Anyone Shooting a 40x?

N

noremorse92

Sergeant of the Hide
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Sep 4, 2023
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Canada
#1
I picked up this old 40x 22lr at a show last weekend. Been keeping my eyes peeled for one for a while. Definitely did not get a 'deal' but I never see these for sale and wanted it.

It came with the redfield Olympics which worked great at 25 yards, 1 hole basically.

I put my NXS on it for 50 and 100yds and it didn't disappoint. Shot a whole box of tac22 into a 1.5 inch group at 100 with most rounds into an inch.

Who else is shooting one still? Yes I refinished the stock, the original varnish was very ugly.
 

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#3
oldrifleman said:
Try a box of SK Rifle Match, I bet it will tighten right up. They are wonderful rifles.
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Yeah I need to get a few boxes of some higher end stuff for sure. Especially for 100yd shooting.

I agree, it's really a high quality rifle. It feels tight and solid like a custom action when you work the bolt; you can tell the tolerances were held very tight when it was machined. The inletting on the stock is excellent too.

The serial is under 0350, so it's one of the first ones off the line. It needs a Unertl and a new buttpad and it's 'perfect'.
 
#7
D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷ said:
I’ve often wondered how they stack up against the new kids on the block ….. RimX /Vudoo
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I think after a certain degree of precision in machining it comes down to the ammo and the shooter on any given day.

I've had days where I shot so well with a known load and rifle and the next time I shoot i try and duplicate that day it goes to shit from the first shot. It's almost always the operator, past a certain level of ammo and rifle.

I'm hoping to find a period correct Unertl for this rifle and see how it does in the local 100yd BR comp against the high dollar rigs. Not that this was a cheap rifle by any means.
 
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#9
I have had mine for many many years , it loves CCI SV . What ever you choose to send down the pipe , stay with the same ammo . Mine is dressed as an 66 vintage M40 . It shoots as well as any new rifle being produced . Mine is a 3 digit serial number .

Just always remember they were built by an American worker , going to work to provide and raise their family . They had the upmost pride in the products they produced . You have one of the old good produced , guns . Get adjusted to ammo and shooting it and it will be like mine , never for sale .
 
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#10
Deathrowdave said:
I have had mine for many many years , it loves CCI SV . What ever you choose to send down the pipe , stay with the same ammo . Mine is dressed as an 66 vintage M40 . It shoots as well as any new rifle being produced . Mine is a 3 digit serial number .

Just always remember they were built by an American worker , going to work to provide and raise their family . They had the upmost pride in the products they produced . You have one of the old good produced , guns . Get adjusted to ammo and shooting it and it will be like mine , never for sale .
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When I was younger I was on the look out for one but never really found one when I had the cash. Congratulations on a great rifle.
 
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#11
Deathrowdave said:
I have had mine for many many years , it loves CCI SV . What ever you choose to send down the pipe , stay with the same ammo . Mine is dressed as an 66 vintage M40 . It shoots as well as any new rifle being produced . Mine is a 3 digit serial number .

Just always remember they were built by an American worker , going to work to provide and raise their family . They had the upmost pride in the products they produced . You have one of the old good produced , guns . Get adjusted to ammo and shooting it and it will be like mine , never for sale .
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You are right that I'll probably never sell it. I buy and sell a lot of guns but there's something special with this one.

If it ever needs a replacement barrel it will definitely be a clone of the factory barrel.

The guy I got it from shot less than 2 boxes out of it in the 35 years he'd had it. He also has 3 or 4 more apparently. Older fellow in a wheelchair, doesn't shoot much anymore I suspect. He told me to come visit him any time and to bring cash lol
 
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#13
noremorse92 said:
See, now I want to find a 222 version to go with this one. I think they're either all shot up or in collectors safes. Everyone I meet who has 1 has more than 1..
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Having owned a few and shot a few buddies'.....your wasting time. Go get an old small bolt face 700 action and have .222 barrel spun up. Slap a aftermarket trigger in and bed a stock. I've personally wanted a .17 Rem repeater. Waiting for a real 40X to wander by isn't all it's cracked up to be compared to what we commonly build now.
 
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#21
noremorse92 said:
Nice looking rifles guys! I think we all owe it to ourselves to shoot these old rifles more often
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Your 40-x is a fine looking specimen, Noremorse!

I shoot my 40X's in a weekly small bore club match. One week we shoot 50 yards and the next 100 yards. One of my 40x's is set up for the 100y and the other for the 50y.

Many of the guys use Winchester 52's, a few use Anschutz's, and a few more use CZ's.

AFAIK I'm the only one using 40x's.
 
