Any M40 experts here?

[butchlambert]

Thanks Marc.

 

[243winxb]

From Google search- M40

The first US marked rifles were from the Remington factory. They had heavy 40X barrels. Used stripper clips, only the .308 receivers were factory-slotted for clips. Drilled & tapped for iron sights.The holes may have been covered by the wood stock on some early models.

The serial number is odd, starting with a 0 (zero)? The 5 digit guns didnt have the 0, that i seen online?

When the USMC started making their own, using, as marked, Remington 700 actions, they installed 25" lighter tapered barrels.

My guess....

 

[Panzer22]

The term M40 gets thrown around and gets confused. Remington made a Model 40, and the USMC has a Remington Model 700 designated as an M40. There is a big difference between a Remington Model 40X and a USMC M40. There is a small serial number range for USMC M40's that were 6 digit SN, with an even smaller number of 7 digit SN. also there is a very specific type of cut to the receivers, rear stripper-clip slot, right side thumb cut out, left side lowered, and bullet nose cut at the front, that make a "USMC spec M40 receiver" there is more to it than a stripper-clip cut and rear sight holes. 40X target rifles will not have all the cuts, usually just the stripper clip cut and thats it, and not all of them will even have that (A lot of older M700's also had a broach cut and not an actual stripper clip slot that gets confused with the latter as well) There are a lot of US marked Remington 40x's that were probably just used by the teams for target rifles, does not mean they were sniper rifles. The USMC M40 Rabbit hole is a deep one. Here is a good place to start SnipersHide post. Its more of a how to clone one but there is some good information in there, and will take you on your journey. It gets even better when you start down the M40A1-5 rifles. (and way more expensive... Just saw an original "return" M40A1 McMillan stock sell for $5000, and there's another on eBay now for $4999, and McMillan makes "new" ones for about $1000 or so if you get all the options.)

Without seeing any pictures of the receiver, Id say you have a Remington 40X that was marked for the US military and was most likely intended for use as a Target rifle for one of the Teams, and not a USMC M40 Sniper rifle. Doesn't mean its not rare or valuable, however.

ETA: I have a friend that is super big on cloning all sorts of rare Military rifles, and has access to resources beyond anything I have ever seen. I have done some builds for him in the past on original parts he sourced etc of some one off experimental rifles built at Crane, etc so if you can send me some pictures I can get them to him and he would probably know or can find out exactly what that is.

 

[butchlambert]

My barrel is .830 at the muzzle and 26" total length. Somebody mentioned the amount of serial numbers-it is posted above. Another thing mentioned was the distance of the US and serial number below the US. Mine is only about .030" below the US.

 

[Panzer22]

USMC M40 would have a 24 in barrel. Later M40A1-5 are 25, (24 measured from the recoil lug.. Marines do weird stuff)

 

[butchlambert]

USMC M40 would have a 24 in barrel. Later M40A1-5 are 25, (24 measured from the recoil lug.. Marines do weird stuff)

Normally barrels are measured from the breech to the crown. Measured from the recoil lug mine is 25"

 

[Panzer22]

exactly... weird marine stuff. But a M40 is a true 24 in breech to muzzle and not measured the weird way like the A1's etc.

 

[243winxb]

Mawhinney's M40 rifle is on display in the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

From a google search.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Mawhinney

Looks like the scope is resting on tne barrel? Not sure i trust wikipedia?

 

[davidjoe]

Sentimental about the 00’s? If you are 50ish and love rifles, an M40A3 is about the curviest most attractive gun on the planet.

I just got my Dan Ross steel bottom metal today. The stock was inletted by McMillan specifically for that floor plate and it fit up perfectly. That trigger guard dares a fall onto the rocks, the beefiest made. .Custom follower, standard box.

Let’s be honest, no one loves to hold a gun with a detachable box magazine while they watch television! If you don’t ever hold gun while watching TV, you are missing 50% of the ownership experience. A metal stock, sorry Gen Z, is an aluminum chassis that is missing, - its stock. It’s as ergonomically appealing as a picture of a supermodel’s X-rayed skeleton.

This is an early Tac 30, made by Stiller in Wylie Texas in that period, with a low round early Bartlien gain twist barrel also from that period, babied because it shoots so well and was chambered and fitted by a PA smith on the original list of recommended smiths on this site.

