I have had a hard time finding an USMC M40 Commemorative I can afford to purchase so now I am considering having something similar built for me.
What I love about the M40/what I want to build:
Monte Carlo style walnut stock without any fancy checkering or designs,
7.62 NATO/.308 win, varmint/heavier than standard barrel, M700 or M70 action
Light weight: I want something that is light enough to carry around the mountains of western N. Dakota and/or Montana, yet heavy enough to enjoy shooting and accurate enough to enter local long range shooting matches in the future.
Things I have seen that I like and think would be cool to build, this is where I really need suggestions, as I'm not a gunsmith and only know what I have read on the internet, and some of the things I am thinking of using I've never read of anyone else doing. I am not opposed to technological advances, etc (Pachmayr pad, aluminum bedding, protected muzzle crown) that make the rifle less expensive or improve accuracy, even if it means my rifle will be less like the M40 that inspired it.
So, I read the SC page about the M40's they used to make and I am using that for many of my suggestions. I like the way the Accurate Innovations stock looks and the fact that it has aluminum bedding.
Can a gunsmith aluminum and/or glass bed a barreled action in a standard walnut stock ($120-180 from Numrich) for cheaper than the $600+ it would cost for the Accuracy Innovations stock? And the rifle still shoot as well as an Accuracy Innovations bedding job?
I have nothing against Rem M700s, but I am curious if I could buy an FN action from CDNN (basically a Win M70 action I believe with a one piece rail, sometimes they have them with detachable box mags and/or hinged floorplates) and a
hot barrel from Krieger/Hart/Shilen/Schneider/Pac-nor, etc and find a gunsmith to put them together for me for a similar price to buying a M700 varmint rifle and selling off the stock?
What do gunsmiths generally charge for squaring and true-ing an action, and chambering/headspacing, etc a barrel to that action?
Would this M70 + match barrel shoot as well or better than a M700?
Would this be expensive enough/a pain in the enough that I should pay about $2000 for an M40 commemorative and love it?
Should I just buy a M700 varmint/tactical and send it to accuracy innovations to put it in a walnut stock? Am I dumb for wanting a walnut stock instead of just buying an entry tactical from SC with the B&C synthetic? I simply prefer the way a wood stock looks on a hunting rifle, yet want my hunting rifle to be accurate enough for tactical-like competitions at the range...
Rob
Thanks for your help!
_________________
What I love about the M40/what I want to build:
Monte Carlo style walnut stock without any fancy checkering or designs,
7.62 NATO/.308 win, varmint/heavier than standard barrel, M700 or M70 action
Light weight: I want something that is light enough to carry around the mountains of western N. Dakota and/or Montana, yet heavy enough to enjoy shooting and accurate enough to enter local long range shooting matches in the future.
Things I have seen that I like and think would be cool to build, this is where I really need suggestions, as I'm not a gunsmith and only know what I have read on the internet, and some of the things I am thinking of using I've never read of anyone else doing. I am not opposed to technological advances, etc (Pachmayr pad, aluminum bedding, protected muzzle crown) that make the rifle less expensive or improve accuracy, even if it means my rifle will be less like the M40 that inspired it.
So, I read the SC page about the M40's they used to make and I am using that for many of my suggestions. I like the way the Accurate Innovations stock looks and the fact that it has aluminum bedding.
Can a gunsmith aluminum and/or glass bed a barreled action in a standard walnut stock ($120-180 from Numrich) for cheaper than the $600+ it would cost for the Accuracy Innovations stock? And the rifle still shoot as well as an Accuracy Innovations bedding job?
I have nothing against Rem M700s, but I am curious if I could buy an FN action from CDNN (basically a Win M70 action I believe with a one piece rail, sometimes they have them with detachable box mags and/or hinged floorplates) and a
hot barrel from Krieger/Hart/Shilen/Schneider/Pac-nor, etc and find a gunsmith to put them together for me for a similar price to buying a M700 varmint rifle and selling off the stock? What do gunsmiths generally charge for squaring and true-ing an action, and chambering/headspacing, etc a barrel to that action?
Would this M70 + match barrel shoot as well or better than a M700?
Would this be expensive enough/a pain in the
enough that I should pay about $2000 for an M40 commemorative and love it? Should I just buy a M700 varmint/tactical and send it to accuracy innovations to put it in a walnut stock? Am I dumb for wanting a walnut stock instead of just buying an entry tactical from SC with the B&C synthetic? I simply prefer the way a wood stock looks on a hunting rifle, yet want my hunting rifle to be accurate enough for tactical-like competitions at the range...
Rob
Thanks for your help!
_________________
