Anyone Shooting a 40x?

[sinister]

... why do some 40x have a straight bolt handle and some have the swept handle seen on most 700s?

Nice AI summary:

"Remington introduced the swept-back bolt handle on the Model 700 in January 1962. This was part of the overall design of the new rifle which included a more streamlined tang and graceful trigger guard. The bolt handle was further swept back in 1969, but changed back to a closer angle in 1974 due to complaints from hunters about their trigger fingers getting rapped when shooting magnums."

Previous to 1962 the 40X was closer to the straight bolt handle 721.

 

[flatland1]

The earliest 40X 22RF actions were based on the older M721 CF receivers & straight bolt handle, while the 40XB was based on the early M700 with the swept bolt handle.

ETA - I've seen some nice MB repeater conversions done just as you're describing to resemble a M40 rifle.

 

[RAVAGE88]

The earliest 40X 22RF actions were based on the older M721 CF receivers & straight bolt handle, while the 40XB was based on the early M700 with the swept bolt handle.

ETA - I've seen some nice MB repeater conversions done just as you're describing to resemble a M40 rifle.

Thanks, Dennis. I replied with an answer for @Jcaplinger199 but didn't see your response, which wrapped it up so nicely that I deleted my response.

I built quite a few conversions on the 721/722 era guns prior to the beginning of the Vudoo days. Not sure which version I prefer the most, but once the swept handle came out (on the CF), the angle changed a bit the first few years due to guys getting their fingers whacked because of the recoil of the magnums. Due to this, the angles for the rimfires followed suit so it was somewhat easy to see how early within the 700 line that the rimfire was made.

MB