[Critch]

Did all the USMC M40A1 rifle use the Redfield Standard mounts or were there variations inside the corps on types of scope mounts used? I've seen many pictures of the rifles, and some have two piece mounts or 1 piece Picatinney style rails instead of the standard one-piece, however, since so many of these pictures are untitled I'm not sure if these are official USMC rifles all the time.

Anyone have experience with them?

 

[Critch]

And another picture I found:

 

[Critch]

Just to add to the confusion, this young man is carrying what appears to be a a Remington 700 BDL sporting rifle..I'm unsure of the scope...

 

[Big Bird]

Just to add to the confusion, this young man is carrying what appears to be a a Remington 700 BDL sporting rifle..I'm unsure of the scope...

• The original M40 was adopted in the mid 60s by the USMC and featured a Redfield scope--they changed that to a Unertal scope in the early 70's. The M40 was originally just a Remington 40X target rifle with some mods. The 40X is a target version of the M700 with a heavier barrel and a little more attention put into the machining of the action and chambering of the barrel.

 

[fnfalman]

Also back in Vietnam, they even used Winchester 70s.

 

[Taz]

Did 1913 scope bases even exist back in the 60’s?? There were A LOT of variations on the original M40 that were implemented without bumping the rev. Heck I’ll wager there were field mods made by folks needing better equipment and having family send them parts from USA.

 

[Bilrus61]

Carlos Hathcock use a pre-war action model 70 Winchester. I think it had a match stock on it but had the standard weight barrel. I think later he got the remmy.

 

[mikemyr]

Did all the USMC M40A1 rifle use the Redfield Standard mounts or were there variations inside the corps on types of scope mounts used? I've seen many pictures of the rifles, and some have two piece mounts or 1 piece Picatinney style rails instead of the standard one-piece, however, since so many of these pictures are untitled I'm not sure if these are official USMC rifles all the time.

Anyone have experience with them?

There isn't really a "standardized" kit, rig, or set up they use. They can literally do what ever they want with their kits and gear. The power of being OAF... So most things like that would be the individuals preference, what they bought, or requested.

 

[blueiron]

The USMC Weapons Training Battalion/Precision Weapons Section is responsible for these rifles. They constantly acquire, test, evaluate, and engineer what works for precision rifles. Unlike the Army, they do not acquire systems from manufacturers - they build their own and no two rifles are exactly alike. Each is hand assembled and hand fitted for given parameters that have shown proven accuracy.

A lot depends on when the rifle was built, what was available, and most importantly - what worked at the time of the build.

If the Marines ever surplussed them out, collectors would have a fit with all the variations. No collection would ever be "complete".

 

[Taz]

If the Marines ever surplussed them out

Stop right there and take my $$$$