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Well i guess we should start off by giving some info on the Tanaka's real steel father.
U.S.M.C. M40A1 (Real Steel)
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Manufacturer: Specially trained armorers at Quantico, Virginia.
Length: 44 inches (111.76 centimeters)
Barrel length: 24 inches (61 centimeters)
Weight: 14.5 pounds (6.58 kilograms)
Bore diameter: 7.62mm (.308 inches)
Maximum effective range: 1000 yards (914 meters)
Muzzle velocity: 2550 feet (777 meters) per second
Chamber pressure: 50,000 psi
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
Unit Replacement Cost: $2,105
Features: The M40A1 sniper rifle is based on the Remington model 700. It is a heavy barrel, bolt action, magazine fed 7.62mm rifle that is optimized for accuracy with Match Grade ammunition. The rifle is equipped with a special 10 power Unertl sniper scope. With scope, the rifle weighs approximately 14.5 pounds. It is equipped with a built-in five round magazine. This weapon is hand-made by specially trained and qualified armorers at Quantico, Virginia.
The unique characteristics of the M40A1 Sniper Rifle are: commercial competition-grade heavy barrel, McMillan fiberglass stock and butt pad, modified Winchester Model 70 floorplate and trigger guard, and modified and lightened trigger. In addition, each stock is epoxy bedded for accuracy and all weapons must shoot less than one minute of angle (MOA).
Background: The M40A1 was put into service in the 1970s to meet the need of a long range sniper rifle. Each rifle is hand built by specially trained and qualified personnel at the Marine Corps Marksmanship Training Unit (MTU) at Quantico, Virginia.
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Tanaka M40A1 (Airsoft Model)
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Description :
Length: 1110mm
Weight: 2745g
Capacity: 10rd
485fps(134a Gas) 567fps(Top Gas)
Factory : TANAKA
Specification :
System: Gas Type
Im not going to get into the whole opening the box like most do in a review, since i dont think most want to about how late the UPS guy was or how the box smelled like a new box, WHO CARES. Im going to tell you about the stuff that matters.
So lets get started. The weight and balance is very nice, I would have to say the most user friendly feel out of all the rifles i have owned. The molded in cheek rest is a plus, BUT its not that tall so small scope rings will be needed to be super comfortable while looking though your scope, unless you get a aftermarket cheekrest pad to raise your head.
Out of the box it shot OK, there were a few wild BB's that went left now and then, but at-home-fixes can be done to help it along for cheap or no cost to you ( depending what you have around your home ).
The first thing i did to my rifle was Teflon tape any screw, bolt or gaps the the gas could get through on the the way to the BB itself. The PCS adjustment screw is one of the parts i feel you must Teflon tape since the thread are so coarse, it it was a fine threaded bolt i wouldint of worried about it so much.
Basically if you take the rifle apart you will see all the parts that need to be taped. Back to the wild BB's, one thing that i think soooo many people over look is the HOP-BUCKING ALIGNMENT, just because it can only go in one way that doesint mean it cant be turned by just a tiny,tiny bit, but that tiny bit can cause a BB to go wild
and i know this first hand. When i took apart i pushed down on the bucking and noticed the left side of the contact point on the bucking came down first (it did not come down even) causing the BB to get a little left spin instead of a back spin.
So the fix is re-align and put the hop chamber back on, check to make sure it didint move and if it did keep doing it untill its perfect. After doing this i noticed maybe one wild BB out of 50 shots and im thinking it was just the BB's i was using at the time.
On to BB's, i have noticed the the .36 Graphite Straits work the best for me, i know thay have gotten a bad wrap but both me and my buddy both agree that thay work the best in our Tanaka's.
What upgrades do i have?, i ended up getting the G&G M700 rubber kit because it comes with a hard hop-rubber and you need that with a high FPS shooting rifle and the $22 shipped was a plus to.
After installing all the rubbers i took it outside and shot it and all i have to say is that thoes BB's were on rails, MAN, the BB's went down the field dead strait, so for $22 bucks it uped my rifles performance by 300%. Now i dont plan on getting a inner barrel because the M40A1 comes stock with a 6.04 inner
so i cant see paying $65 for .01 smaller I.D.
In the end i would have to give the Tanaka M40A1 a all around 9 out of 10
One thing i did notice that needs to be fixed right out of the box is the mag slop in the reciver, which can also be fixed at home, check out what i did to fix it. I got a soda cand and cut 2 small little squars out, for shims, and used apoxy to glue them on......
it was a super fast dring apoxy so this fix only took 15min or so...
now there is NO play and the valve is able to seal perfectly.
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Here is part 2 of my many at home tricks you can do to your Tanaka 700series rifles (including the M40A1)....So back to the point at hand, alot of people complain about inner barrel movement or missalignment because the outer barrel is not free floating, well i have the fix..NOTE: this mod took me 10min, BUT i was a machinist, so if you are not very handy around the shop/garage add 15-20min to the work time..
WHAT YOU NEED:
#1: drill bit
#2: corresponding tap ( you have to have the right tap to the drill bit size )
here is a chart.
http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/do ... pchart.gif
#3: allen head set screws
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First thing your going to want to do is mark 4 spots evenly spaced around your hop chamber nut (thats what i call it), the best way to do this is by marking a cross on the front. After its all marked its time to drill (this should be self-explanatory), once all the holes are drilled its time to tap, one thing i can not stress enough is MAKE SURE YOUR TAP IS LEVEL IN THE HOLE, the nut is brass so you can cross thread or tap the hole crooked very easy..after you drilled and tapped the nut it should look like this.
Now screw your nut back on the hop chamber and start putting in the set screws.
Now i just look down the inner barrel and adjust the set screws to make sure the gap is perfectly even between the nut and inner barrel. like this..
Now put your rifle back together and have fun...Hope you liked the MOD.
