This is a virgin Remington 700 RR prefix stripped receiver. It has no wear marks at all and has never had a bolt installed. I pulled the barrel off this receiver for the previous owner 2 years ago. The barrel is new and un-fired. I just hand screwed it on for the picture.

This will be for Vintage Sniper matches. The stock should be an original M40 stock. I have the buttplate and sling swivels stashed away somewhere.

I'll need a complete bolt, M40 compliant barrel, scope mount, magazine, stock metal, maybe a new recoil lug and trigger assembly. Can I use an upgraded recoil lug in the VS matches?

Any advice will be appreciated while I comb through the M40 archives.















Tony.

I will be going with a Bartlein barrel.

Would this be the proper bolt? It appears to be new, unused.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://gunrepaircenter.com/F98079/[/URL]

I have the buttplate, but no sling swivels.


I forgot to include a picture of the brass pin in the left side of the stock.


The stock was damaged during my move in 2022. It had some serious dents.


I spent an hour or so steaming out the dents last night with a wet rag and an industrial heat gun. Here's the same spot after about an hour of steaming and sanding.


Here's another area that I'm working on. The dents were much worse but they're almost gone. After this, there will be no more dents. There were three dents in this image.


This stock is abandoned property. I was stripping this stock for a customer about 10 years ago. He was supposed to bring me the action to be bedded after the stock was done but he disappeared.

I haven't touched it in 10 years since I stripped it. It still has some stains I need to remove. I don't even remember how I stripped it. I might have used oven cleaner.




There is still some leftover bedding that needs to be removed by hand in some spots. I'm talking about the little bedding spots outside the actual intended bedding area.










I'm also thinking I should finish the action and bed the stock before I stain and finish the wood. No sense in committing all this time on a wood finish only to risk damaging the finish during the bedding process.

Realistically, I don't have the budget to go all-out on a historically accurate clone. I'll go with the Bartlein barrel and I don't mind using reproduction parts, as long as they're as good or better than the original. I just want to build a rifle that qualifies for the vintage sniper matches. I'll probably use a current production Leupold 3-9x40 hunting scope. I'd like to use the best trigger allowed, so if anyone knows what's the best performing trigger, please let me know.

Does anyone know where I can get the correct bottom metal, magazine, follower and action screws? I'm new to M40's and I couldn't tell what's right or wrong.

Are PTG bolts as good or better than the factory bolts?

Tony.

Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

I have always liked he M40A1. The Unertl 10X scope was bad ass on the rifle. US optics made a clone of it and Scmidt and Bender did a 3x 9 if i remember correctly. I can't wait to see the progress on this one. What color on the stain on the stock.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blue Dog,

Well, the project is coming along faster than I expected. I managed to get in on a group buy that had just closed over on Sniper's Hide for a Bartlein barrel. I PM'd Frank at Bartlein and he made an exception for me and got me in on the buy after it closed. I paid $400 for the barrel which included shipping. The barrel will be ready around July.

I sold off a M14 scope mount and bought a new Remington factory replacement bolt from PTG for $270 after shipping. After discounting what I made from the scope mount, I only paid about $60 out of pocket for it.

I have a friend who's really good with stocks and he's going to do the final finishing of the stock.

Here's all I'm missing for the build:
-Bottom metal and internal magazine (will source from PTG ~$165)
-Trigger (Will go with a Triggertech Primary trigger ~$165)
-Trigger pins
-Bolt stop and spring
-Sling swivels
-Scope mount and rings (Current production Leupold base and rings ~$70)
-Scope (will go with a Trijicon or a modern Leupold ~$300 to $550)

Other costs to me will include the blueprinting bushings and alignment rod to blueprint the action. (~$400)

After that, it's all just time spent spent on the lathe blueprinting the action and turning the barrel.

I'll probably start selling off some other M14 parts that I have to fund this project. But I also have my final personal M14 to start building and I have to prepare for that too.

Tony.