Some lucky guy — maybe you — is going on the hunt of a lifetime thanks to the Marine Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation. The adventure will happen in northern England later this year, not far from the border with Scotland, where the winner and their guest will be wined and dined like Highland Lairds of old. They will also get some top tier shooting instruction from UK Special Forces and U.S. Marine Scout Sniper instructors, and then put those skills to use while stalking roebuck, fallow deer, and red deer. Yes, I’m jealous.
The foundation is selling raffle tickets for this hunt to raise funds for a Marine Scout Sniper War Memorial which will be constructed in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park, next to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. If you haven’t been to that museum, you’re missing out. It’s one of the most fascinating, and moving, military museums I’ve ever visited. You should put it on your bucket list.
Raffle Details
The drawing is happening soon. The deadline to get tickets is midnight March 16, with the winner being selected the next day. There are a variety of packages to choose from but, as they say, you can’t win if you don’t play.
The hunt dates are flexible. The foundation has gone to great lengths to make the logistics as seamless as possible. All costs are covered, from travel to food and lodging. Just get yourself to the airport and they will do the rest. You don’t even need to bring your own rifle – they’ll have one waiting for you.
Accuracy International, which makes the finest sniper rifles in the world, has partnered with the foundation to make this possible. They are providing the rifles for the hunt which will take place on private land totaling more than 10,000 acres. The winner will be accompanied by a guide the entire time while stalking – this isn’t a tree stand hunt. Did I mention there are no bag limits on the game?
The Marine Scout Sniper War Memorial
Marine Corps Scout Snipers are known for their understated professionalism and their ingrained reticence. They aren’t given to broadcasting their exploits, which is one reason it’s taken until now for a memorial celebrating their rich history to come to fruition.
“What the memorial means to me and the sniper community at large is a way to come together to honor and remember the snipers that paved the way for future snipers and to remember the blanket of freedom and protection they provided,” said Phillip Velayo, a Marine Scout Sniper Instructor who served from 2007 to 2018. “Being a sniper was more than the title of the guy doing sneaky squirrel stuff. The infantry looked at us as the eyes and ears of the unit, and as things shifted in the battlespace we were the guardian angels of the infantryman – or the guy in the X as we called it – so they could do their job more effectively and safely.”
The memorial’s design captures this sentiment. The proposed design shows a two-man Scout Sniper team, blending historical eras. The Marine on the rifle is a contemporary figure, while his partner is a World War I era sniper pointing down range.
This captures the breadth of Marine Scout Sniper history. The first Scout Snipers — that term is one the Canadians first employed — received instruction in the final years of World War I, and then saw action in conflicts in places like Belleau Wood, which became the stuff of legend in Marine Corps lore.
Among the most notable stories the memorial captures is that of Corporal John Henry Pruitt, a Scout Sniper who won two Medals of Honor (one from the Navy and one from the Army) for his exploits in the Battle of Blanc Mount Ridge. He was the U.S. Military’s first sniper to win the MOH.
“Cpl. Pruitt, singlehandedly attacked two machine guns, capturing them and killing two of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners in a dugout nearby. This gallant soldier was killed soon afterward by shellfire while he was sniping at the enemy,” his official citation reads in part.
Pruitt is just one of many Scout Snipers with extraordinary stories the memorial honors, said Tim Parkhurst, the foundation’s president and a former Scout Sniper who had a 25-year career in the Marine Corps.
“We have three Medal of Honor recipients that were Scout Snipers,” Parkhurst said. “But this memorial honors every Marine Scout Sniper who did the job and who was killed in action — going back to the beginning, through the present day and into future conflicts. The memorial is for our fallen.”
Other Ways to Support the Memorial
To raise the funds to construct the bronze statue, which is being done by Sabin Howard who created the National World War I Memorial, the foundation is also selling Scout Sniper-themed flasks and decanters. (Remember that the Marine Corps birthplace was the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia on November 10, 1775, and is our military’s oldest service branch.) Both the flask and decanter are limited edition items.
The Sniper Cartridge Drinks Flask is a scaled up M118LR round, which is the 7.62x51mm (aka .308 Win.) round that Marine snipers have used for decades. The cap is a clone of the 175-grain Sierra Match King Open Tip Match (OTM) bullet the M118LR uses. Made of CNC machined aluminum, the flask holds 1.5 ounces of your favorite sipping beverage – which is one shot, a nod to the Scout Sniper’s “one shot, one kill” ethos. Only 762 will be made.
If you really want a show-stopping piece, check out the M40A6 Sniper Rifle Decanter. This thing is cool as hell. It’s made from stainless steel and glass and the rifle set within it is based on a scan of an actual issued M40A6 sniper rifle located at the Weapons Training Battalion armory at Quantico.(The M40 is one of the rifles in my story on the Best Sniper Rifles in Action Today.)
This robust decanter comes in a presentation case, weighs 10.7 pounds, and holds 1.5 liters of distilled goodness.
Marine Scout Snipers Getting Their Due
I’ve been fortunate to get to spend time with many Marine Scout Snipers over the years. I’ve shot with them in competition, I’ve hung out with them at the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico, and I’ve become good friends with several as well.
Their legacy is one worth preserving and celebrating and I can’t wait to see the memorial in person once it becomes reality. I hope you are willing to help too. It’s for a great cause and you might end up with a hunt of a lifetime in the bargain.