Originally Posted By ilikebmxbikes:



It isnt a matter of excitement and more a matter of preservation of these items as historical artifacts. Its everyones hobby and we all find our individual enjoyment but when you been collecting long enough and you hang with the older mil collectors, it is hard to not look at these items as artifacts and investments. Take the Vietnam era collectors or even the big m40 collectors for example, they all got in at the right time when stuff was rather plentiful and affordable. I missed that train but recognize the one we are all riding right now.  When I see people painting their original MK13-5 chassis's or when they add paint to their 13-0 stocks it lessens the long term value tremendously as you are erasing the original patina and history of the item - its similar but not as offensive as the people who bought up original issued m40a1 smear stocks and had them cut and bed for other actions, inletted for different bottom metals and added flush cups. I can understand how they thought that was exciting at the time.

Originally Posted By ilikebmxbikes:
big girl is built -

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/522952/IMG_4945-2646042.jpg

Originally Posted By ilikebmxbikes:
big girl is built -

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/522952/IMG_4945-2646042.jpg

Originally Posted By Shlouf:
Here’s an interesting one (not my auction). Mexican DF (defense force?) contract rifle.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/963993355

Originally Posted By ilikebmxbikes:
big girl is built -

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/522952/IMG_4945-2646042.jpg

Originally Posted By Shlouf:
Here’s an interesting one (not my auction). Mexican DF (defense force?) contract rifle.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/963993355

Originally Posted By whitetailnut:


I picked up the exact same set up last year back in 2021 at Cabelas for $1600.

https://i.imgur.com/ZsHcinI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/j0V2Q6N.jpg



https://i.imgur.com/2rel2si.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UAwXNWw.jpg

Originally Posted By USMCSGT0331:
Gentlemen, it's time to grab your tickets for the 2022 Scout Sniper Association rifle raffle! This year's rifle is pretty epic, it's a Vietnam War era Winchester M70 clone that's been built with original USMC take-off parts and a civilian receiver in the USMC M70 serial number range! The SSA is a great organization and all the funds raised from this raffle will be used to support the USMC sniper community (lots of gear and supplies gets send to active duty and deployed units!). Please check out the SSA's website to learn more about the organization and what they do. The drawing for this raffle is going to be held on March 17th (03/17, the USMC Scout Sniper MOS), I wish best of luck to all those who participate! Please let me know if you have any questions about the raffle, rifle or the SSA.

Here's a link to the SSA's website, it has all the raffle rifle information and a some great photos of the gun! You can only purchase tickets through the SSA's website:

https://scoutsniper.org/2022-m70-winchester-sniper-rifle-raffle/

https://scoutsniper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC08239-2048x1026.jpg

https://scoutsniper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC08233-scaled.jpg
https://scoutsniper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC08191-scaled.jpg
https://scoutsniper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC08206-scaled.jpg
https://scoutsniper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC08197-scaled.jpg

Originally Posted By Tim_in_CO:
GAP has a M40A1 on a return stock listed on their site as ready to ship!  Is this a good price?

https://www.gaprecision.net/rifles-ready-to-ship/ga-precision-m40a1.html

Originally Posted By Rothperson87:
M24a2 is coming together. Just hit 3 months on the AE M24 can.
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/462226/74CDEBBB-E87B-494B-8C3F-C9D6C3AD40BC_jpe-2777223.JPG
Can I get some m24 inspiration?

Originally Posted By Shlouf:
Looks like the original HS precision bottom metal and mag

Originally Posted By Rothperson87:
M24a2 is coming together. Just hit 3 months on the AE M24 can.
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/462226/74CDEBBB-E87B-494B-8C3F-C9D6C3AD40BC_jpe-2777223.JPG
Can I get some m24 inspiration?

