Walnut stock for an M40-ish project

Im in the middle of a Remington M40-ish project. Rem700 barreled action, walnut stock.

Im particularily interested in your input on finishing the stock. Its an unused walnut stock I purchased from Numrich. It had what looked like a light layer of varnish on it which I am in the process of removing. Most of that has been taken off with the exception of a few areas.

I want the stock to retain its darker/grayish-brown look. I also want it to remain dull, no shine at all. And at the same time I'd like the wood to be durable/waterproof. It will be bedded with aluminum pillars and marinetex. A worry of mine is the wood treatments messing with the Marinetex bedding....

I plan on using this rifle for both hunting and for taking part in some midrange matches, so the stock needs to be tough.

Any thoughts and experiences would be greatly appreciated. I searched through the site a bit before I registered and it looked like there was an awesome base of knowledge to draw from.

Thanks ahead of time,

My M40 USP marked 700,
stock was made from a standard ADL..how i do my finishes is a guarded secret, i dont use Linseed oil ect, i use commercial stains and oil finish.

Just waiting for my pillars to get it in, then I'll bed it and finish it. I was thinking of using some Minwax, may just stick with BLO. Not sure yet.

Did you bed yours Chuck?

thx,

no, the original M40,s werent piller bedded.,
only free floated, they used marine epoxy or bisonite to bed them.
i used Bisonite, rifle shoots awesome,.and will never see combat..
i dont like piller bedding.

I wasnt going for an exact repro and used a 20" remmy sps tactical as the barreled action, so I went with the pillars. They've worked for me in the past. That along with some MarineTex, and its solid as a rock. I might see what some Redfield mounts look like on it, and Im waiting for an OD WWII Garand sling to arrive. But like I said its M40-ish, hence the Quasi-M40 and modern features combined. Got a couple coats of BLO on it now. Looks pretty nice all-in-all. Im starting to like this more than the mcmillan stocks Ive put on other Remmys.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...psmounts-1.jpg

i like the 20 incher..have been thinking on a rail type mount on my PSS. cant see me paying 300.00 for a base..my Redfield works awesome.
you can find a set of Remington 513T military sling swivels at Gunparts corp. the 1 inchers are the same used on the M40.
Remington found that piller bedding gave more issues then good, and stopped using them on the 40X rifles.
and found that floating the barrel worked much better.
i have a guy that worked at Redfield meeting me this weekend, with a so called box of green scopes..said he wants 500.00 for the box...i told him..i have cash waiting.
i do know they also made a 12 power scope in the same Green finish...hope i get one of those...will see.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chuckindenver

i like the 20 incher..have been thinking on a rail type mount on my PSS. cant see me paying 300.00 for a base..my Redfield works awesome.
you can find a set of Remington 513T military sling swivels at Gunparts corp. the 1 inchers are the same used on the M40.
Remington found that piller bedding gave more issues then good, and stopped using them on the 40X rifles.
and found that floating the barrel worked much better.
i have a guy that worked at Redfield meeting me this weekend, with a so called box of green scopes..said he wants 500.00 for the box...i told him..i have cash waiting.
i do know they also made a 12 power scope in the same Green finish...hope i get one of those...will see.

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Thx for the note on the swivels. I was under the impression they used Wichita Swivels on an M40 like they did later with the M40A1. But the 513Ts make more sense. As for your PSS, look at an EGW or TPS for a good alum or steel picatinny base. It'll cost ya around $50., and they're basically the same as a higher dollar Badger Ord.

Good luck with that box of green Redfields!!! If there are any with the tombstone rets in there that you want to get rid of, Im all ears....................

update on the so called green Redfields....
had 4 scopes. all early Redfields, all but one were 2x7 commercial scopes.
the 4th was a Lyman permacenter..
i did buy the Lyman, but let him keep the others..they were beat up anyway, and he thought they were worth 150.00 each... i payed 75.00 for the Lyman, it will look great on my 4 digit numbered 700..
someguys have a color blind issue i guess, i asked him were the green and grey Redfields were....he said...right here!! these are Marine issued scopes...
he was an expert, lol,, said he worked at Redfield.
maybe in the shipping dept...but not as a craftsman..thats for sure.
i doubt the guy knew how to use a screw driver let alone, a mic.

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like a gunshow salesmen, lol!!!

On the Redfield note, I think there were a couple accurange redfields floating around the 24hourcampfire website.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chuckindenver

i like the 20 incher..have been thinking on a rail type mount on my PSS. cant see me paying 300.00 for a base..my Redfield works awesome.
you can find a set of Remington 513T military sling swivels at Gunparts corp. the 1 inchers are the same used on the M40.
Remington found that piller bedding gave more issues then good, and stopped using them on the 40X rifles.
and found that floating the barrel worked much better.
i have a guy that worked at Redfield meeting me this weekend, with a so called box of green scopes..said he wants 500.00 for the box...i told him..i have cash waiting.
i do know they also made a 12 power scope in the same Green finish...hope i get one of those...will see.

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Just to get my fact straight. I have seen that the M40 swivels were 1 1/4. This is from different references.

Just to confuse me more, I called Wichata and the guy said they were the supplier t Remington. Well, they sent me 1 1/2 inch inside measurement rings.
They swear these are what they supply to the US Govt and to Remington to way back.

What is going on?

1 1/2" seems about right. Definitely not 1" swivels. I might be able to measure some originals within the week. All I have are M40a1s's on "returned" stocks.

1 1/2 wide to accept the adjustable slings, they didnt use the quick disconnect type swivles on the M40,s. not until the M40A1. then everything changed. stocks, barrels, triggerguard, extractor and so on.

Interesting topic. I have a Remington SPS Varmint in .308 that is just crying out to have this done to it.:super:

These might help.

http://http://www.snipercentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11137

http://http://www.snipercentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=34825


There is a sticky at the top of the DIY section about piller bedding as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chuckindenver

they didnt use the quick disconnect type swivles on the M40,s. not until the M40A1

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No official adoption of QD swivels until the M40a3.

Not even bipods, but one of my early McM M40a1 "return" stocks had the front loop removed and a non-pivoting Harris bipod installed before it's last camo painting.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff036-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff043-1.jpg
The stud is one I made- nothing in the hole when purchased! I'm guessing that the original loop was removed and the stud narrowed a bit to mate to the Harris. No other bipod pad fits the unpainted area correctly.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff040-1.jpg

Just measured seven swivels- I.D. widths vary a fair amount, but somewhere near 1 1/2" is nominal.

Winchester M70 sling loops for USMC use were about 1 1/4" I.D. width on everything intended for sniper or target work (not counting the ones purchased as base-stored "recreational/range/hunting" rifles), so maybe that's where the "in between" number originated.

BTW, here's two more early M40a1 stocks, the lower one's not mine- and has been sold, I think... The upper one is weird and kinda hideous up close, but it apparently is a transition stock from the early "smear" pattern to the more standard woodland. Probably was hidden under a coat of paint or two, but it traded hands a few times before I ended up w/ it.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff026-1.jpg

Sir, I've been looking for odd M40A1 stock variations, woulod you be interested in selling the upper "ugly" stock at a great price?

R/Mark

your aware that this thread is 3 years old right?

Yah, but i still have that stock.

Would there be any interest in starting a thread just on M40 stock variations?

thanks Jim...a "thread" is never too old if you answer...hahaha.:D
standing-by!!!!!

mark