CMP has a complete Remington M700 rifle up for auction. My guess is an M40 ordered in either 1968 or 1969 (6.2M serial block), possibly ordered by the Air Force or Navy. Appears to have a 1972 dated barrel which I suspect was a replacement barrel. Has the post-1968 “7.62 NATO” marking on the barrel. Rifle is beyond my pay grade, just an fyi post.
- Thread starter Random Guy
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That's not a 1972 dated barrel, the people at the CMP either messed up and got confused on the barrel codes, or they flat out have no idea how to read the barrel codes. The barrel is original, bot a replacement, and it's dated UDS, which is September 1969.
The M40 is 100% original, so it's a great example for anyone who needs a factory original late 7 digit M40 for their collection. However, this one has the most boring history that you could possibly imagine. It's an Army rifle (just like many of the CMP M40's that have been listed), and it mainly just sat around in storage at an armory for most if it's life before being transferred to the CMP in 2010's (that's when a lot of the M40's were shipped to the CMP, just like the USMC XM3's).
As with past CMP 7 digit M40's, this one was probably at an Air Force base at some point, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it was owned by the Air Force. Roberts Air Force Base could have just been a hub for distribution and short term storage. Roberts AFB, Albany and Anniston constantly trade stuff back and forth, so being at an Air Force base doesn't necessarily mean that it was owned by the Air Force. We can prove that with some 1911 pistols that were issued to various units in the Army, but the guns were still sent through Roberts AFB at some point. They're still Army 1911's, not Air Force pistols.
Also, this could have possibly been a rifle that was ordered through the Marine Corps. Again, that doesn't mean that the Corps used the rifle or even wanted it, they just had the contract with Remington for the rifles. I wouldn't doubt it if this M40 was purchased and sent to the Corps, then sent to the Air Force, then transferred to the Army for use. It sounds ridiculous, but this kind of stuff actually happened, and it happened quite a bit! This is probably going to be the history for many of the Remington factory original condition 7 digit M40 that you see pop up at the CMP, including this rifle. For the M40's that have been messed with, those will obviously have much different history than an original rifle like this.
Since it's an untouched Remington factory original M40 rifle (unlike a lot of the other M40's that the CMP has sold), this one should go for some good money. I'd say that $15k and less would be a good price for it, but I personally don't think that it's worth more than that (even though it could potentially sell for over $15k due to it's condition). It's a great example of a later 7 digit M40, and that's about it. The CMP probably has a bunch more M40's, so this could just be the beginning of it. We'll just have to wait and see what else gets listed in the near future, but the CMP has been pretty consistent with getting M40's listed recently.
We're learning a lot about M40 history right now! My friend might have discovered what happened to the hundreds of missing M40's after the Vietnam War, which is weird since the Corps only brought 100 of their 700 M40's to Vietnam. Chandler took inventory in the 1970's (serial number list is published in DFA volume 1) and hundreds of serial numbers are missing, and the Corps purchased 322xxx M40's in 1968 when they already had 700 M40's that were ordered in 1966. These missing M40's have been a mystery for decades, and we think that's finally been solved. We're also finding M40's with units that have never been associated with M40's in prior research. One of the M40 greenie scopes in my collection was actually used by the Navy SEALs! We're discovering modifications that were possibly done to M40's during the Vietnam War, and have never been published before. We've found "M40" type rifles used by the military, they're similar to M40's, but they're not actually M40's. We've found M40 configurations that have never been published or discussed before. And there's even more information that we've gotten permission to research first-hand and publish at some point!
So, M40 research is ongoing, and there's so much that no one ever knew before now! None of this information can be found in reference books or even my previous posts! I'm not sure when my friend and I will come forward with this information and publish it. Maybe we'll sit on it for our books, or maybe we'll discuss things in the forums. It's amazing how much M40 history has been lost or forgotten, we're quite literally rewriting the book on the M40's military history!
Also, if anyone here buys this CMP M40, please contact me and I'll send you the correct Redfield scope base for the rifle (for free)!
You need to publish that book with a ton of your color pics(!), I suspect it would sell well. I’d be first in line to buy it.
As for the CMP M40, my eyes might be deceiving me, but is that barrel marked “U W S?”? If “S” is the date code it’s 1969, but if “W” is the date code, then it’s 1972...I guess it depends on what character is month vs year vs inspector mark?
Below info might be where CMP is getting their info re barrel markings.
Anyhow, wish I could afford something like this...it’s original and in great condition.
As for the CMP M40, my eyes might be deceiving me, but is that barrel marked “U W S?”? If “S” is the date code it’s 1969, but if “W” is the date code, then it’s 1972...I guess it depends on what character is month vs year vs inspector mark?
