I recently bought a 40X, it is CMP issue, came with redfield olympic rear sights and some sort of front sight (anchutz?).
I am trying to determine the date of manufacture but would like someone used at looking at the date codes to take a look. I attach a picture. It looks like WBM5 though I'm not sure if the 3rd letter is an M or a symbol of some sort.
Is it the WB that gives the year and date of manufacture? From the tables I have seen, W=August but B could be 1933, 1955 or 1981.
If it is the BM part, then the date of manufacture would be January 1965.
Picture of left side of barrel:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/5P95E7
What is the correct way to read the barrel code?
Another question is regarding ammunition. I currently only have plinking ammo and the one that shot best is CCI Standard Velocity. I attach a picture of a 10 shot group at 50 yards.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/95EC05
There is such a wide range of higher-end ammo available for 22lr. Is there any particular brand, or specific ammo that tends to shoot very well in the 40X? Or is it just try'em all and see what works best?
What kind of improvement in accuracy can I expect to see with match ammo?
Lastly, what is the value of a 40XB with redfield olympic sights? The action and barrel are great condition, the stock has some dings + a small crack at the very front of the stock. In addition to the iron sights it also has dovetail mounts for the older style long scopes.