remington 40xb

[Jimm]

perhaps this is not the proper forum,if not, my apologies.i'm looking for some feedback on the rem. 40xb rifles (single shot) how they perform as received. any one out there have experience with rifles. also how long does it take to get one from the remington custom shop? thanks, jimm

 

[Ian M]

I have owned a few 40x's over the years. In my opinion I would save a few more bucks and get one of the gunsmiths who frequent this forum to build me a rifle. My most recent 40x was not a great example of rifle-building. After a very talented gunsmith rebuilt it we got superb accuracy, but everything he did I would have expected to have been already taken care of at the factory. Very nice single-shot action tho. I really like my 40x's after they have been rebuilt, trued, squared, blue-printed or whatever you want to call the activities involved in making an action true to the center of the bore.

 

[Jimm]

thanks ian , what is the comparison in costs for a custom built vs. a 40xb that has been trued/tuned ? my understanding is that the 40xb has an excellent trigger that is adjustable .also just to muddy the water a little more what about those cooper arms of montana rifles? they deliver the gun shooting one hole groups,this a gimmick? thanks , jimm

 

[Ian M]

The Coopers are wonderful shooting rifles, I have been fortunate to shoot several in various calibers. Workmanship is beautiful, all wood and all single shot actions so far.
I would not suggest buying a 40X and getting it rebuilt like I did. I just wanted to know what the custom shop did for that model. Some basic action work and cutting five inches off the barrel turned the .223 into a one-holer if I can hold it properly.
Hard to beat a good custom rifle, they just plain do a hell of a job.

 

[Jimm]

ian m, many thanks for indulging a newbie!i want to build a loooong range shooter. i also want to try and get it right the first time.i have been using the .300 win mag for some time now and have not experienced any problems with the cases even after 4 to 5 reloads. certainly ihave to trim about every third pass but other than that no diff than my .243 . my gun is old , ihave no idea about throat erosion etc. it shoots a 3 shot 100 yd. group of 1"outside to outside(iknow this is not accurate speak but i will try to improve.do you think i could benefit by having my rifle rebarrelled and truing / tuning done at a lower cost than a new rifle? also,can i send it to the gunsmith direct? so many questions, so little time, thanks ,jimm

 

[Ian M]

Jim,
If your rifle is shooting that well you are good to get into this game. In reality what most guys do not realize is that the scope is the thing that needs upgrading more times than the rifle when someone is starting out. An excellent rule of thumb is that the scope and mounts will cost at least as much as the rifle. To really enjoy the potential of your rifle you will need a scope with accurate, reliable, repeatable turrets - power can be from 10-15 power, you do not need more. As you get into this you will become aware of how important the turrets are, then you can decide on the reticle, then on what paralax adjustments (side turret or objective), then on a mounting system that incorporates additional elevation. You can go the Chevy route or the Cadilac route with optics - suggest you stay away from the real low end stuff because you will end up buying good stuff eventually.

Best advice I can give you is to find a suitable safe practice location, find a partner, get some targets, get some knowledge, shoot in windy conditions as much as possible, keep diligent notes and be prepared to load a lot of ammo. Hitting steel plates at 700-1000 yards is how we practice for our hunting seasons, my plates range from 6"x6" up to 2'x4'. Bottom line is to learn from your shooting, then skill will develope, then confidence will develope, then critters will die way out there.

Go through the FAQ and the search function and you will find a lot of basic info here to get you going. Ask questions, that is how most of us got into the game. Get your skills up to the potential of your equipment, then upgrade your rifle - by the time you are really getting into the long range game that .300 will need a rebuild.

 

[Dirtybob1]

Jimm: Take a look at Bob White's selection of used BR guns at benchrest.com/shooterscorner.com. I bought a used 40x in 6BR for about $1000 and it shoots in the .2's. If you want something that shoots better you will probably need to go with a custom action.

 

[Jimm]

ian, thanks,my scope is aleupold 3.5x10x50. i only use the the 50mm because my eyes need all the light they can get. it is my understanding that 50mm is the max the human eye can employ.please correct me at any time, i have long passed the time that i knew /or thought i knew any /or all things.i have made 12x12 inch channel iron targets that swing from chains on a horseshoe frames and scattered them around on my lease. they range from 160yds. to 800yds. the angles are anywhere from 35 down to 40 uphill. i am embarrassed to tell you that i figure holdover by on line charts/ballistics calcs. then range distance ,then shoot.no problem til about 700 yds. then it gets a bit messier.i only tell you this so you will understand how prehistoric my methods are . oh! and , i hope , how easy it will be to move me into the present. thanks, jimm

 

[Jimm]

dirtybob1, thanks for the info. what, if any, mods did you do to the rifle.

 

[Ian M]

Jim,
What you need to do is to get me to come out to shoot with you for the entire winter months (I am very tired of shoveling and blowing snow every morning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif - Saskatchewan is not a great place to live this winter!)

Seriously, l would upgrade to a good tactical style scope. Leupold makes a great 30mm model with about the same specs as you are now using except it has the big MK4 turrets. Believe they are now called MK4 LR's. 40 mm is fine, we do not get a lot from 50mm, we do get a lot more adjustment lattitude from the bigger 30mm scope tube over the 1" tube tho.

Get the M1 turrets, not the M3's. Then buy or make a simple data book so you can record all of your scope settings as you shoot different distances. Then establish your one hundred yard zero and start clicking upward, recording each one hundred yard turret setting out to whatever distance you are going to shout to. The MK4 turrets make this very simple and they repeat perfectly. Once you have the base set of numbers they will be good to go - each time you shoot 600 or 700 or whatever the first thing you do is simply crank on the exact elevation using the big turrets. MK4 turrets are as good as any, matter of fact they get better with lots of use.
Get a partner, you need to learn to read wind and you cannot do that while you are on the gun.

 

[Jimm]

ian, should you find yourself in this neck of the woods any time of year you can bunk in the . dungeon(spare bedroom)seriously. thank you for the outline of attack to improve my shooting.as funds permit i plan to invest in better equipment in all areas(gun,scope,reloading ,)and the on to palmpilots/exbal etc.ireally like the idea of a cosine indicator as well,whew! guess i better go to work to be able to afford all that,lol,see ya ,jimm

 

[Dirtybob1]

Jimm: I pillar bedded action and installed a Jewell trigger. Barrel was already cut down to 24 inches when I bought it. I use mine to shoot squirrels and am quite content with the acccuracy.

Like Ian says, you can spend alot of money to get match level accuracy from a 40X. There is a gunsmith by the name of Gordy Gritters that advertises in Varmint Hunter Magazine. He does a lot of custom work on long range guns, including 40x's and Nesikas. He seems to put alot of 40x's in the winner's circle. Gordy may be a good guy to talk to about the pros and cons of a custom action.

Dirtybob

 

[Jimm]

dirtybob1, are the barrels free floated on the 40xb? the jewell trigger ,what weight adj. was the rem trigger insufficient?

 

[Jimm]

sorry ian, but i'm easy to confuse!the mk1 not the mk 3 and then tou mention the mk 4 as easy to repeat(speaking of turrets here)on the 6.5x20 lrt leupold can i order different turrets and if so which one should it be?1,3,or 4. thanks ,jimm