Chuck Mawhinney Charles Benjamin " Chuck " Mawhinney ( born 1949 ) is an Oregon - born American who served in the United States Marine Corps as a sniper during the Vietnam War . He holds the record for the most confirmed kills by a USMC sniper , having recorded 103 confirmed kills and 216 " probable kills " in his 16 months of action . Service in the Vietnam War . Mawhinney , the son of a World War II Marine Corps veteran , was an avid hunter in his youth . He graduated from high school in June 1967 and joined the U . S . Marine Corps later that year — after the deer season . He spent 16 months in Vietnam , starting in early 1968 . On Valentine ' s Day 1969 , Mawhinney encountered an enemy platoon and killed 16 North Vietnamese Army soldiers with head shots from his M14 rifle . " It was the ultimate hunting trip : a man hunting another man who was hunting me , " Mawhinney told the " Los Angeles Times " . " Don ' t talk to me about hunting lions or elephants ; they don ' t fight back with rifle s and scope s . I just loved it . " Mawhinney sought to change the public perception about snipers , who he maintains save lives by sapping the enemy ' s will to fight . " My rules of engagement were simple : If they had a weapon , they were going down . Except for an NVA paymaster I hit at 900 yards , everyone I killed had a weapon , " he said . Mawhinney ' s one regret was the one that got away . " I can ' t help thinking about how many people that he may have killed later , how many of my friends , how many Marines . He [ messed ] up and he deserved to die . That still bothers me . " After a chaplain declared him " combat fatigue d " , Mawhinney returned to the states and served briefly as a marksmanship instructor at Camp Pendleton . Civilian life and recognition . After leaving the Marine Corps in 1970 , Mawhinney returned home to Lakeview , Oregon , married , and worked for the U . S . Forest Service until his retirement in the late 1990s . Mawhinney told no one about his service as a sniper , not even his wife . For more than two decades , his accomplishments as a sniper were almost entirely unknown — even Mawhinney himself did not know how his record compared to his peers . In 1991 , Mawhinney was thrust into the limelight when his exploits were recounted by fellow Marine sniper and author Joseph Ward in his book , " Dear Mom : A Sniper ' s Vietnam " . In it , Ward credited Mawhinney with 101 confirmed kills . This was controversial at the time , as it was generally believed that the 93 confirmed kills by the legendary Carlos Hathcock was more than any other American sniper . However , subsequent research showed that US Army sniper Adelbert Waldron actually held the record , with 109 confirmed kills . Mawhinney ' s documented total was found to be 103 confirmed kills , with an additional 216 " probable kills " . A third Marine Corps sniper , Eric R . England , had 98 confirmed kills . Mawhinney was then recognized as the USMC sniper with the most confirmed kills , and the second most of any US service member . After the revelation of his extraordinary record as a sniper , Mawhinney slowly increased his public profile . Following his retirement from the Forest Service , he began speaking at conventions and public events and attending national sniper shooting competitions . Mawhinney is a spokesman for Strider Knives , which produces a knife bearing his signature on the blade . One of these knives is awarded to the top graduate of each class from the USMC Scout Sniper School in Camp Pendleton , CA . , Mawhinney continues to speak to classes of professional snipers in training . One of the rifle s he used in Vietnam is displayed in the Vietnam Gallery of the National Museum of the Marine Corps , where it has been shown since its opening in 2006 . An “ astounding ” shot by Mawhinney has been recreated for the History Channel special , “ Sniper : The Anatomy of the Kill ” .