Between the years 1933 and 1958, the final incarnation of the Schmidt-Rubin rifles that began with the M1889 Infanterie Gewehr, was built at the Eidgennossische Waffenfabrik in Bern, Switzerland. That rifle, the Karabiner 1931, or K-31 as it is commonly known, was like its predecessors – a straight-pull bolt action design that to many American shooters may seem a little odd.

The rifle’s designer, Colonel Rudolph Schmidt, offered his design to the military while employed as a weapons technical officer at the government arsenal in Bern.

The cartridge the K-31 is chambered for, the 7.5×55 Swiss, was, like the rifle itself, a final version but of a design by Eduard Rubin, that had originally been experimented with in the Swiss service rifle that predated the Schmidt-Rubin design; the 1869 Vetterli 10.4×38 rimfire rifle. The Vetterli rifle was not a strong enough design to handle the increased pressure of the newer center-fire round. The cartridge would eventually be adopted as the 7.5×53.5 for use in the M1889 rifle, the first of the Schmidt-Rubin service rifles. The round would evolve into the longer 55mm case for the later Gewher 1911 model rifle and carbine, and then continue on into the last rifle of the series, the K-31. On a historical note, in the 1930s, the Swiss Guard at the Vatican was issued one hundred K-31 rifles, making the Vatican the only other “Sovereign Nation” to be issued Schmidt-Rubin rifles.

Design

The cock-on-opening design, while it is a bolt action, is somewhat unusual in that as opposed to the more common turnbolt style action most are familiar with, this rifle is of the so called straight-pull design. This simply means that instead of lifting the bolt handle to turn the bolt lugs out of their locking recesses, the Schmidt-Rubin bolt is merely pulled straight back to accomplish the same thing. The actual turning of the lugs is accomplished by means of an actuating rod on the side of the bolt sleeve that engages a helical or spiral groove in the sleeve which forces it to rotate as it is moves back and forth. The K-31 bolt differs from earlier models in that it is shorter and has its locking lugs forward near the head of the bolt sleeve whereas the earlier models had the very long bolt with lugs nearer the center of the body. These changes in 1931, part of a modernization program for the rifle, made the new bolt both shorter and stronger. The models with the lugs near center for the earlier, lower pressure version of the 7.5 round allowed the bolt to compress and thus would not tolerate much more pressure than was present with the M90 loading. This fairly mild load used a round nose bullet of 210-grains at around 1,970 feet per second.

At the rear of the bolt is a large finger-pull ring that serves as both the safety and a manual cocking/decocking device. The safety appears to be two-position. When the ring is pulled back far enough to allow the rectangular tab to rotate and rest on the flange, the rifle will not fire, but the bolt can be operated. Rotate further clockwise and then allowing the ring to go forward in the 9 o’clock slot will put the rifle on safe and lock the bolt as well.

On the right hand side of the rifle just under the receiver opening, is a spring-loaded grooved pad bolt stop that, when depressed, drops an engagement lug and allows the bolt to be withdrawn for access to the breech.

All of the Schmidt-Rubin rifles used a detachable 12-round capacity box magazine for the first model and six for subsequent rifles. The magazine could be loaded via an unusual cardboard and metal charger that held six rounds. It could also be loaded with single rounds while in or out of the rifle. The K-31’s magazine follower is designed to stop the bolt’s forward travel when the magazine is empty as is common with many service rifles.

K-31

An example of this rifle was recently acquired at a large chain sporting goods store for a bargain price. It was a little rough around the edges as received with a bit of rust here and there. The light colored beech wood stock showed the expected dings and scratches but appeared serviceable. However, the top of the comb looked like someone had taken a rasp to it. Upon removing the bolt to inspect the bore, it was found to be incredibly dirty and, even with a bore light, evidence of rifling could barely be seen. Using a .30-06 cartridge to see if it would pass the “bullet test,” a bullet was placed into the muzzle. If the bullet disappears up to the case neck it’s likely the bore is worn either by shooting or cleaning from the muzzle too often, making potential accuracy suspect. The bullet stopped in the muzzle well before the case mouth could touch. Running a patch soaked with Hoppes #9 down the bore a number of times revealed that the bore, though it had been extremely dirty, was still in excellent shape with strong rifling and no discernable throat wear. The bolt face likewise showed little evidence of much shooting.

