Antique and Collectible Firearms and Militaria
The Remington 700 M40 rifle launched a well-respected line of USMC sniper rifles with a history of continued employment in U.S. military operations from Vietnam through Iraq/Afghanistan. With the conflict in Vietnam heating up in the mid-sixties, the need for both trained snipers and appropriate rifles to meet the demands of the unique missions required in confronting the new, guerrilla style combat operations became apparent. After scouring military stores of WWII and Korean War sniper rifles, as well as military marksmanship rifles, the Marine Corps began a search for a long range, single-shot rifle from commercially produced arms. In addition to avoiding a lengthy design phase for a specific military sniper rifle, commercially manufactured arms provided both a reliable and quick supply of rifles and parts. Testing began in 1965 with a couple of requirements on the table: 7.62mm caliber compatibility and a simple yet durable design. Five different models, one from Winchester, a Harrington and Richardson rifle, and three manufactured by Remington were examined. Ultimately, the Remington Model 700 (also known as the Model 700-40X) based on the 40X target receiver, won out. Some sources indicate that, that in addition to the constraints mentioned above, the final judgement took into consideration Remington’s flexibility in accommodating other specifications desired by the Corps. Designated the M40, the first order contracted for 700 rifles with initial deliveries beginning in 1966. Quickly, shortcomings of the M40 became apparent as the harsh tropical environment of Vietnam took its toll on both the wood stock and optics and constant maintenance become required. By the early 1970s, the Marines began rebuilding M40 rifles by adding a few changes to the receiver, new stainless-steel barrels, McMillan fiberglass stocks, and replaced the Refield scopes with Unertl optics. Thus, the M40A1 came into service. Modifications continued through the years leading to the M40A3 (1999), M40A5 (2009), and the M40 A6/7 (2016).
The original, 1966 configuration Remington 700 M40 sniper rifles are fitted with Remington 24-inch free-floating, tapered heavy barrels of chromemoly steel construction, not available on commercially offered rifles until the mid-1970s. The short-action receivers are slot-cut for stripper clips (despite the fact that they cannot be used with the scope mounted) and conical “bullet nose” cut at the front of the port. In addition, a thumb cut was made on the right side of the receiver and a rail cut performed on the left side of all USMC M40s. All had early Remington tombstone safeties. Receivers are parkerized dark grey along with the barrels resulting in a uniform color across the components. The bolts were blued and electro-penciled with a number matching the rifle serial number. The aluminum trigger guard, butt plate, and floorplate are all anodized black. The internal magazine has a five-round capacity. The butt plate is hand fitted to each plain (not checkered) walnut sporting stock with cheek rest, pistol grip, Wichita swivels, and an oil finish. Rifles were originally outfitted with a green cotton sling marked ‘MRT’ (Mildew Resistant Treated) with steel hardware.
The original optics are Redfield Accu-Range 3X-9X, one-inch tube scopes with an anodized green finish (although in the early 1970s, the Marine Corps acquired some black replacement scopes) and almost all are within the F prefix, 57XXX serial number range. The Redfield low scope rings had four screws each on the top and were blued, as was the Redfield bridge base, with the latter electro-penciled on the left side with the rifle’s SN. The Accu-Range scope employs two stadia wires at the top of the view through the scope along with fine crosshairs, and tombstone range finder, which was made from a thin film and proved to be very susceptible to the tropical conditions in the field.
In addition to the markings already mentioned above, the original USMC Remington 700 M40 rifles were roll stamped ‘Remington/MODEL 700’ on the left side of the receiver, opposite the port. To the front of this, a ‘U.S.’ property stamp is found above the 6-digit serial number. Remington’s date code and ‘7.62 NATO’ are seen on the left side of the barrel, just forward of the receiver, and the ‘R.E.P’ proof is on the opposite side. The butt plate and stock wood under the plate will carry a control number used to keep the fitted plate matched to the correct stock after the anodizing process was completed (although the numbers will rarely match due to repairs required by environmental and combat induced damage to the stock). Scope markings will include ‘3X-9X/REDFIELD 1” TUBE’ on the left side, below the elevation turret, and the serial number on the bottom, under the windage turret. The eyepiece will bear the Redfield address marking. The magnification ring is numbered 3 through 9. Either ‘1-64’ or 1-66’ should be found marked on the bottom of the low rings and the base bridge will be marked 40X’ on the underside and carry the Redfield ‘R’ in crosshairs logo on the front right.