Below info might be where CMP is getting their info re barrel markings.
Manufacture Dates - Remington Society of America
If you've enjoyed the features on this web site, you will enjoy a membership in the Remington collectors club: The Remington Society of America. Your annual membership will bring you in contact with those who share your Remington interests. Every three months you'll receive a colorful, 60-page...
www.remingtonsociety.org
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Thanks man! I know that you and other guys on here are passionate historians and collectors, so I'm more than happy to share most of the information I have! The barrel date question is very easy to answer, please let me know if if you have any other questions about this M40 or other rifles!
Here are a few pics of some of my original UDN M40 barrels, as you can see there isn't a 7.62 stamp on them. The U is the final inspector, the D is the month, the N is the year and 41 is probably the assembly number. These barrels are from a large batch that was made in September 1966, this is a very common date for original M40 barrels (there are also other original M40 barrels with different month codes).
Here's a photo of my original M40 (221235) with a receiver produced in 1966 and a barrel (UAR) produced in 1968. Most likely this receiver was an overrun that was in storage and then shipped to the Corps at a later date with a new barrel. The U is the final inspector, the A is the month and the R is the year, so this barrel was produced in March 1968. Notice how this barrel doesn't have an assembly number and it's stamped with 7.62 instead. The UAR is marked further down the barrel, leaving enough extra room for the 7.62 stamp. The 7.62 stamp wasn't an afterthought and the stamps aren't squished together. If a barrel has the markings squished together, then the 7.62 was added at a later date.
Here's the barrel markings on the CMP M40 that's currently at auction on their website. The U is the final inspector, the W is the month and the S is the year, so this barrel was produced (and/or proof marked/assembled) in August 1969. Notice how this barrel doesn't have an assembly number and it's stamped with 7.62 instead. What's interesting is the 1969 barrel date, since we normally see 1968 barrel dates on these 6257xxx M40's. If a collector wants an M40 from each year of production, this is a great opportunity to acquire a 1969 dated rifle!
The "WS" part of the markings is the date code, the "U" in front of the date is just a final inspector stamp which has nothing to do with the date code.. The CMP has their information mixed up, and I need to contact them and tell them how to read the date codes. Also, just look at the serial number itself! If all the other 6257xxx serial number rifles are in the 1968/69 date range, it just wouldn't make any sense for this rifle to be a 1972 production. Yes, Remington held back the 1966 manufactured 221xxx receiver on my original USMC M40 and built it in 1968, but that's a completely different situation and it's the only M40 know to have had this happen (which I've thoroughly explained in other threads/posts on this forum, so it's no secret).
I've posted extensively on the topic of M40 barrel markings. You can find a lot of M40 information in this thread:
https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/m-40-barrel-stampings-and-bedding.7118719/
I purchased this rifle from the CMP about a week or so ago and it arrived today! This is a very important M40, and I doubt that anyone could ever guess it's actual history and the units that it was used with! Now I need to figure out what the correct scope, base, and rings are!
https://cmpauction.thecmp.org/detail.asp?id=8509&n=Remington-Model-700-Serial-Number-6257272
Also, look at the cage code (top line) on this UID tag (photo below)! The middle line is the part number for the M40, and the bottom line is the serial number for the M40. The top line is the cage code, and I was expecting it to say Remington, but I was quite surprised to see this instead! A military contractor, L3 Communications (now they're L3 Harris), was in possession of this M40 for a while and probably supplied it to the Army.
Did they acquire it from the Air Force? Acting as an intermediary between service branches? Did they acquire the rifle from Remington on the original USMC M40 contract to supply to other branches? Did they request DRMO rifles and modify them to suit the specialized needs of other military branches or specific military units? Were they modifying rifles amd producing custom sniper rifles for the military like the DARPA XM3 rifles?
There's lots of questions, but unfortunately there's not many answers. The CMP also said on the data sheet (photo above) that there's a brass piece on the side of the receiver, but it's function is unknown. This is a pretty simple one, it's an RFID tag that was used for armory management. That's all, nothing more. I'm kinda surprised that the CMP couldn't figure that one out.
I don't buy much from the CMP auction site these days, but this M40 stood out from the rest and I had to bid on it. It wasn't cheap, but that's what these things go for! I'm extremely happy to have won this rifle, it's history is extremely unique and has given us insight into new M40 information/research that we never knew existed!
https://cmpauction.thecmp.org/detail.asp?id=8509&n=Remington-Model-700-Serial-Number-6257272
Also, look at the cage code (top line) on this UID tag (photo below)! The middle line is the part number for the M40, and the bottom line is the serial number for the M40. The top line is the cage code, and I was expecting it to say Remington, but I was quite surprised to see this instead! A military contractor, L3 Communications (now they're L3 Harris), was in possession of this M40 for a while and probably supplied it to the Army.