The rifle was completely disassembled to inspect and clean all parts of dirt, oils or grease. Disassembly is simple and done in much the same way as any number of similar military rifles. Only a slotted screwdriver is required. All serial numbers matched on this rifle including the stock and handguard. It doesn’t really matter whether all numbers match or not as long as the bolt and receiver do, as that is the most crucial fit of the rifle because of cartridge headspace. As an added bonus upon removing the buttplate for cleaning, a small plastic card with the name and other information of the last person the rifle was issued to, was found. On the other side of the card was the rifle’s serial number which also matched this rifle. There are a number of references to these I.D. cards on other shooters’ rifles on the internet, and in one previously published article, so it was intriguing to find one with this rifle.

The model K-31 has a barrel length of 25.7 inches whereas earlier models started out at 30.75 inches, then down to 23 inches for the 1911 Karabiner model to the final K-31. It is a four-groove barrel with a right hand twist of 1:10.5.

One of the more interesting features of the rifle is the drift adjustable front sight that, unlike most drift type front sights that move side to side, this one moves fore and aft in an angled dovetail groove. The rear sight is of the fairly common tangent style adjustable from 100 to 1,500 meters. It is, however, not windage adjustable as that function is performed at the front sight. Perhaps the reason for the angled dovetail on the front sight is that more left and right movement is possible within the confines of the front sight base than if using the standard right angle dovetail.

The stock has two bands to secure the forearm to the stock and, in the case of the rear band, to provide for the forward sling swivel. The front band is a little unusual in that it is actually a hinge affair that clamps to the stock. It is tightened with a screw on the other side. It also incorporates into it the bayonet lug and stacking rod. The rod is used for the same purpose as the more common stacking swivel seen on other military rifles.

With the barreled action out of the stock well done inletting can be seen. The rather large block recoil lug fits in a recess that has at its bottom a steel plate to seat the bottom of the lug metal to metal.

The trigger is another interesting piece of work. One side of the trigger housing is open allowing access to the inner workings while the other side is closed. This is a typical two-stage military type affair with a long first stage as slack, then a very crisp final stage that, on this rifle, only measures three pounds on an RCBS scale. This is an excellent trigger though set a little light by service rifle standards. It’s actually a lot lighter than most modern factory sporting rifle triggers as they leave the factory. The one piece trigger guard is large for gloved hands and fits well in the stock.

7.5×55 Swiss

The 7.5 Swiss, as it’s commonly referred to, is a fairly interesting item in itself. Considering the time period of its design, it’s fairly advanced looking with its fat body, minimum taper and relatively sharp shoulder. It very much resembles the much later .284 Winchester which, even at its introduction in 1963, was deemed by some to be a radical design. Other than caliber, the two look nearly identical side by side. Of course the other major difference between the two is that the .284 is a rebated rimless round wherein the rim is smaller than the case’s head diameter. The 7.5 Swiss has a normal rim that is slightly larger than the head diameter. Also, the headspace measurement of the 7.5 is different with the .284 having more distance between rim and shoulder. It is interesting to note that .284 brass is often used in the absence of proper 7.5×55 brass to make loads for the Swiss. Reportedly, it works just fine. However, it must be sized and fireformed. Powder capacity of the two rounds is very similar. Depending on how powder is tapped in or compressed, the two rounds will support about the same charge. In fact, as the 7.5 round is a .30 caliber, thus allowing a slightly better expansion ratio, one could surmise that in rifles of equal strength, the 7.5 cartridge may offer a slight advantage in velocities over the range of bullet weights, plus the ability to handle heavier bullets than a 7mm cartridge. In other words, it’s about the equal of the .30-06 which says a lot about its capability. That’s not to say it’s safe to “hoss it up” in the Swiss action. While the Schmidt-Rubin design is not a weak one, it likely can’t compete with a modern turnbolt when it comes to handling pressure. In Frank Barnes’ book Cartridges of the World, he states that it can be expected to give performance similar to the .308 Winchester. It’s likely he means (in) the Swiss rifle. If the two cases are set side by side, the 7.5 is noticeably larger in every dimension, except caliber. Now that boxer primed brass is available from Hornady and others, the 7.5 Swiss would make an excellent candidate for an accurate non-magnum sporter using a modern bolt action.

One of the older military loadings with the 190-grain bullet was, according to Barnes, loaded to about 37,000 psi. The later loading with the 174-grain spitzer is reportedly loaded to about 45,500 psi. Neither of these is much by today’s standard. Muzzle velocity is stated as around 2,650 fps with the 174-grain load. Two rounds of this load were clocked at 2,500 and 2,516 fps on my chronograph.