With less than a thousand rifles ordered by the Marines, the continued use of the rifles and conversions to the M40A1, plus the heavy use in combat and hostile tropical environment, limited quantities of these rifles still exist in the original 1966 configuration. To compound these limiting factors, only a small quantity were released into the collector market. While the Remington M40s do pop up for sale occasionally, they command a significant price due to their rarity. As a result, M40s entered the world of military rifle clones. Cloning is a hobby within the overall gun collecting market and lends itself to creating representations of firearms that are not only rare, but also modern military arms that are not legal for or available to the collector. The ultimate goal of this community is to replicate military firearms to exact specifications, albeit not fully automatic in most cases. This type of project can take a fairly long time as tracking down the best base firearm and then all the correct (or as close as can be found) ancillary components is a laborious process. There is, however, great flexibility in cloning that makes the hobby a good fit for all kinds of personalities and budgets. Base arms can be high or low end, parts might be fabricated or close representatives. Upgrades can be made as correct parts are found or the budget allows. Because of the popularity, and perhaps rarity, of the M40, Remington did produce about a thousand USMC M40-SSA (Sout Sniper Association) Special Limited Edition commemorative rifles chambered in .308 WIN in 2006/2007, but these are not exact copies and carry a collecting value of their own. The best aspect of cloning might be that one can take the rifle out to range without worrying about downgrading collector value or damaging a one-of-a-kind original.
Presented here is a Remington 700 M40 USMC sniper rifle clone, meticulously assembled and completed sometime in the early 2000s. Based on an original 1966 six-digit SN Remington Model 700 action, this rifle carries a great overall accurate representation of the original M40. The stock is a professionally reprofiled 1960s Remington varmint stock that correctly matches the shape and contours of the original and is outfitted with a correct butt plate, Wichita swivels, and MRT sling. Gunsmithing on the receiver, including clip-slotting, and overall rifle assembly was performed by Bill Corely, who made several M40 clones. Based on the original barrels, the 24-inch tapered barrel is a replication produced by Douglas Barrels, Inc. as a special-order item. Both the parkerized and anodized finishes are correct per the original, as are the hinged floor plate, aluminum trigger guard, tombstone safety, aluminum butt plate, and five-round internal magazine.
With the exception of the Remington barrel stamps (date code, R.E.P. proof, etc.) missing, markings found on the rifle are correct for the M40. ‘Remington/MODEL 700’ adorns the receiver, left side opposite the port, and the ‘U.S.’ property stamp is found above the correct length 6-digit serial number forward of the model marking. The left side of the barrel carries the correct ‘7.62 NATO’ stamping forward of the receiver. The butt plate is marked on the underside with a script ‘Mall’ over ‘16601/2’; the butt end of the stock is unmarked.
As with the original 1966 Remington 700 M40 rifles, the scope mounted on this clone is a Redfield Accu-Range 3X-9X with one-inch tube that was properly anodized green by ‘Toki Wartooth’, an expert in M40 scopes. The F serial number prefix is correct for the 1966 period and the view includes the two stadia wires, fine crosshairs, and tombstone range finder, which is labeled in 50 yard increments up to 600 yards. The four-screw low rings, marked ‘1’ on each base, and the bridge base, marked with the Redfield ‘R’ crosshair logo on the right and ‘700-SA’ on the underside, are correct Redfield components however they are a bit later variations than what the originals carried. ‘3X-9X/REDFIELD 1” TUBE’ is marked on the left side of the scope, below the elevation turret, and under the windage turret, the serial number is stamped. The ‘MADE IN U.S.A./REDFIELD GUNSIGHT CO. DENVER, COLO. Patented’ Redfield address adorns the eyepiece, while the magnification ring is numbered 3-9 in white.
