Founded 1934 | Industry Optics and lenses Defunct 2008 | |
 | ||
Key people John Unertl Jr., Col. Rocky Greene Parent organization 21st Century Technologies, Inc. | ||
Unertl Optical Company, Inc. was a manufacturer of telescopic sights in the United States from 1934 until 2008. They are known for their 10× fixed-power scopes that were used on the Marine Corps' M40 rifle and made famous by Marine Corps Scout Sniper, Carlos Hathcock, during the Vietnam War.
Contents
History
John Unertl founded the John Unertl Optical Company in 1934 and the company manufactured military sniper scopes during World War II. The company was most notable for its MST-100 (7.62mm) and MST-150 (.50 caliber) 10× scope used by the USMC Scout-Sniper program and the first scope to use a Mil-Dot reticle. In 2002 the company was purchased by 21st Century Technology, Inc. (owned by Col. Rocky Greene) and the headquarters was moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. In the early 2000s the Marine Corps began phasing out Unertl Scopes in favor of other scopes like the Schmidt & Bender 3–12×50 Police Marksman II LP. By 2006 the company had begun marketing firearms in addition to their line of scopes including a civilian copy of the Marine Corps MEU(SOC) pistol and the M40A3 Sniper Rifle. By 2008 the company had closed its doors.