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Navy Trophy Remington 720
Ambrose
Member Posts: 3,225 ✭✭✭✭
I recently ran across one of these for sale and am curious. The story that I've heard many times is that at the outbreak of WWII, with the scarcity of rifles, the Navy acquired ("seized" may be a better word) the entire stock of .30/06 (barrel marked "SPRINGFIELD .30 CAL. 1906") Model 720 rifles. These rifles have the crossed canons and inspectors initials on them. But they were never issued or used and, later, NIB, were awarded as shooting match trophies. My question is: Why weren't other .30/06 rifles taken as well. Winchester must have had some unsold Model 70's; Savage was still making their Models 40 & 45 in .30/06. There were probably even some unsold Winchester Model 54's and Remington Model 30's in their inventories. Yet I have never heard or read of any .30/06 sporting rifles other than the 720 acquired by the WWII military. I wonder why.
Comments
These rifles so rarely come up now days for sale, you were lucky to get a chance to buy one. I haven't seen one on any website listed for quite a while. When I did a Google search earlier this month, I found one that had sold at a auction site for over $8,000 in June. At another auction site, one was bid up to over $3,000, but the seller withdrew it because the bids were not close to the hidden minimum. Both listings were rifles in their original boxes, accessories and paperwork.
On the rare occasion I take out my M-720 and consider selling it, I marvel at the level of craftsmanship and skill that is reflected in this awesome rifle. I usually just land up putting back in the safe feeling like Golum in the Lord of Rings mumbling about "my precious".
I recently ran across one of these for sale and am curious. The story that I've heard many times is that at the outbreak of WWII, with the scarcity of rifles, the Navy acquired ("seized" may be a better word) the entire stock of .30/06 (barrel marked "SPRINGFIELD .30 CAL. 1906") Model 720 rifles. These rifles have the crossed canons and inspectors initials on them. But they were never issued or used and, later, NIB, were awarded as shooting match trophies. My question is: Why weren't other .30/06 rifles taken as well. Winchester must have had some unsold Model 70's; Savage was still making their Models 40 & 45 in .30/06. There were probably even some unsold Winchester Model 54's and Remington Model 30's in their inventories. Yet I have never heard or read of any .30/06 sporting rifles other than the 720 acquired by the WWII military. I wonder why.
Well, a couple of crates of old Winchester model 94 30-30's was recently discovered in a Navy warehouse, still in new unopened condition.
I think that the various military branches did buy up some sporting rifles, mainly to use as guard guns. I would imagine that nearly all of the sporting guns mentioned have been purchased by the Government in some quantity.
It was my understanding that these were built to economically beat the Winchester 70.
As far as why the Navy nabbed these and not anything else in it's class of the time is pretty shaky/shady/downright snakey. Because at the same time this was happening, Winchester was getting turned down by the Marines and the Army to build a top notch sniper rifle out of the M70. It might be another case of getting everything you can when you know there's going to be a shortage. Makes me think of the supply sergeant in WWII Germany that caught a .45 in the skull when he thought blankets & ammo should be at a premium....
Bottom line is they were the best built rifle Remington ever made!
ONE was given each year at Camp perry to top Navy combined Rifle and P shooter pistol I know a person that won at least 3 and i seem to remember hearing the fourth one the year after I retired.
The award rifle I have was one of five or six that one person had received while in Hawaii.
Todd