the DFA series and will go thru them this weekend.


Thanks,

John

 

[Seefour]

Its been a couple of years since I read it but I think the rifle might be described in the book Cold Bore.

Do you mean the book "Cold Zero" by Christopher Whitcomb? Well worth a read.

 

[M40_A1]

I have the DFA series and will go thru them this weekend.

Good. There's not much, but this should be a start (assuming the pagination hasn't changed):
DFA1: p.97(police sniper)
DFA4: p.177,178(privately purchased 10X for shits and grins)

There may be some nuggets burried in the text as well.

Good luck. Please report back with any findings.