Bolt Takedown

It is not certain that this is the exact official method for bolt takedown, but it works. With the action cocked, remove the bolt from the receiver. Pull back on the safety/cocking piece ring until the small rectangular tab clears the flange, then rotate the ring clockwise to between seven and eight o’clock to allow the tab to rest on the flange. This allows the actuating rod to be removed from the bolt sleeve. Rotate the sleeve until it disengages itself from the rear portion of the bolt and flange. Tip the sleeve down to allow the inner bolt to fall out into the hand. To remove the tip of the two piece firing pin assembly, first decock the firing pin by turning the ring to allow the tab to go all the way forward in the straight slot. This releases some of the strain on the spring. Pull back on the spring with one hand while with the other hand, move the tip off laterally, and then remove the spring if needed. To complete the disassembly remove the ring/stem from the flanged part of the bolt. Reassembly is in reverse order. This is all accomplished without any tools: a plus for a service rifle.

The extractor, which resides on the top of the bolt just past the 12 o’clock position, is not large but is apparently adequate. Ejection is via a substantial folding blade in the bottom of the receiver just behind the magazine well. The bolt face is slotted for the ejector but the locking lug isn’t as in some designs.

Shooting the K-31

Only one word is needed to describe the shooting and handling qualities of the K-31 rifle: outstanding! The Swiss gun lived up to its reputation as an accurate rifle. Shooting 174-grain ball ammunition from a portable rest at about 85 yards and using a makeshift target (bucket bottom), the rifle’s first six shots went into a group of about two and a half inches. A subsequent three shot group went one inch and another group put four of five into one inch as well. The lone flyer was shooter error getting used to the light trigger. Groups were well centered left to right but all were about five inches above point of aim at that distance. This seems to be typical of battle sights that are commonly set for 300 yards. The u-notch rear sight provided a good sight picture with the blade front.

The rifle fed smoothly with no misfires and extracted and ejected perfectly. I always knew where the empties were because they went straight up and then bounced off my noggin upon descent. How high they fly is determined by how much vigor is employed in bolt operation. For the handloader, the bolt can be eased back slowly for easy removal of cases from the open action. I really have no criticism of the rifle other than the trigger being a little light for a service rifle. A three pound pull is more appropriate for a single-stage hunting or match rifle trigger.

As a combat rifle we may never know for sure how it would have worked, or if it was as good as other proven designs like the Mauser, Enfield, or Springfield. Most bolt action service rifles exhibit a fair amount of play in operation, to allow for mud and debris that invariably finds its way into guns in battle, and still remain functional. When the bolt is run back and forth in the Swiss, contact is near metal to metal between bolt and receiver opening, and there is but little play. Still, military training usually will point out potential problems and judging from the condition of the stocks on Swiss rifles observed, many appear to have been used for purposes other than target shooting. At any rate, the Swiss stayed with the same basic design for well over a half century so it would seem they had a fair amount of confidence in the design.

Brief History

So called “Sniper” rifles have of course been around for a long time, in fact since rifles have been used in combat they have been used for sniping when necessary or when the opportunity presents itself.

Scope sighted rifles didn’t really come to the fore until WWI though they had been used as early as the Civil War. World War II saw the use of 1903A1 and 1903A4 Springfield rifles as well as Ml Garands as sniper rifles. These fine rifles served well in the Korean conflict and even into Vietnam but the Marines saw the need for a standard issue Sniper rifle of new design rather than just modifying existing service rifles which while effective were becoming obsolete.

During the early years of the Vietnam War the Marines had been using scope sighted Winchester Model 70 rifles that had been in supply for hunting and competition purposes for some time. However, the Corps wanted a new rifle built to their specs and chambered for the newer caliber 7.62 NATO or .308 Win, which was the standard service rifle cartridge of the time, instead of the .30/06 of the M70.

Marines Choice

Therefore in 1966 after evaluating entries by several rifle and scope makers the Marines signed a contract with the Remington Arms Co. to supply 700 Model 700 rifles with the Redfield 3x-9x Rangefinder scope.

Designated the M40 by the Marines, the rifle was in simplest terms a Model 700 with sporter style non checkered walnut stock and a heavy barrel in .308 Win. Where it differed from the commercial version of the ADL model was in the addition of a magazine floorplate like the BDL. The stock style though sans checkering was pure sporter, including the monte carlo comb and cheek piece popular at the time.

The barrel was 24” long and measured .830” at the muzzle thus making a fairly heavy barrel by sporter standards though no heavier than a varmit barrel.

My first bolt action hunting rifle bought in Alaska in 1968 was in fact a 700 ADL in .308 that served me well for many years.

