Remington 540

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Docter Sight Mounts

About the Remington

The company was founded in 1816 when Eliphalet Remington II handcrafted his first rifle in his father’s forge and with the help of a local gunsmith managed to turn it into a simple flintlock rifle for his personal use. Taking second place in a shooting contest, Remington's rifle attracted a great amount of attention and shortly after, first orders started to come in.

The production line was moved to the Erie Canal which is nowadays known as the present location of the Remington factory in Ilion, New York. Early on, the company manufactured around 5000 pieces of M1841 Mississippi rifles to be used in the U.S. army additionally receiving a large government order of 1000 Jenks loading carbines. A few years after establishing its first armoury in 1848, three of the founder's sons joined the company and renamed it, E. Remington & Sons. The following years brought the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 and at that point the company was supplying the Federal Army and Navy with arms such as pistols, carbines, rifles, and muskets, increasing their production rate significantly. Eliphalet Remington passed away in the same year, leaving the business up to his three sons. The army-oriented production shifted in direction again at the end of the War in 1865 when the company started to fabricate different firearms for civilian hunting and shooting sports. In 1871, the company established its ammunition production under the name Remington Ammunition Works. They were producing centrefire ammunition for pistols, shotguns, and rifles. Two years later, after gaining the trust of inventors Christopher Sholes and Carlos Glidden, the company even managed to produce its first fully functional typewriter in Ilion, New York.

In the following years, the company presented some of its early weapon models such as the first American autoloader (later known as M11), Model 8, and Model 10. At the beginning of World War I, Remington enlarged their facilities, expanding out to four locations, increasing arms and ammunition production rate once again. Signal guns, autoloading pistols such as Model 51, rifles and machine guns were swiftly being produced in great numbers. In addition, they entered a cutlery business during the war period, producing roughly 2.500.000 knives annually by the year 1926. Remington was revolutionizing its products every step of the way. Being the first to introduce the concept of game load ammunition, they took over the shotshell industry by storm. Ammunition production increased again in World War II when the company expanded its production to 7 more locations. Some of the most recognizable weapon models were presented during this period such as Model 03A4 or M1903A3 Springfield which was a renewed and simplified version of 1903 Springfield.

In the years after the war, they released the Model 870 'Wingmaster’ shotgun which became the world’s bestseller at that point, Nylon 66 autoloading .22 rifle, Model 700 bolt-action rifle, Model 1100 and an M24 sniper rifle that was regularly used as a standardized US army sniper rifle until 2010. Meanwhile, they also managed to stay operative in the knife making business. Ten years after building a new ammunition plant in Lonoke, Ark., DuPont purchased the remaining Remington shares and became the majority owner of the company, however, they later sold the assets to RACI Acquisitions in New York. In 2011 they re-focused on the production of handguns, launching the R1 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Another renowned weapon, namely the Model 783 bolt-action rifle was released two years later, in 2013.

Today, Remington is known as the oldest gun manufacturer in America, celebrating a more than 200-year-old history of diligence and quality.

Remington 540 Rifle Review

Remington 540 is a single shot rimfire bolt-action rifle manufactured from 1969 until 1973. It features a target stock, artillery type locking system, and a heavy free-floating barrel. Six locking lugs lock up safely with the action’s housing. Being primarily produced for competition shooting audiences, it comes with a length-adjustable butt plate assembly allowing the user to personalize the weapon to their shooting preferences.

In addition, the trigger can be weight-adjusted by turning the trigger adjustment screw – clockwise for a heavier and counter-clockwise for a lighter pull. The rifle comes with a two-position type safety that is placed on the side of the receiver and blocks the trigger from being accidently pulled. There are dovetail grooves for optic mounts placed on the receiver. Moreover, a rear micrometre sight can be attached to the very rear end of the receiver by removing two plug screws.

The possible barrel length for Remington 540 is 660 mm (26-inch).

Remington 540, chambered for .22 LR

Figure 1: Remington 540, chambered for .22 LR (Source: https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/remington-rifles---bolt-action/remington-540x-target-22lr.cfm?gun_id=101022395)

Remington 540 can be chambered for the following calibres:

.22 LR

The rifle is available in the following variants:

Remington 540X
Remington 540XR
Remington 540 XRJR

All Remington 540 receivers come with an 11mm round top dovetail groove. Holes can be manually drilled by a gunsmith for mounting purposes. Please note that the Remington 541-X model is an exception as the receiver is not grooved.

The receiver of Remington 540, chambered for .22 LR

Figure 2: The receiver of Remington 540, chambered for .22 LR (Source: https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/remington-rifles---rimfire/remington-model-540x-target-caliber-22lr-bolt-action-rifle.cfm?gun_id=100645625#lg-2)

Which Rifles Have Interchangeable Mounts

Two-piece mounts

For two-piece mounts to fit on a rifle, mounting surfaces must match in all dimensions except the B distance. B distance can vary because two-piece mounts can be installed and adjusted closer or further apart. Rifles that meet such criteria are:

Remington 541
Remington 597

One-piece mounts

For one-piece mounts to fit on a rifle, mounting surfaces on these rifles must match in every dimension.

Unfortunately, we currently lack information regarding one-piece interchangeable mounts for the Remington 540 rifle. Should you have any additional information regarding possible mount matches, please contact us. We would gladly accept your help and expand our database accordingly.

Our Recommendations for Mounts

Fixed Mounts

If you are looking for fixed mounts to put on your rifle, we recommend this two-piece fixed mount manufactured by the American company BKL Technologies that is made of aluminium and matches the mounting dimensions of Remington 540. It is sturdy and comes with a two-year warranty.

Picatinny Rails

The holes on the receiver of Remington 540 along with some other models of 500 series must be manually drilled. This Picatinny rail made by the American company EGW can be of great help in determining the drilling position on the receiver. It is made of high-quality aluminium and comes with a two-year warranty.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu