The fellas at pre64win.com found something really special. The Army did buy and use model70s. Some for testing for sniping use, and some for use for rifle competitions. Van Orden preferred the Lyman for some reason,, so it is more correct to pair them thought Van Orden would provide other optics, like the Unertl or just competition iron sights, if requested by the customer.

Among the very cool rifles which came home with us this weekend is this Van Orden sniper rifle which was originally shipped from Evaluators Ltd to the US Army in Philadelphia in 1955. A bit of digging in the vaults of the last owner turned up an original and correct Lyman Super Targetspot scope to go with it. Lots more research needed to fully understand who in the Army was using this rifle and for what purpose, but this is truly one of the gems of our Lost Coast haul.