Only a limited number of these rifles were ever made, less than a thousand total for the contract, and a number of them were damaged or destroyed in battle or modified to the newer M40A1. There are so few still in existence outside of the military that the chances of seeing one, say on the used gun market, are essentially nonexistent.

While reading the excellent and comprehensive book, The One Round War by Peter Senich, it occurred to me that one could, with the proper components and a bit of work, have one’s own M40.

Looking for a Few Good Parts

The first thing to do then would be to collect all of the necessary parts for this project. A 1960’s vintage 700 rifle would have to be found.

A Model 700 with a 5-digit serial number was found at a gun show for a reasonable price, and though the Marine contract rifles were of the 6-digit serial number range, the action is the proper style with the short bolt shroud. The gun was itself chambered in .308 Win. as well though it didn’t have to be as long, it was a short action with the proper size bolt face. Also of note, the action has the clip charger slot cut into the rear bridge, a feature that was dropped in 1964 on commercial rifles but was present on all Marine contract rifles, though it is styled a little different. But it was not my intent to build an exact duplicate to pass off as an original later on, rather to build a reasonable facsimile of a fine shooting rifle. In other words, the building of this rifle is meant to be more of a tribute to the rifle itself and its users than for any gain other than personal use and satisfaction.

Stock Work

With an acceptable action and stock in hand the work begins. The 700 stock of this era, early 60’s, had what many consider something of an abomination, machine impressed checkering. Here the diamonds are pressed into the wood rather than being against the hand like cut checkering. While the design is attractive enough, its utility as a grip enhancement is almost useless. For the M40 the “checkering” would have to be removed. This may seem a little daunting at first but requires not much more than a lot of patience and elbow grease. After stripping the finish off with a chemical stripper I began by giving the stock a thorough scrubbing with cleansers and bleach to remove oils and stains. Lots of hot water is used to rinse with and it actually helps to back out the diamonds from the grip and forearm. Then after drying out a bit, scrapers and chisels are used to scrape away the “checkering” pattern. Care is called for here so as not to put deep scratches in the wood as they can create a lot of unnecessary work. Eventually if all goes well the alleged “checkering” is gone with maybe only a trace of the old outline showing if one looks really close. But if you can see it you’re too close!

The stock is then sanded down in the normal way and either stained and oiled or maybe just oiled. I chose to stain this stock for personal preference. This is followed up with many coats of boiled linseed oil to achieve what the Marines refer to a “dull oil finish”. The rifle as acquired had the proper aluminum buttplate called for so no problem there.

The M40 has a hinged magazine floorplate for its box magazine as on a BDL but the ADL stock has no mortise for one so one will have to be let in. This is a fair bit of work and would take too much ink to describe in detail here, so suffice to say that much care must be taken or the results may be less than gratifying.

The BDL floorplate assembly was purchased new from Brownells Inc., that great supplier of gunsmithing equipment, gun parts and accessories. It comes with a paint-like matte black finish which is suitable for the purpose and is made of aluminum per spec. Also acquired from Brownells were military style 1 1/4” non-detachable sling swivels to replace the detachable studs the rifle came with.

The Barrel

The Marines called for a 24” heavy barrel with 1 in 10 twist to shoot the M118 Match ammunition, which used a 173-grain full metal jacketed bullet. To build this rifle a barrel was purchased again from Brownells that was very close to spec. As cut to 24” it is right at the proper .830” muzzle diameter.

The chrome moly barrel, made by Shilen was pre-threaded and short chambered.

At this point the gun must be handed over to the gunsmith to have its existing 20” carbine barrel removed and the new heavy barrel installed and headspaced and then off to get the proper finish, in this case parkerizing. The M40 action and barrel had a greenish color common to many U.S. service rifles seen, but the bolt assembly was given a flat black finish.

The barreled action must now be bedded to the stock. This is done in the normal way with Brownells Acraglass Gel. The M40 rifles left the factory unbedded by glass but instead were referred to as “hand bedded” by Remington. Subsequently many if not most of the rifles were glass bedded by armourers to help prevent impact shift caused by the shrinking and swelling of the stock in climate changes. Also the barrel channel had to be kept open by any means possible to keep the barrel fully free floating.

The Scope

The scope chosen by the Marines to meet their specs was the Redfield 3x-9x Accu-Range that was already in use by the public and had a good reputation and seemed to best fit the needs of the Corps.

