CMP Cinderella Rifle — Rem 40X Rimfire Reborn
Forum member Ken Littlefield recently had a older CMP Remington 40X restored/upgraded with a handsome walnut prone stock and top-of-the-components. Ken also added a CG Trigger and a RightSight front sight made by Stallings Machine. There’s also an adjustable cheekpiece, adjustable buttplate, and what looks like an aftermarket trigger guard and handstop. Ken posted his upgraded 40X on our Shooters Forum, noting: “Jim Cloward recently finished restocking my CMP 40X in English walnut. The rifle also has a CG uni-trigger and Rightsight. Jim also fitted a 0 degree rail to the receiver (I have a Leupold 6.5-20 EFR scope for ‘any sight’ training and matches). Jim can be reached at (425) 334-3006. The rifle will be used primarily as a winter training rifle for Palma, but hopefully we will sneak in a smallbore prone match now and then.”
Hopefully Ken can tell us more about the build and all the hardware upgrades. Ken certainly has created of the nicest 40X rimfires we’ve seen. Ken’s beautiful 40X has inspired envy among fellow Forum members. Flatlander posted: “Ken, I applaud your (incredibly successful) efforts to bring one of these old CMP rifles to the level of aethetic beauty and functionality it’s entitled to. I’d love to see more of these rifles ‘all dressed-up’ instead of stored in someone’s closet.”
Wow Ken, you are a master and an artist, that rifle is gorgeous!
Like taking a venerable old car or truck and turning it into a modern show vehicle!
Gorgeous and functional. I hope it shoots as good as it looks.
Kudos to Jim Cloward and congrats to Ken!
Thanks for the kind words. The rifle is a CMP 40X (700 style) that Jim Cloward put in a Dunlap prone style stock. The wood is English walnut. The butt plate, trigger guard, and rail / hand stop are sourced from Cloward, and the cheek piece adjuster is from Steve McGee. Jim is a master stock builder, and it is easy to recognize his work when you look at the details and checkering.
Rear sight is a PNW with Gehman Iris; the front sight is a Rightsight on a dovetail mount. We have yet to test the rifle beyond 50 feet, so I would rather not comment on the accuracy other then it looks very promising.
This is the final rifle in a matched set of four Jim built for me for prone competition. The others are Quadlocks in 308, 6.5-284, and 6BR. Due to some spinal problems I have not been shooting prone from a sling for a few years. My son David, has laid claim to the rifles (and in fact won one of them from me in a challenge bet at Perry), and has been using them to good effect in mid and long range matches. My spine is improving, and I’m starting to practice with the rimfire. I hope to be back shooting the local highpower prone matches in the near future.
I shot the rifle this morning (Thanks Ken!) and at 50ft from prone with a sling and iron sights it had very promising accuracy. The trigger was very nice and the sights were very clear. The scope rail on top made loading a little tricky, but that can be worked out after some practice.
A few shots from this rifle was enough to convince me that shooting it was a very good indicator of my hold and trigger control. I think I may very soon also find myself shooting some smallbore to keep my palma game in check.