Originally Posted By bimmertech87:


What the details on your bolt handle? Did it come with the receiver? Correct finish?
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/272685/FCEF7086-8E63-4853-B28C-E47C0E1BB774_jpe-2780970.JPGhttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/272685/6B3B7EC3-CB40-475A-B1A4-80EF34214176_jpe-2780972.JPGhttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/272685/A7F30D53-76B9-41F4-8B33-8164CA3B9C19_jpe-2780975.JPG

Originally Posted By wayfaerer320:
Decided my Mk13 Mod5 needed a sibling - fresh from Stiller for a Mod7 build:

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/269084/20230301_175318_jpg-2731206.JPG

Originally Posted By RC_S3kshun8:



Very nice! How long did you have to wait for the action? Called Stiller the other day and they quoted me 7 months. My Mk13 Mod5 will probably be sitting for a while it sounds like.

Originally Posted By bimmertech87:
I believe they are all sold out already. As hard as they are to find and I wanted one. I couldn’t bring myself to spend $400 on just a bolt handle.

I also picked a generic 700 l/a bolt handle for my m24a2. Do we have anyone who can refinish them to proper finish? Although I hope to rattle can mine when done so it probably won’t matter to much.

Originally Posted By Rothperson87:

I have an extra M marked bolt if anyone’s interested.

Also, I was talking with RWS today about my build and he can refinish it in the correct dry gun lube or blue it.
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/462226/BAD1D80A-290C-4231-8FF2-4D2B4B3C663B_jpe-2788884.JPG
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/462226/7C29AE09-0901-4FA8-9B3F-DCF296BCD3E2_jpe-2788886.JPG
Dry gun lube M marked bolt vs standard 700 bolt

Originally Posted By bimmertech87:

I’ll send you a I’m to chat about it.



Is anyone else building these besides RWS? It would be nice to find someone a little closer so I don’t have to mail such an expensive package across country.

Originally Posted By USMCSGT0331:
Another recommendation for Robert Snyder at RSW! He's not just a good friend, but he has also built some of my rifles (to include an extremely rare XM110 prototype). He does fantastic work, has a pretty quick turnaround time and truly listens to what his customers want for their build. Even though Chris Higgins does all of my Mk13's, I'll still send builds to RWS (have an M24 getting ready to go out to him). I use certain gunsmiths for certain types of builds, so RWS fills certain niches. Other people have him build all of their clones. Just look at what you want to be built and choose the best expert for the job, I'd easily go with RWS for any type of M24 clone.

In regards to shipping, it's just a necessary part of the game. My recommendation is to ship all long guns via USPS Registered Mail (with the Priority speed, not First Class). USPS Registered Mail is by far the best and safest way to mail a rifle! Each box is put into a special and locked Registered Mail bag, and everyone who comes in contact with the Registered Mail bag is required by USPS to sign for the bag and create a solid chain of custody for the shipped items. There's no way anything can get lost or stolen, it's pretty much impossible for anything bad to happen (unless the truck is on fire or something). There's also 2 shipping speed options, Priority and First Class. Pay the extra $10 or whatever and always send the box with Priority speed! It will get to it's fianl destination in a few days, as opposed to a few weeks with the other option.

Most people selling and shipping a rifle are cheap assholes who always choose the absolute cheapest and slowest ooption. However, Registered Mail is actually the cheapest option you can ship with at USPS, even with the extra few bucks for the Priority option! Regular USPS Priority Mail only has up to $5,000 in insurance available, whereas the Registered Mail has limited insurance. To put it in perspective, it was cheaper to send 3 M40 scopes to my friend via Registered Mail with $10,000 insurance (only $63), then it was to send another friend a Mk13 Mod 5 kit with $1,500 insurance via regular Priority Mail (about $120). The boxes were the same size and almost the same weight because I sent the 3 scopes in one of the Mod 5 cases for protection. I also sent my original USMC M40 sniper rifle to Rob (he made the youtube video is a few posts up this page, Vintage Rifles Shooters Club) with $100,000 insurance via Registered Mail, and it only cost me $322! That seems like a ton of money in shipping, but if I had taken the same rifle to my FFL to have them ship it with that much insurance, the price would have been over $1k.