This unique scope uses what Redfield referred to as the “special fine crosshair” reticle and the so called “tombstone” system that employs on the right hand side of the view circle a range finder marked in 50 yard increments out to 600 yards. As the power ring is increased from 3 to 9 power the “tombstone” begins to slide out of sight until only the top portion is seen. It also utilizes a 2-wire grid near the top of the view circle that represents 18”. The method being that the viewer places the two stadia wires on a man sized target and increases the power until the two lines are spaced about equal to a mans torso from chin to belt, then reads the range on the “tombstone” on the right. The viewer must then make the necessary calculations for hold, over or under, to make the shot for that range. The M40 was usually sighted in for a dead on hold at 600 yards.

Such a scope was found and purchased from a used sight and scope dealer for this project and then sent to ABO/USA for cleaning and adjustment. ABO/USA is the authorized repair facility for Redfield products since Redfield is unfortunately no longer in business. Cleaning and adjustment was done for only a shipping and handling fee. These scopes are a bit scarce also and it was a real break to find one rather easily. This specimen has the gloss black finish of the commercial model whereas the M40 scope was anodized green to match the barreled action of the gun. Some later M4Os were furnished with a scope that was finished in matte black, and were called 2nd Generation scopes.

The scope is mounted on a Redfield Jr. one piece base in one-inch split rings, all of matte finished blued steel just like the original. The base and rings have changed a little since the 60s but it’s basically the same rig

Carrying Case

M40 rifles were issued to the Scout-Sniper teams in a hard plastic carrying case made by Protecto Plastics of Pennsylvania. The case used had a center mounted two pc. handle and three evenly spaced lockable latches. The interior was lined with foam on both halves and the case measured 3.5” deep by 9” wide by 46” long, just large enough for one rifle, cleaning kit and a few accessories.

What’s most interesting about this case is that it is still available today under the Hoppes brand name, still being made by Protecto Plastics. The only difference that’s at all evident is the color of the case is now black where it was brown as issued, and the interior foam is of a different configuration.

Final Assembly

Now with all of the various components together and properly finished it’s time to assemble the rifle and scope and see what it will do.

Putting the rifle together is no trick of course but a problem was encountered when trying to mount the scope. It was found that there was a noticeable difference in the height of the front and rear rings. So to rectify this I turned to a scope lapping kit purchased from Midway/USA. After running the lapping bar through the lightly snugged rings a number of times and checking the work often the proper height was attained wherein there was no difference in height between the two rings. If this is not done it is possible to bend the scope when the rings are tightened down thereby damaging the scope.

Satisfied with that task the rest of the package is put together in the usual way.

Shooting the Marine Rifle

Original Marine Corps specs called for a minimum capability of 5 shots in 1 inch at 100 yards, or one minute of angle, with the M118 Match load. This shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish with today’s ammo and components. The M118 load was replaced in the 80s with the M852 load that uses the 168-grain bullet instead of the 173 grain original.

Since the amount of available components for .308 is almost endless the quest will be to approximate the original round, therefore it is hoped that the 175 grain Sierra Match bullet will work out well.

Before getting serious with the best components and trying to shoot for groups the barrel must be carefully broken in using the shoot and clean method. You know the method, shoot a little and clean a lot. For the first 5-10 rounds the barrel is cleaned of powder fouling between each shot and then followed up with a copper solvent to remove all traces of jacket fouling. This method is used for the first 60 rounds or so while never allowing the barrel to get very hot as this will cause problems rather quickly. Plain old Hoppes #9 is as good as any for getting out the powder residue, but to get the copper jacket fouling I turn to Sweets 7.62 solvent. This stuff removes copper as good or better than anything. Instructions must be followed, and it’s nasty smelling stuff, but it do work!

The first range session is always filled with a little apprehension with a new rifle and this was no different. I began to relax a little when the first two rounds landed on the target just 1/2-inch apart at 100 yards, and almost in target center after only a visual bore sighting. This initial shoot-in was performed by the way, with the Rem./UMC 150-grain ball load that I have a lot of on hand. The last three shots taken that first day were with a proven handload that seems to work well in almost any rifle including bolt gun and M14 style guns. That load is 42.0 grains of 1MR4895 in W/W cases lit by a Fed. 210 Match primer. Those three shots went under an inch. Not spectacular to be sure but barrels seem to get better as they go if they are treated right.

The rifle has been to the range a number of times now and does better every time if the shooter does his part. I was happy to see the Federal Match 175-grain load do well. Two groups of five were shot on the second trip to the range and both went under one inch. While it’s true that factory ammo is much better now than ever before it is still a thrill to see it shoot that well. Six rounds from the handload mentioned before went into five-eights of an inch, on the same day, not bad.

