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dang. those look incredible. Not sure if the pictures I posted come through well or not, but the barrel is pebbly to the touch.

Is your bring back one of these "smear" stocks I've been reading about since last night?


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It's a return stock but not one of the early smears.

As for the barrel rough finish, it looks like it was turned on a lathe with the feed rate sped up.

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I have a little more than passing knowledge about the M40A1's. Fairly certain yours is a clone. The stock with the textured grip is not correct. Someone said they should mostly be smears. Not correct. Most were the later woodlands. Early smears are more uncommon and are sought out.
E prefix could be correct as receivers were bought in batches over the years to replace worn out or damaged receivers.
It was also mentioned that the bolt shroud should be the early short shroud. Not correct. The M40's used the short shroud of the period. I've not seen a short shroud M40A1.
Lastly, it's hard to tell from the photos, but the metal finish appears to be sprayed on (cerakote?). That would not be USMC finish.

Lots of information on various sites out there. Some of it accurate and some not.

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Originally Posted by ChrisF
It was also mentioned that the bolt shroud should be the early short shroud. Not correct. The M40's used the short shroud of the period. I've not seen a short shroud M40A1.
Lastly, it's hard to tell from the photos, but the metal finish appears to be sprayed on (cerakote?). That would not be USMC finish.

You do realize the M40 actions were used when the Marines upgraded to the M40A1 ???

Yes, the OP’s rifle appears to be baked a on finish, it should be a black oxide finish.

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Yes I do...but the shrouds were replaced either during the conversion or over the years.

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I see the rifle at hand is marked 7.62 NATO.

Is it safe to assume the originals were chambered to this 'loose' spec to accommodate any suitable ammo, field conditions and so on?

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[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Quote
You do realize the M40 actions were used when the Marines upgraded to the M40A1 ???
I have a cool story about an old M40 that was still in service as an A1 when it was realized that it was the M40 that was issued to Chuck Mawhinney. It happened to be in the shop for work, and was immediately pulled from service and ultimately restored to Vietnam War era condition (including replacing the current shroud with an early short shroud).

Last edited by ChrisF; 05/20/23.
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Thought you were inquiring about the M40 from the days of my youth. AKA the 106mm recoilless rifle. My answer would have been "yes".

I'll leave you to it.


I am..........disturbed.

Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain


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Nice rifle. Any pictures of the bottom metal?


Too close for irons, switching to scope...
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Sure, I can take a picture of the bottom metal.

Thanks again, everyone.

Regarding the slotting for stripper clips, is this a pretty straightforward task for a gunsmith, or would there a be concise group of smiths and builders that offer such modifications? Trying to pin down who built it


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Correct term is lug slotting. A1s were slotted for the lugs on the Unertl scope base. Hand fitted. Original M40 receivers that had stripper clip slots would have been converted to A1 specs. There's a diagram out there showing how to mill one in the receiver. Don't believe it's too difficult as long as you know what to do as a smith.

Several different barrel manufacturers were used during the lifetime of the A1. Since this is a clone it depends on what timeframe they were looking to clone. Schneider would have been late 90s time frame. Basically rebarrels at that time before being converted to A3s. I have two rifles built on Schneider barrels and one actual contract barrel I haven't used yet. There is a difference in all three in regards to the rough finish he left on them. One of the barrels I cerakoted and it still can be used as a file. The other two are not as rough. The barrel used on my A1 clone looks like yours. Still some roughness on the barrel but whatever was used as a coating covers it up. It is not black oxided as it should be.

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