Does anybody still think the 40x is special?

[Tommie]

Does anybody still think the 40x is special?

Apparently so.

Any chance of killing this zombie thread now?

 

[dvraa]

I bought a 40X International Free Rifle in .22 rimfire topped off with a Lyman Super target spot equiped with the factory 2oz trigger. Most accurate rifle I own and is still accurate after more than 100,000 rounds through it. I'm s not very fussy on what you feed it either.

 

[ptf18]

I've got a repeater in 7.62 NATO. Fairly good shooter. Some people have mentioned the 7.62 Nato nomenclature and have told me that most 40-X barrels are marked .308

I've got a similar one. Later s/n with a Barrel Code indicating its a Sept 1977 model. I've only shot it off the bench while working on a load for it. Plans are to use it in NRA mid-range matches and maybe.... some XTC matches. Came equip with Redfield International sights...Front and Rear which are in excellent condition. Any idea what the finish was?

 

[distinguished]

I just read the sniper book about Chuck Mawhiney, and it indicated that the M40? was the new sniper rifle for the Viet Nam era. And those may have been the first 40X's -- I dunno. jd

They are Remington 700's. The military designation is M40.

 

[boltman13]

In about 2000, if memory serves I bought a blued Remington 40X from a fellow shooter for $800.00. It was a magazine rifle with a charger guide and a 26" bull barrel in 308 Winchester. I fitted it with a LPL target rear sight with an adjustable iris and an adjustable iris glob front sight. I shot X-course and 100 & 200 yard reduced course High Power for several years and shot my personal best 600 yard prone slow fire score of 194 with it. I never could master the reloading and bolt working in the rapid fire stages and have always been a below average off hand shooter. I never did that rifle justice. In about 2004 I loaned it to a junior shooter who used it to win the Junior Championship at Perry. He worked up a load with Lapua brass that really cooked for him. I decided to try long rang sling competition and drank the 6.5 Creedmoor Kool-Aid. I had a Hart 29" heavy Palma barrel screwed on and mounted the same iron sights I had. I told my smith since it was a 40X , the action was already true. Boy was I wrong. He told me it was nowhere near true, so he did true it up. I got all the way to Master with that rifle. I finally decided to give up sling as my scores peaked then fell off a little. I added a 30" Kreger heavy varmint barrel in 308, a 20 MOA scope base, and a single shot insert and shot F-Class mid and long range. After about 4 years I decided to go all the way to the dark side and restocked it with a Bobby Bell benchrest stock and re-barreled it with a Bartline heavy varmint barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor. I sold it to a fellow shooter who has shot it in mid range F-Class and 600 yarg Freedom Benchrest with good results. He is planning to change to 6 Dasher with a bull barrel sometime and will probably start beating me. I was able to sell the original factory 40X stock here for $400.00 delivered.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

In about 2000, if memory serves I bought a blued Remington 40X from a fellow shooter for $800.00. It was a magazine rifle with a charger guide and a 26" bull barrel in 308 Winchester. I fitted it with a LPL target rear sight with an adjustable iris and an adjustable iris glob front sight. I shot X-course and 100 & 200 yard reduced course High Power for several years and shot my personal best 600 yard prone slow fire score of 194 with it. I never could master the reloading and bolt working in the rapid fire stages and have always been a below average off hand shooter. I never did that rifle justice. In about 2004 I loaned it to a junior shooter who used it to win the Junior Championship at Perry. He worked up a load with Lapua brass that really cooked for him. I decided to try long rang sling competition and drank the 6.5 Creedmoor Kool-Aid. I had a Hart 29" heavy Palma barrel screwed on and mounted the same iron sights I had. I told my smith since it was a 40X , the action was already true. Boy was I wrong. He told me it was nowhere near true, so he did true it up. I got all the way to Master with that rifle. I finally decided to give up sling as my scores peaked then fell off a little. I added a 30" Kreger heavy varmint barrel in 308, a 20 MOA scope base, and a single shot insert and shot F-Class mid and long range. After about 4 years I decided to go all the way to the dark side and restocked it with a Bobby Bell benchrest stock and re-barreled it with a Bartline heavy varmint barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor. I sold it to a fellow shooter who has shot it in mid range F-Class and 600 yarg Freedom Benchrest with good results. He is planning to change to 6 Dasher with a bull barrel sometime and will probably start beating me. I was able to sell the original factory 40X stock here for $400.00 delivered.

good story. Helping young shooters is good for the soul.

 

[Lucky Shooter]

There were some of us who were misled into thinking the 40X's
were fine jewels from the Custom Shop. We did not realize the actions
were simply 700 actions to be used in a more expensive rifle-----some even
thought these rifles could run with custom serious BR riles.

In reality these 700's were a cut above the common 700's but far below
a serious BR rifle:
The stocks offered were considerably larger than std 700 stocks.
The wooden Range Master stocks were quite a bit larger and usually
easy to shoot off rests and bags.

The barrels were reportedly made in the custom shop and were heavier
than the 700's.