Shipping a package using Registered Mail tales a little bit longer to box up, but it's not too bad. USPS requires shippers to only use the paper/gum tape and to seal every exposed seam on the box. There's plenty of ways to wet the paper tape and apply it to the package. The cheapest method is to use a cup of water with a sponge or use a spray bottle of water. I ship a ton of expensive items via Registered Mail, so the best option for me was to purchase a pretty expensive electric paper tape dispensing machine. Just do whatever works best for you, there's no wrong answers. The paper tape actually adheres to a cardboard box far better than the heavy duty plastic tape. Alao, remember to get the paper tape with the string in it, it's even stronger than plain old paper tape. I have a way of taping up a box that seems like overkill, but it works and the package is solid! Paper/gum tape is required by USPS so that they can stamp every edge of the tape with a tamper-proof date stamp. It's part of the Registered Mail security plan.

My point is that shipping firearms around the country can be expensive and worrisome, but there is a method that alleviates these concerns. Ship all of your rifles and other long guns via USPS Registered Mail with Priority speed! It will save you a ton of money and your package is 100% accounted for at all times. It doesn't get better than that when it comes to shipping a firearm! Whenever I ship pistols out, I just go through my FFL and take the hit, there's just no good way to ship a pistol. So, if you want a cheaper/more secure option when sending your expensive/rare parts to an out of state gunsmith, remember to ship everything with USPS Registered Mail (with the Priority option)!

I hope this information is useful, please let me know if anyone has any questions. I've been using Registered Mail frequently over the past year and I wish that I had started using it sooner! Once you make the switch in shipping methods and get used to the tape, you'll also wish you had started shipping this way a lot sooner!

Originally Posted By wayfaerer320:

Thank you so much for that - that is incredibly helpful!

It's always nerve-wracking shipping something 1. So large and 2. So valuable

Thanks for sharing all of that!

Originally Posted By bimmertech87:
That mod3(?) is probably my dream rifle. I just wish the parts were more obtainable? I keep telling myself it’s not do able but maybe I’ll change my mind after the m24a2.  

Thanks for all the shipping info, that’s a big help. I’ve had a few things lost in the mail from lowers to a complete rifle and even some parts from people in this thread earlier in the year. Do you have to declare it as a firearm using this process? My local p/o is a pain to deal with so I might venture to a different store when I go through this all.

While I’m at it how many mags do you all recommended getting for some of these rifles where it may be difficult to obtain parts in the future? Usually I try to keep between 6-10 per gun and like 30 for common ar’s bug with some of these mags fetching $90+ it’s a little different game. I’m thinking at least 3, use one or two and store the third but would hate for my kids to not be able to enjoy it in 50 years should one get damaged. I’m not a high volume shooter or plan to run competitions with it but would like to take a class or two with it to learn to shoot l/r.

Originally Posted By Samson-Dogg:

I have not seen a return stock for sale in a long time but I have not been looking.

Originally Posted By USMCSGT0331:

Just a point of clarification, I always hear people refer to the original Mk13 McMillan stocks as "return stocks." This isn't correct at all and it stems from calling the M40A1 stocks "return stocks," since the A1 stocks were actually returned to McMillan. None of the 155 original Mk13 McMillan stocks I had were ever sent back to McMillan, so it's impossible for them to be "return stocks." It's more correct to call them DRMO stocks, since they were never returned back to McMillan after leaving the military. Well, one stock went back to McMillan, I gave Kelly McMillan a beautiful painted kit as a gift for signing the certificates of authenticity for me.

I see this term posted on the forums and I try to correct it whenever I can. McMillan had nothing to do with the DRMO'd stocks, except for Kelly McMillan signing the certificates (which I designed, wrote, and had printed). The certificates, sorting stocks and parts, matching up painted parts, selling, and shipping the stocks was done entirely by me. It was a pretty large undertaking, since I did everything from a small apartment in Chicago, lol.