RIP Master Scout Sniper Chuck Mawhinney

[Rick in Oregon]

This week we lost the most prolific sniper to come out of Vietnam, Chuck Mawhinney of Baker City, Oregon. More well-known is Carlos Hathcock who came to RVN a few years earlier. Chuck was a quiet fellow who rarely talked of his time as a sniper. Some friends in town did not even know he was a Vietnam Veteran. His fame came much later after he had retired.

Chuck's time in Vietnam in 1968 & 1969 yielded an impressive body count of Viet Cong and NVA troops. He came home safely and worked for the USFS for 30 years prior to his retirement. He ran a very successful LR shooting school near his home also.

A pic of Chuck in RVN in or about 1968:



Another depiction of Chuck after retirement during his time running his LR school:



The signature ballcap he offered at the school complete with his signature line:





Now that very few veterans of WWII remain, it is now "our turn" leaving the world, as every month I read of more Vietnam vets going on to the Great Reward in the monthly Vietnam Veterans of America magazine obituary. Wars come and go. I experienced RVN, my two sons both came home from the Gulf War. One day all this will just be history, and history will remember true hero's like Chuck Mawhinney and Carlos Hathcock. We are diminished.

[Bill K]

Yes Rick many came home, many did not. My youngest son made it back from Desert Storm safe and sound. Most of all the Old Guard are resting in peace.

[Rick in Oregon]

If this forum had a sub-forum for general discussion, this would have been placed there, but it ended up in Centerfire Rifles due to no other forum choice. That's too bad, as when newbies open this forum and see only categories related to the 204R and varmint-oriented sub categories, many posts get lost and seldom read.

So if admin is by chance looking at any of this, please consider creating a 'general discussion' area that's still gun-related for topics that don't fit in the available sub-forums we have now.

To stay OT, I'll add that Chuck Mawhinney during his time in RVN, used the USMC M240 Remington M700 Varmint platform in 7.62 NATO chambering for his entire time in-country with very good success. I've got a clone of that rifle and two cases of Federal Premium Match loaded with their 173gr Match bullet for practice in the outback. Hits on 'head-size' rocks out past 700 yards is entirely do-able with that combination of rifle/load.

Working with mine on that 'enemy' rock at the top of the rimrock ridge at just over 700 yards in the outback here:



And "yes", I'm also trying to stir up some additional forum activity with pics, as I'm told we all like to see pics on forums. Anyone else here enjoy shooting of this nature?

And a thank you to Chuck Mawhinney for his service, LR instruction, and for being a true American hero. You will be missed, Chuck.

[MTPaul]

Rick. Thank you for posting this account and for sharing a behind the scenes look at a fellow Oregonian. While I have yet to read the book "The Sniper: The Untold Story of the Marine Corps' Greatest Marksman of All Time", I have listened to the author (Jim Lindsay) tell the story of how he came to meet Chuck and how he worked with Chuck to accurately capture his experiences and the toll it had on Chuck's life. For those who are interested, I have provided the 35-minute You Tube interview.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E2%80% ... e&ie=UTF-8#

[MTPaul]

Try this link instead. Sorry for the mistake.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... i=89978449

[Rick in Oregon]

Paul, thanks for the link....very good interview.

In regard to Vietnam sniper lore, when I arrived in-country in early 1966, the battle of Ia Drang Valley (The Valley of Death) was a recent event, and it was all the talk. At the same time, the legendary sniper, Carlos Hathcock was also a subject of much discussion, as his KIA numbers were already being noticed by us....and the NVA who because of his effectiveness in the field, put a substantial bounty on his head, naming "White Feather" their No.1 enemy.

The book "Marine Sniper" by Charles Henderson is a must read for anyone interested in sniper craft, and tells some amazing stories of Carlos in the field and on "Hill 55". Chuck Mawhinney was not on scene at the time, his tours came a bit later, but with the same degree of effectiveness in the bush. Chuck's story did not come out until many years later, as he seldom ever talked about his time in RVN.

[Jim White]

If this forum had a sub-forum for general discussion, this would have been placed there, but it ended up in Centerfire Rifles due to no other forum choice. That's too bad, as when newbies open this forum and see only categories related to the 204R and varmint-oriented sub categories, many posts get lost and seldom read.

So if admin is by chance looking at any of this, please consider creating a 'general discussion' area that's still gun-related for topics that don't fit in the available sub-forums we have now.

Rick,

Your thoughts on the sub-forum are spot-on. A case in point, I just stumbled across this message today and I found it very interesting. You probably don't know, but I actually ran into both of these Marine snipers. I ran into Mr. Mawhinney back at the National Highpower Rifle Championships in the mid 90's and Mr. Haithcock at the US Navy Atlantic Fleet matches in Dam Neck Va about the same time. The chats with each one was brief small talk about long range shooting but they were down to earth people like you and I.

On the subject of infamous people, another one I chatted with briefly was ADM Rickover. I was a young FN onboard my first submarine on alpha-trials. In those days, ADM Rickover rode all nuclear power ships on alpha-trials. For us, he handed out cigars to the crew afterwards. He wasn't a very big person but he was well known, especially in the nuclear Navy.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the accolades of these two fine Marines.