BIG US Optics from its heyday in that period. That double thumb platform is a McMillan exclusive feature as far as I know as is that particular cheek saddle.

Marines don’t get the good gear? Not here, the M-24 is a rugged piece, but man is it hard not to love THIS stock.

 

[PGW Steve]

Sentimental about the 00’s? If you are 50ish and love rifles, an M40A3 is about the curviest most attractive gun on the planet.

I just got my Dan Ross steel bottom metal today. The stock was inletted by McMillan specifically for that floor plate and it fit up perfectly. That trigger guard dares a fall onto the rocks, the beefiest made. .Custom follower, standard box.

Let’s be honest, no one loves to hold a gun with a detachable box magazine while they watch television! If you don’t ever hold gun while watching TV, you are missing 50% of the ownership experience. A metal stock, sorry Gen Z, is an aluminum chassis that is missing, - its stock. It’s as ergonomically appealing as a picture of a supermodel’s X-rayed skeleton.

This is an early Tac 30, made by Stiller in Wylie Texas in that period, with a low round early Bartlien gain twist barrel also from that period, babied because it shoots so well and was chambered and fitted by a PA smith on the original list of recommended smiths on this site.

BIG US Optics from its heyday in that period. That double thumb platform is a McMillan exclusive feature as far as I know as is that particular cheek saddle.

Marines don’t get the good gear? Not here, the M-24 is a rugged piece, but man is it hard not to love THIS stock.

You're missing the M40 forward accessory rail that I designed and built for the USMC.

 

[davidjoe]

You're missing the M40 forward accessory rail that I designed and built for the USMC.

I need one of those, Steve.

 

[davidjoe]

Steve, I want to thank you for reaching out. Your rail system is beautifully made. It just arrived after about 12 stops. The stock I ordered for it already inletted beat it here.

This is not bonded in yet and you would never know from the feel of it. Drops in almost by gravity, then has no slop in any direction. Always amazing to me how dimensions can be relied upon from different parts of the world when everyone involved is so proficient at their work.

Thank you @PGW Steve , and McMillan Stocks for continuing a fantastic model, one of the finest designs I’ve ever seen, and Charlie’s Custom Clones for putting items like this in your inventory!

 

[Panzer22]

Steve, I want to thank you for reaching out. Your rail system is beautifully made.

I just did the bedding and install of one of these on a M40 clone. These are way nicer than the Badger versions (not that they are used for this or are anything like them, but their version of a front mount.) . Of all the M40 Variants though I'm more of an OG M40 or an A1 guy.

 

[davidjoe]

Man, Texas weather can’t be beaten. It’s sight in day for my three finished M40’s, sans night vision on one of them. (Priced those, lately?).

Sighting in off the ground at 200, with no mat, by some animal droppings, because that all seems right for M40’s, and it’s honestly as fun as a match.

Being able to better a third minute of angle from barrels that came from the era of standard front sight blocks is such a respite from the frenetic and tenuous life of LR match barrels. I’m using those blocks on an M24 Army cousin of these guns with target iron sights.

Sierra 175’s hand loads with Nammo military 7.62 brass are shooting well at 200 yards in all three.

I’ll send some pics in WiFi

 

[davidjoe]

I don’t know at what age a gun becomes “fuddy” but this stock doesn’t seem “old” to me.

These are necessarily labor intensive, actual “by hand” production. The McMillan facility in Phoenix is an impressive combination of the analog and digital world, the latter being its inletting.

Short of forming a stock from a walnut blank with various chisels and draw knives, this would be the most time consuming method of production amongst the remaining methods of duplicators, injection molding and CNC milling.

Two are actual 40-X repeaters while the TAC-30 is not out of place completely as I believe Stiller had a Navy contract back in time.

The differences between this and the H-S M-24 with an aluminum bedding block are significant and interesting, given how different they are when the roles were the same, as were the cartridges, bottom metal/boxes and Remington 700 bolt actions. (Long action for Army).

When I put the Harris bipod feet in the dirt, the way this type of rifle was always intended to be used, it doesn’t hop about or move rearward. It’s amazing that even with such frequent shooting, this many years can go by between getting down to the actual bare ground, shooting.

 

[SteveUrban]

M40 on left, clone on right.