[weshowe]

Gents,

You've got to be kidding me! I can get a brand new G.A. Precision Rifle for that amount!

Ouch!

Wes

 

[WaM14gunner]

Even the personally shot and sighted in Mawhinney guns could be had for $5K. I came awfully close to buying one of those but last I looked their site was gone even though they still had some rifles left.

 

[boltaction]

Hello,
That's, a lot of cabbage for a remake of the M40 rifle. Unfired or not...with the box. Yet, there are some that will pay up to 2k for a wood M40 stock...on ebay.
It's been said, before. There's one born every day...

 

[Rifleman-7.62]

You could buy a 7.62 x 51 Fabrique Nationale Special Forces Combat Assault Rifle for lower than this price. Presently about $3,600 for that rifle. Remington 700 M-40 is not worth that price in my mind.

 

[HarryB]

Second one sold for virtually the same price over the last 2 months on gunbroker. In the collector universe prices usually do not necessarily track to what another “better” rifle might cost. The FN Special Forces Combat Assault Rifle in 7.62 x 51 is a worthy purchase in its own right, but will never develop the following the M40 series has…..

 

[Hotrod308]

There's a stock maker that will make a M-40 stock for under 200.00. It wouldn't be that hard to make your own version of the original M-40. I believe he also makes a Winchester sniper stock for same period long action 30-06. website Gunville.com

 

[black1970]

Plus the buyer has no feedback. First time buyer I suppose. Hope the seller gets paid.

 

[Random Guy]

I remember seeing one of those SSA M40 rifles and the neat box at a local FFL back in I think 2007. I think price was $1000 or maybe $1200? I thought about it, and went back to the store a day or two later after work, intending to buy it, but it was of course sold...but I still had an interest in a retro sniper rifle like that.

Fast forward to spring of 2015 a local collector (w/ FFL) called me and said that he just bought two of the Chuck Mawhinney "over-run" M40s off Marty at Badger Ordnance, and that he had "one or two left." Marty's price was $2k, which was a bargain in his opinion, even it lacked a scope and mount. He suggested I call him immediately if I wanted one, so 5 minutes later I did, and $1900+ shipping and I had one of the last over-run Chuck Mawhinney rifles sent to my local FFL. That week I also got on SWFA a special offer for the M40 Leuopold/Redfield green scope + BO M40 repo scope mount for $450 or $500 for the combo. I usually don't get this lucky, but in 2015 I was able to get this rifle and optic for $2400, as a completely 'turn-key' replica. It have used it the vintage matches at Quantico.

As an over-run, its not one of the rifles numbered b/t 1 and 103, but it's still a neat commemorative.

It's interesting to think that although this rifle is a 100% reproduction and lacks original parts, it has basically doubled in value over the past 6 or 7 years, purely due to interest in the M40 platform. Anyhow, it's a weird market for sure.

 

[Random Guy]

Many folks don't fully appreciate the time and cost of build a "correct-ish" M40. By correct I mean an early clip-slotted receiver, proper barrel profile with flat crown, and proper walnut stock, etc. (Original green scopes are cost prohibitive for most, so I'll focus on the rifle itself.) The most expensive aspect is clip-slotting the receiver w/ thumb cut, and finding the correct 'varmit' profile barrel with a flat crown (originals were not recessed). Repo M40 stocks are sort-of hit and miss, but good ones are typically not cheap (proper profile, swivels, brass pin, buttplate).

For example: My buddy showed me a replica M40 project that he started maybe 5 years ago or so, but lost interest in it. (He has two other M40 replicas), and offered this kit to me for $2500, which is what he had it in due to custom-made M40 stock, custom-made Bartlein barrel machined to M40 profile, and custom work on the receiver by C&H, (in the small box is a green anodized Hi-Lux scope). He also had the correct early "short" bolt shroud and flat/"tombstone" style safety (these are pre-1969 parts).

The machine work (clip-slots, thumb relief, etc) and refinishing done 5 or 6 years ago by C&H was $450+ I think...

The six-digit receiver is not in the 'right range' for a USMC rifle, but its close enough for most folks.

Custom Bartlein barrel made to M40 contour was over $550. No scope mount was found, but he was including this Hi-Lux 3-9x scope. The Badger Ordnance M40 scope mounts are around for a few hundred dollars. One can see the correct brass reinforcing pin in the stock. The swivels are also correct.

IMO, this kit was 90% complete and for $2500 was a very good deal for all these 'correct-ish' parts. Bedding was the main issue left to do at this point. I took these pics just in case. As it turns out, last week another forum member contacted me, asking if I knew of any M40 replicas for sale. I sent him these pics, and he decided to buy it from my local buddy. It will need a repo Badger Ordnance scope mount, find a magazine floor plate, and properly bedded, but all the hard/pricey parts and machine work is already completed.

I think the buyer is going to use a vintage black Redfield scope Creakoted green, instead of the repo Hi-Lux scope. So for $3k or a few hundred more, it will be a very nice repo M40, with an absolutely top-quality barrel and really nice stock. Hopefully he'll do a video on it once complete....

 

[WaM14gunner]

There's a stock maker that will make a M-40 stock for under 200.00. It wouldn't be that hard to make your own version of the original M-40. I believe he also makes a Winchester sniper stock for same period long action 30-06. website Gunville.com

Many of us have done so. I put mine together before Remington had its reissue.

