During the Vietnam conflict, the U.S. Marine Corps set out to establish something of a standard rifle and scope combination for its best long range marksmen - the Marine Corps snipers.  The rifle they settled on was the Remington Model 40x, chambered for the 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge.  The rifles were custom accurized by Marine gunsmiths and topped with a 3-9x40mm scope featuring a built in ranging system that was simple and easy to use.  The combination of the rifle, a premium grade of the bolt-action Remington Model 700, and scope became known as the M40.

Many former Marines and even more hunters of the 1960s have been quick to recognize a remake of the scope, which has been displayed by Hi-Lux Optics at the 2013 SHOT Show and at this year's NRA Show.  Those shooters who have looked through the OD green finished militarized version of what the company has dubbed the M40 USMC riflescope, which features the same reticle as the original, have voiced how much they would like to see the same scope, featuring the same ranging system, offered for today's big game hunter.

Hi-Lux Optics listened, and is now introducing a black finished sporting version of the scope - the M40 Tactical Hunter.

This 3-9x40mm hunting scope is built with the same ranging system that Marine Corps snipers relied on in Vietnam - only it has been improved.  To determine the distance of a target, the hunter simply zooms the power/magnification higher or lower until the chest cavity (appx. 18" top to bottom) of a deer, pronghorn, wild hog, or similar sized big game animal, is framed by the two parallel crosshairs near the top of the reticle.  (A pair of cross-bars on the horizontal crosshair also allow easy ranging by framing the body length of the game being hunted - from coyotes to big game.) The range can then be seen on a yardage scale at the bottom of the rear lens.  Knowing the distance to the target and knowing the trajectory of the rifle and load allows a more precise placement of the shot.

M40 Tactical Hunter Reticle

Hi-Lux Optics improved this ranging system by relying on an etched glass yardage scale, positioned in the first focal plane, instead of the plastic scale found in the original scopes mounted on the M40 Marine Corps sniper rifles.  The system determines ranges from 200 to 600 yards with reliable accuracy for most hunting situations.  Another improvement with the M40 Tactical Hunter ranging reticle is the addition of bullet drop compensating  cross-bars for placing shots at 300 to 600 yards.  These BDC holdovers have been calibrated for standard service round .308 Winchester and .223 Remington ammo, but work well with more than a dozen other popular calibers.  Likewise, when the shooter takes the time to do the shooting to determine where these cross-bars place bullet impact, this scope can be effectively used with any rifle chambered for any cartridge or load.

Like all Hi-Lux optics riflescopes, both the M40 Tactical Hunter and the M40 USMC versions of this scope come with fully multi-coated lenses for the absolute brightest and sharpest target image possible.  The M40 Series scopes are backed with a Limited Lifetime Warranty.  

Hi-Lux Optics is scheduled to have the M40 USMC model in stock by the end of summer, and the M40 Tactical Hunter model should be available in early fall.