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#22
noremorse92 said:
I'm hoping to find a period correct Unertl for this rifle and see how it does in the local 100yd BR comp against the high dollar rigs. Not that this was a cheap rifle by any means.
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I bet it will shoot just fine with the Unertl

I've got a BSA Martini that I mounted an old style Lyman Super Targetspot on. It shoots pretty well.

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50 yards with different ammo

3cQ8QFj.jpg
 
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#23
Calfed said:
Your 40-x is a fine looking specimen, Noremorse!

I shoot my 40X's in a weekly small bore club match. One week we shoot 50 yards and the next 100 yards. One of my 40x's is set up for the 100y and the other for the 50y.

Many of the guys use Winchester 52's, a few use Anschutz's, and a few more use CZ's.

AFAIK I'm the only one using 40x's.
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How is it stacking up against the modern rifles? Have you managed to test it vs say a vudoo or rimx?
 
#25
obx22 said:
View attachment 8648200
My ‘ol 40XB hasn’t been out of the safe nearly enough. Have taken it to 400+ but the tightest group I remember was with a buddy punching 200, 5 rounds into an inch (and you wouldn’t believe the ammo).
Love that M-Lok nuts fit the accessory rail just fine 👍
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That's a beauty sir! What scope have you got on it there??
 
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#27
noremorse92 said:
I picked up this old 40x 22lr at a show last weekend. Been keeping my eyes peeled for one for a while. Definitely did not get a 'deal' but I never see these for sale and wanted it.

It came with the redfield Olympics which worked great at 25 yards, 1 hole basically.

I put my NXS on it for 50 and 100yds and it didn't disappoint. Shot a whole box of tac22 into a 1.5 inch group at 100 with most rounds into an inch.

Who else is shooting one still? Yes I refinished the stock, the original varnish was very ugly.
Click to expand...

What a nice looking and shooting piece of history! What did you use to refinish the stock? I love the color.
 
#28
KYAggie said:
What a nice looking and shooting piece of history! What did you use to refinish the stock? I love the color.
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I stripped it, sanded to 600 grit. Then used minwax dark walnut stain, 2 coats. Then sanded in 3 coats of boiled linseed oil with varying grits up to 2000 grit. Then I buffed it with a rag. That's about it I think
 
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#34
I was fortunate enough to be qualified to purchase two 40XBs & a single old 40X from the CMP from 2004-2007. The prices were right - in the $385 range, and the two heavy 40XBs were in really nice shape, and both shot really well at 50-100yds with the Lapua made Wolf Match Target & Match Extra I was shooting back then. I let a good friend have one of the 40XBs, and wound up pulling the bbls off the other two, then sending the actions off to Jonathan Elrod at Modocam Rifles for the conversion to repeaters using V22 magazines. I did the machine work to install a Lilja titebore on the converted 40XB, and did the same with a Benchmark blank for the 40X. Both shot very well with these custom barrels that I chambered with an EPS reamer, and I shot them in PRS-type 22rf matches at a semi-local club, being well pleased with both of them. When Vudoo released their Gen 1 actions, I bought one of the early ones and put a Krieger in sendero profile on it. The Vudoo was every bit as accurate - probably a bit better - than either of the converted 40Xs, and it ran smoother. Kinda makes me wish I'd have kept the 40XB in its original state as a single shot target rifle, but it's still an absolute hammer as a repeater with good lots of SK Rifle Match & Lapua Center-X. Photo is of the 40XB with 26" Lilja titebore bbl, in a Manners T4A in woodland camo w/mini-chassis, and Athlon Cronus scope. That Lilja bbl is one of the most accurate barrels I've done for any of my rifles, but it needs wiped out with Ed's Red every 125~ rounds to maintain that accuracy.
 

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#37
My 40X started out as a 40XB in 1962 that I bought in maybe 2010. I shot it with irons for a long time. But it was never good at 100. I finally got a borescope and sure enough almost half way down the barrel was a big patch of rust (looked black). So I had it rebarreled and now it shoots less than 1 moa at 100. Unfortunately I have to say it still doesn't beat my 1962 Anschutz 54 (Model Match) that I also had rebarreled or my CZ457 MTR.

I shoot this match at 100 yards that is based on the 1000 yard Palma match scaled down to 100 yards. So the bulls have decreasing 10 rings. The equivalent 800 yard target is a 1.95 10 ring, the 900 is 1.75 10 ring and the 1000 is 1.55 10 ring. They do 2 classes of Palma (slinged in) and F-class. AT 76 I shoot f-class and I have shot to first place with all 3 of my guns.

But I have to say that my heart is for the 40X. Sorry the only pictures I have of it is some I had taken for explaining how I set up the stock for benchrest. And no this was not my original stock. This was a $25 mess. The original was saved.

David
 

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