A single box of M118 Match was found at a local gun show and was soon run through the rifle. Results sad to say were not that great as groups were hard to achieve and the primers were all cratered possibly indicating slightly elevated pressures, but as it is hard to come by anyway and the gun seems to shoot so many other loads so well that it really wont matter if it doesn’t like that particular lot of ammo or not. In other words, who cares?

As is the case with my Rem. PSS.308, Hodgdons Varget powder is showing great potential. Loads with 43 and 45 grs. are grouping under an inch for five rounds at 100 yards. 1MR4064 has worked well for a couple of loads but is not as consistent as either 1MR4895 or Varget. Every gun is a law unto itself so it always pays to try various powders.

All group testing was done from the bench at 100 yards. My local range has targets up to 300 yards and I will shoot the gun at that range but there is not much point in putting it here as groups always open up at that range. If the shooter is not up to snuff that day it will definitely show on the target while not being the fault of the rifle.

The idea here was to more or less replicate what would otherwise be an unobtainable rifle, and make it shoot to the specs laid out by the Marines back in 1966. I think I have accomplished this as it shoots very well, and perhaps most fun of all is when someone at the rifle range asks what I’m shooting, I can tell them I’m shooting the Marines M40 Sniper Rifle.

Remington Model 700

Introduced in 1962 the Model 700 was an updated and modernized version of the 720 series of rifles that had been the mainstay of the Remington line for many years. It was designed to go head to head with Winchesters Model 70 but be less expensive to build.

It succeeded very well and has gone on to be one of the most successful bolt action designs ever and is still being made in many different versions and calibers today.

It is a very strong action and Remington made much of its “three rings of steel” claim. Its detractors claim that the small extractor in the head of the bolt is too small and unreliable but this writer’s opinion has never been proven to be the case. Indeed many tests were run to determine if it would be strong enough to compare favorably to other more accepted designs such as the 98 Mauser and others. It held its own with the best of them and failures are almost unheard of. Another claim that many will back up is that of excellent out of the box accuracy. If there is truth to this claim I believe it has more to do with the quality of the barrel than anything else. Every model 700 I have ever owned showed the potential to be a great shooter but not all would do so without a good bedding job. This is a common problem with just about all mass produced rifles however.

The M4Os were built using Remingtons own barrels and served well. The later M40A1 is built with a barrel from Atkinson. The Rem. 700 is of course also the base rifle for most of this country’s police department sniper teams.

Quite a legacy for a model of rifle introduced almost 40 years ago, but then if we look at the fact that the 98 Mauser action that is over 100 now and still going strong, I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. If it’s good, it stays on.

Cartridge History

The 7.62×51 NATO that the M40 was chambered in was a development of the Army Ordnance department known early on as the T-65. It began as an attempt to get the ballistics of the 30/06 in a shorter case that would permit the use of lighter shorter and more efficient gun mechanisms.

The military did not officially adopt the T-65 until 1954, but Winchester brought out its own commercial version in 1952 and called it the .308 Winchester.

The U.S. military didn’t have any weapons for it until 1957 when it became the official service rifle cartridge for which the M14 rifle was chambered.

The .308 has been hugely successful for a good many years now and is still the one to beat in match competitions around the country, though it is not the only accurate round out there. It is still however the standard round for military sniper rifles. Besides being the M40s cartridge, the 7.62 continued on into the M40A1 and the new current M40A3. Also the Army uses the 7.62 in its own M24 Sniper rifle also based on the Remington 700.

It was recently announced that the Dept. of Defense has adopted a brand new loading for all long-range sniper shooting. This loading will feature the l75gr. Boat-Tail bullet propelled by Alliant Powders Reloder 15. It will be designated the M118 Special Ball Long Range Sniper Round. It will become the standard issue sniper round to be used by all military service branches.

This cartridge is hard to beat in many ways and looks to be with us for some time to come.

References

Inside the Crosshairs- A Snipers Vietnam – Michael Lee Manning

Dead Center – Ed Kugler

Sniper – Adrian Gilbert

The One Round War-Scout-Snipers in Vietnam – Peter Senich

U.S. Marine Corps Scout-Snipers WWII and Korea-Peter Senich

Marine Sniper – Charles Henderson

One Shot One Kill – Charles Sasser and Craig Roberts

Bolt Action Rifles – Frank de Haas, Chap. 39, Ideal Snipers Rifle Rev. Ed. 1984