Did they acquire it from the Air Force? Acting as an intermediary between service branches? Did they acquire the rifle from Remington on the original USMC M40 contract to supply to other branches? Did they request DRMO rifles and modify them to suit the specialized needs of other military branches or specific military units? Were they modifying rifles amd producing custom sniper rifles for the military like the DARPA XM3 rifles?
There's lots of questions, but unfortunately there's not many answers. The CMP also said on the data sheet (photo above) that there's a brass piece on the side of the receiver, but it's function is unknown. This is a pretty simple one, it's an RFID tag that was used for armory management. That's all, nothing more. I'm kinda surprised that the CMP couldn't figure that one out.
I don't buy much from the CMP auction site these days, but this M40 stood out from the rest and I had to bid on it. It wasn't cheap, but that's what these things go for! I'm extremely happy to have won this rifle, it's history is extremely unique and has given us insight into new M40 information/research that we never knew existed!
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The UID tags came into the system at the end of 2005, so this rifle was most likely active then. A FOIA request to AMC at Redstone may yield interesting info. The CMP 1911a1 forum has the "how to" initiate the request, lots of 1911a1 buyers get quick results, as well as those buying M24 receivers from the Remington bankruptcy......Also Marty at Badger used to be able to access the data bases, which are behind the DOD firewall. Congrats on this unique rifle.....
Interesting. I worked for L-3, which was really a holding company for their many subsidiary companies. We did lots of "stuff" from special mission support to flying and training (then) current gen mil aircraft. Makes me wonder why "we" needed an M40 and what we were really up. While it's listed as Lexington, I'd suggest that was a corporate address and the rifle was really with the 101st at Ft Campbell.
Funny that you mention the M24 FOIA's, I'm actually the first person to do FOIA's on those loose M24 receivers and 3 of the 5 I have came back with provenance to various Army Special Forces Groups! After I posted them in the M24 thread, other people started doing FOIA's on their M24 receivers, and a few more Army SF receivers were found. That paperwork turned a $500 "C" prefix serial number receiver into a piece of US military history currently worth over $3,000!
I have some other sources of information besides the FOIA's, so I'm able to pull information from more than one area. Having access to information quickly can really help when stuff pops up for sale, but in the case of my recent M40 purchase I didn't need any extra information. Some stuff you can just get a gut feeling on and that's exactly what happened to me when I bid on this rifle. I actually found out the history of this M40 AFTER I purchased it, lol.
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Very cool, I'll have to pick your brain about some of the small arms stuff that L3 was doing at the time! Lockheed Martin was another contractor that supplied small arms, optics and accessories to the military. I'm the person who won the Gov Planet DRMO auction for the 20 NightForce Mil-Spec scopes back in 2019 or whenever. Those 20 NF scopes were actually supplied to the Army by Lockheed Martin, and then went to the AWG at Bluegrass Station and then to SF.Interesting. I worked for L-3, which was really a holding company for their many subsidiary companies. We did lots of "stuff" from special mission support to flying and training (then) current gen mil aircraft. Makes me wonder why "we" needed an M40 and what we were really up. While it's listed as Lexington, I'd suggest that was a corporate address and the rifle was really with the 101st at Ft Campbell.
You're close with the 101st guess, but it was used by other units......
I didn't consider AWG, but it makes sense since Lockheed has life cycle sustainment at AWG and Ft. Campbell.
It's not uncommon for contracting officers to authorize the purchase of contract required items (on an existing contract vehicle), either because the items were within the scope of work, or the contract had unused dollars or ceiling dollars available.
Wow, the M40 only sold for $8,900! That's a great deal for whoever won this rifle! If someone on here won it, please contact me and I'll give you the correct scope base for this gun. I thought that the rifle might hit $15k just based on condition and originality, so the winner got a killer deal on a very nice sniper rifle! While it doesn't have interesting history, this is a phenomenal example of a legit unmodified 7 digit M40! It's nice to see prices like this, I'm hoping this trend continues and the prices on these rifles continue to drop. The lower price point will help make them available to other collectors, which is always a good thing. I really hope that the CMP has more of these M40's available!
https://cmpauction.thecmp.org/detail.asp?id=8540&n=Remington-Model-700-Caliber-762-x-51-mm-6257199
https://cmpauction.thecmp.org/detail.asp?id=8540&n=Remington-Model-700-Caliber-762-x-51-mm-6257199