 

[black1970]

Met a guy at the Tulsa gun show about 25 years ago. He had the table next to mine. He had several sniper rifles for sale. He told me that he did work for the USMC and he welded the scope mounts on several of their rifles because that was what they required. The guy look somewhat Oriential. Does anybody on here know if what he said was true or not. He had several snipers including Winchesters, Remingtons, and 303 British. All with the scope mounts welded on.

 

[usmcsgt0331]

Met a guy at the Tulsa gun show about 25 years ago. He had the table next to mine. He had several sniper rifles for sale. He told me that he did work for the USMC and he welded the scope mounts on several of their rifles because that was what they required. The guy look somewhat Oriential. Does anybody on here know if what he said was true or not. He had several snipers including Winchesters, Remingtons, and 303 British. All with the scope mounts welded on.

After the Vietnam War, the USMC analyzed the M40's performance in the field and they identified areas of improvement for the weapons system. One of the upgrades that was requested was a more solid scope mount, so the early transitional M40A1's had welded Redfield scope mounts.

The M40 used a Redfield 40X scope base and Redfield low rings (with 4 top screws), whereas the transitional A1's used either a Redfield 40X or 700SA scope base and Redfield medium rings (with 2 bottom screws). Even though the scope remained the same (matte green Redfield), they increased the barrel diameter and needed the medium height rights to ensure clearance of the objective lens housing. The Corps also purchased more Redfield scope bases with the new medium height rings, these were the 700SA bases (the original USMC M40's only used the Redfield 40X base).

The first few welded Redfield bases/ring sets were very poorly done, and the early welded mounts had random sloppy welds, pinned rings and epoxy filling in gaps. The welded mounts were soon standardized and had 4 welds per scope ring (the scope base's windage screws weren't welded). The 700SA mounts needed a channel milled into the front side of the front ring, which allowed access to the front receiver screw hole. All of these modifications were done by the 2112 armorers at the RTE shop in Quantico. These welded Redfield mounts were used from the mid 1970's to about 1982, when the Corps started receiving their new Unertl scopes and mounts.

In 1980, the Corps received 25 Unertl mounts for testing, but Unertl mounts didn't exist yet. So, these first 25 Unertl scopes were used with the welded Redfield mounts. The Unertl mounts were actually based on these welded Redfield mounts, but with added features like the integral clip slot and bullet nose lugs. As a note to collectors and rifle builders/cloners, if you can't find a Unertl mount for your early A1 rifle, weld the correct Redfield base/rings into a mount and use that instead. Hundreds of these welded Redfield mounts were used for the better part of a decade (with both the Redfield and Unertl scopes), so there's plenty of historical precedence and your clone A1 will still be correct.

I have about 2 dozen original USMC welded Redfield mounts, the vast majority have 40X bases, only 5 of them have 700SA bases. The earliest welded mounts have sloppy welds and other unique characteristics, whereas the rest of the mounts are very standardized in the way they're made. One of the best known photographs of a welded Redfield mount being used by Corps was featured on the cover of Gung-Ho magazine in April 1981. In this photo a Scout Sniper is using an M40A1 with a very early welded Redfield mount (we know it's an early mount because of the sloppy welds) and a prototype Unertl scope.

I actually have this exact welded mount in my collection! If you compare the welds on the front right side of the mount (where the front ring attaches to the base), you can see that the magazine cover mount and the mount in my collection are the same one. I acquired this welded mount from Colonel Chandler about a decade ago, so it's provenance is solid.

Here's one of the welded mounts when they became standardized with the 4 welds per scope ring, this one has a 40X mount (notice how the front receiver screw hole isn't obstructed by the front ring):

Here's one of the 700SA welded mounts (notice how the front receiver screw hole is partially obstructed by the front ring):

The 2112 armorers had to cut a channel in the front ring in order to access the mount's front receiver screw. Normally, the base would be screwed to the receiver, then the rings were attached. However, this obviously wasn't possible to do with everything welded together, so this is an absolutely necessary modification when using a 700SA base on a welded mount. The cut in the front ring was done before the ring was welded to the base, here's a photo of this modification:

@black1970, I have no idea if the person you met was an old USMC 2112 armorer, but if he was a 2112 in the late 1970's, there's a chance he could have made welded Redfield mounts (and possibly even the ones in my collection that are shown in these photos!). I'm not sure if I answered your questions, but I hope this information helps in some way!

 

[k9cubby]

Met a guy at the Tulsa gun show about 25 years ago. He had the table next to mine. He had several sniper rifles for sale. He told me that he did work for the USMC and he welded the scope mounts on several of their rifles because that was what they required. The guy look somewhat Oriential. Does anybody on here know if what he said was true or not. He had several snipers including Winchesters, Remingtons, and 303 British. All with the scope mounts welded on.

I've actually held some original welded mounts that Marty has on his desk at Badger Ordnance. I was unaware of it until he showed me the mount.

 

[usmcsgt0331]

I've actually held some original welded mounts that Marty has on his desk at Badger Ordnance. I was unaware of it until he showed me the mount.

Did any of the welded mounts have a 700SA base? If so, that one probably came from me. I know I gave him a 700SA version, but I can't remember if I also gave him a 40X version. They're interesting pieces of USMC sniper history

 

[k9cubby]

Did any of the welded mounts have a 700SA base? If so, that one probably came from me. I know I gave him a 700SA version, but I can't remember if I also gave him a 40X version. They're interesting pieces of USMC sniper history

I honestly don't remember. There were several various ones on his desk. It's been awhile. I was picking up an M40 mount from him for my build. If I remember when I go in to pick up my cans I've had on his books forever(divorce hit me; didn't want to muddy the waters) I'll check.