The triggers were different------many think they were better than the usual
Walker trigger.

I think my early 40X triggers were pre-Jewell and my first 40x used a Hart Trigger.

I can't help anyone decide if their 40X is "Special" or not but have greatly
enjoyed the ones I've owned.

A. Weldy

 

[dusterdave173]

At our local 22 match we get waxed every week by a few 40x rifles bought off the rack at CMP
Those guys have bought several each to find a shooter but when they do --it is lights out! All of those rifles appear to have been used at a Boy Scout Summer camp for decades before finding their way to a match in 2025 --so..Yes! I respect those 40x rifles

 

[CalFed]

At our local 22 match we get waxed every week by a few 40x rifles bought off the rack at CMP
Those guys have bought several each to find a shooter but when they do --it is lights out! All of those rifles appear to have been used at a Boy Scout Summer camp for decades before finding their way to a match in 2025 --so..Yes! I respect those 40x rifles

I've heard that the most accurate 40X and Winchester 52's are the beat up ones. The ROTC students knew which ones were the good shooters and those are the ones that got used the most.

 

[davidjoe]

I've heard that the most accurate 40X and Winchester 52's are the beat up ones. The ROTC students knew which ones were the good shooters and those are the ones that got used the most.

I’ve probably “stalked” both these rimfires solidly for a good 8 or 10 years now, but mainly the 40-X’s.

The heavy barrel versions are in theory the “least compromised” of all 40-X’s ever made. By this I mean that they all are dimensionally identical, externally, but the rimfire actions and barrels have far less metal removed from them internally. There is no front bolt lug raceway hollowing out the front half of the receiver because the bolt locks in the rear and lacks front lugs.

Consider that some identical barrels are “missing” the steel of a .338 LM case or more. Combine that with a tiny shot impulse, and the rimfire 40-X would actually be “built like” a .308 Win where the barrel and action are something like a straight 2-1/2 inches in diameter in about a 100 pound gun.

Yesterday I picked up a new Tikka TX1 in the competition type stock. I haven’t shot it yet. For some reason I thought it was barreled heavier than the synthetic stock version but only the stocks differ.

It’s absolutely dainty by comparison to the 40-X, even the sporter barrel version. This isn’t evident from pictures. And then there is all the plastic they use. The new Tikka will run close to $1,300 transferred to you, and so could a good 40-X until about this year. I really hope it and the used one I picked up do shoot well.

There are matches where they and a Begara (seemingly a better deal than a Tikka) can shoot against the other factory guns. No match will permit a 40-X with any barrel to shoot against factory guns, or a 52. The YouTubers are enamored with CZ’s in factory and tactical classes, with decent profile barrels, but they use rules that exclude even the Kimbers, and regardless of price.

I take these exclusions as a concession to these 50-80 year old guns shooting far above their price range.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

There were some of us who were misled into thinking the 40X's
were fine jewels from the Custom Shop. We did not realize the actions
were simply 700 actions to be used in a more expensive rifle-----some even
thought these rifles could run with custom serious BR riles.

In reality these 700's were a cut above the common 700's but far below
a serious BR rifle:
The stocks offered were considerably larger than std 700 stocks.
The wooden Range Master stocks were quite a bit larger and usually
easy to shoot off rests and bags.

The barrels were reportedly made in the custom shop and were heavier
than the 700's.

The triggers were different------many think they were better than the usual
Walker trigger.

I think my early 40X triggers were pre-Jewell and my first 40x used a Hart Trigger.

I can't help anyone decide if their 40X is "Special" or not but have greatly
enjoyed the ones I've owned.

A. Weldy

I own a few the early 40xs. I think they are very good at the right price.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

I've had two 40Xs, the current rifle is a 222Rem. barreled by Blagg Rifles in Pendleton, Ore. The other was special not because it was a 40X but because it was built by the best, Richard Franklin. It was a 6mm AI, and stocked by Mr. Franklin. I could shoot groups of 0.156 all day. I bought the gun to shoot long range prairie dogs, I had a spot in Montana theshooting started at over 300 yds. But, I lost my shooting partner and spotter, and my physical abilities went away. To nice a rifle to waste shooting paper, so I sold it. I had hoped to try prairie dogs at 1000 yds, but it never happened. Articles about and by Richard Franklin are on this web site. His rifles, as the articles say are very accurate and SPECIAL.

I am a big fan of Richard Franklin.

 

[rkittine]

I loved my Custom Shop 40X. Fortunately it got made by Dakota Arms after the the move from New York. They made it with a Jewel Trigger rather than a 40x Trigger and it is a single shot S/S with a Krieger 1:8 Twist Barrel in 6mmBR Norma not the Remington 6BR. No turn chamber with Free Bore set for 85-107 Projectiles.

Thumbhole Targeteer Laminated Stock from before the stock plant burned down.

Remington Custom Shop Hard Case and Bag.

20 MOA Burris Mount’s with Nightforce Bench Rest Scope and Rod Guide

About 150 rounds down the tube. Selling it do to medical issues.