Carlos Hathcock Not the top sniper!!

[w1945]

I am almost sure I ran into Hathcock on two different occasions while in Vietnam. He really had some down to earth spookey eyes and you could tell he was all business. If my memory serves me right he was carrying a Remington 700 bdl with what looked like a 3X9 scope. Both times he was boarding a C-130. Every one I talked to said he was like a cat and liked to hunt by himself.

 

[w1945]

Considering what Carlos had to deal with, jungle, snakes, leeches and bugs which would eat you alive then I got to give him the thumbs up. There should be no doubt about his shooting abilities because of his wins in matches all across the country. If I had to go up against some one in the jungle it certainly would not be CH. It is one thing to shoot on a hot clear day but it is another to make a shot while laying in swamp water with bugs and leeches trying to eat you alive. Complete different ball game.

 

[distantfoe]

It appears your buddy could have the longest 308 kill by over 200 yards. I'm surprised a 308 would be stable that far after it went subsonic.

http://www.gunsandammo.com/military-law-enforcement/longest-sniper-shots-in-history/

Most of those Soldiers and Marines made kills that no one will ever know about. A certain Viet-Nam Vet Sniper that I know will not tell you about his kills at all, even though he has 1 Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart w/3 clusters, and a citation for making a confirmed kill at over 1600 yds w/a match grade M-14 and a Leopould M-8 scope.

 

[surjimmy]

It was the way he got his kills, he stalked and hunted down his targets. He also help write and start the Sniper Program. What ever is a Sniper's confirmed kills, the rule of thumb is you can double the unconfirmed. So Hathcock had about 300 kills.

 

[ProBusiness]

Saw an interview with CH one time. He did have spooky eyes. He said he thought that a sniper had to be born a sniper - hunter.

With the training they have now i think they can teach a guy to be a sniper. imo. I mean he may not have the stalker, hunter, killer personality CH was talking about but they can teach him to be effective.

 

[HonkyTonkHale]

I agree with the quality over quantity argument. A lot of Hathcock's kills were other snipers, which is exponentially harder than stationary targets (my assumption, not my experience). Plus the man had a $30K bounty on his head from the NVA, which speaks volumes for how the NVA feared him.

 

[Profreedomokie]

Does anyone remember an issue of the American Rifleman that had a boonie hat , a signed box of ammo and a bolt action rifle on the cover ? Yes it had an article about Hathcock in it. I was in Southern Gun Works in Suffolk, Va. ( my old home town ) in 2002 and all those items that were on that American Rifleman cover were in a glass display case there. I got to talking with the shop owner, Richard R. Carroll and found out he was in the Marines with Hathcock and was his business manager. I bought an autographed copy of White Feather while I was there. While we were talking a guy came in with a friend from out of state that wanted to visit Hathcock's grave. Mr. Carroll told them how to find it. The man is truly a legend . I don't think numbers has anything to do with it. It was all about bravery and dedication to the mission. I don't take anything away from other brave members of our military ,it's just Hathcock stands out as one of the best on and off the battlefield.

 

[criticalbass]

Hathcock did all this while suffering from multiple sclerosis. Hid it for years.

Marine Corps royally screwed him with a medical discharge shortly before he was due to retire normally.

In my mind, he'll always be the greatest sniper, though Simo H and Vasilly Z are up there too.

 

[SMS]

I didn't think Hathcock's MS came around until later in his career, not while he was in Vietnam.

Also, IIRC, he was medically retired with a 100% rating....which is financially better than the 50% retired pay he would've received if he was allowed to just retire at 20 years (I don't believe there was concurrent receipt back in the 70's)....but for a hard charger like him, I can imagine being medically discharged in lieu of LOS retirement would be tough to handle (especially dealing with a serious illness on top of the host of other issues everyone has when leaving the service after a lengthy career).

 

[SoonerP226]

Plus the man had a $30K bounty on his head from the NVA, which speaks volumes for how the NVA feared him.

IIRC, Kyle had a very hefty price on his head, as well.