Looking for a rifle / or return stock for an old Sniper

[03MC11]

All,
A good friend of mine was in STA in the 80's his armory card says his issued M40A1 was serial #221508. Wasn't sure if there is a list of return stock numbers that went into private hands and or rifles that sold on CMP. He often talks about his rifle and wanted to see if its out in the civilian world.

 

[LeftyJason]

All,
A good friend of mine was in STA in the 80's his armory card says his issued M40A1 was serial #221508. Wasn't sure if there is a list of return stock numbers that went into private hands and or rifles that sold on CMP. He often talks about his rifle and wanted to see if its out in the civilian world.

Better to also ask in Vintage. The knowledgeable individuals hang out there.

 

[Rookie]

Near miss!

As you may know only the last 4 digits of the rifle's serial number were written in the barrel channel of the stock. So even a 1508 stock wouldn't guarantee it was for his rifle. However mine is only 7 digits off at 1515. I wonder if your friend might know who had it?

When the return stocks were originally sold I reached out to the USMC museum about any documentation of who carried them or where they went but was told that all records were destroyed.

 

[USMCSGT0331]

All,
A good friend of mine was in STA in the 80's his armory card says his issued M40A1 was serial #221508. Wasn't sure if there is a list of return stock numbers that went into private hands and or rifles that sold on CMP. He often talks about his rifle and wanted to see if its out in the civilian world.

There is no serial number list to the smear stocks, so there's no way to know if his stock is out there somewhere. Original USMC used M40A1 smear stocks are pretty rare, and can easily sell for $5,000+ if it has the original Winchester M70 modified bottom metal with it. The stocks rarely pop up for sale, maybe 1 every year or 2 is the current public appearance. Trades and sales between high level collectors are more frequent, but those are never publicized.

If your friend wants a turnkey build with an original USMC used M40A1 smear stock, GA Precision has one for sale on their website right now. The price is pretty much market value when you breakdown the individual parts and price them out. However, that's assuming that the Unertl scope mount is a replica that's valued at about $500. If the scope mount on this rifle is an original USMC used Unertl M40A1 MST-100 scope mount, the value of this kit increases by another $4,000! The rifle is priced at $12,000, but could be worth $16,000 if that's a real USMC Unertl scope mount and it can be proven to be real. Right now the USMC used Unertl MST-100 scope mounts sell for about $4,000 to $4,500. I know of at least 3 or 4 of these original scope mounts that have sold in that exact price range in the past 2 years. So, if your friend could verify the authenticity of that item, this rifle package could be an amazing deal and would be worth buying!

Here's a link to the rifle that GAP is selling, please pass this link and information over to your friend:

https://www.gaprecision.net/rifles-ready-to-ship/usmc-m40a1-package.html

 

[Bosshoff]

Wow, that price is crazy in a good way. I would not have guessed that high. I bought one of the smear stocks back in the day from McMillan. I sent it to Ted at West Tex Armory along with a CMP 40X 22lr. Action to be built into a clone. Thought it would be a fun shooter. Put a fixed power Supersniper scope on it. I didn’t modify it at all, and still have the certificate somewhere. I really should find the certificate and get it laminated.

 

[USMCSGT0331]

Wow, that price is crazy in a good way. I would not have guessed that high. I bought one of the smear stocks back in the day from McMillan. I sent it to Ted at West Tex Armory along with a CMP 40X 22lr. Action to be built into a clone. Thought it would be a fun shooter. Put a fixed power Supersniper scope on it. I didn’t modify it at all, and still have the certificate somewhere. I really should find the certificate and get it laminated.

Please don't laminate the certificate, just put it in one of those clear plastic page protectors. There's actually a few fake certificates out there, so being able to feel the paper that it's printed on and look at other characteristics will determine the authenticity of the certificate. I'm a pretty big M40xx collector and I'd never accept a laminated McMillan M40A1 certificate of authenticity from anyone. Don't ruin your original certificate, just put it in a page protector, it's that easy.

 

[Bosshoff]

USMCSGT0331 You make a good point. Unfortunately I am reading your comment today, and yesterday I found the certificate and laminated it. I looked for it all weekend, and found it in my office on Monday. I also laminated the Invoice from McMillan detailing the $170 dollar (delivered) purchase invoiced on 04/23/2007. The invoice shows an order date of 01/08/2006. (I THINK I received a $50 Snipershide discount.?) On the back of the certificate on the upper right corner, "#1540" is written in pen. Is this the serial number? The top of the buttstock also has the remains of a rack #4 plastic label. (The old school type where the letter was pressed into the plastic.)

 

[Rookie]

Laminate is easy enough to cut off. Use a razor blade and be careful.