M14 and all of the variants/teach this guy about the M14 in general.

[Dot.Com]

I have recently become very interested in owning an M14, or M1A(?) and after looking through various forums I find myself still not knowing alot about them. I would like to buy one of good quality, or build one preferably, but as I come across the various names for types of builds such as SEI, or Norinco, or LRB I have no idea what that actually implies as far as quality or price, etc.

I was hoping that someone might be able to just lay it out plain and simple about the various types of manufacturers or brand of M14, and even whether or not I should be calling it an M14, or M1A, or M21, or whatever.

Much appreciated

- Dot.Com

[Thomas M-4]

LRB is forged then milled out like the original m-14 others on the market are cast the
Norinco's are soft and have had problems with the headspace growing because the lugs geting peened back.
The SEI I am not up to date on maybe some one else can chime in on it.
I had a springfield armory loaded edition a few years back the receiver was cast but it served me well it was very accurate and zero malfunctions thousands of rounds both surplus and FGMM at that time the springfields were made with a lot of GI /TRW parts. A lot of the GI surplus parts are starting to dry up but LRB and SEI are producing parts that are supposed to be made to GI spec.
If I was in the market today looking for a m-14 /M1A1 I would look to LRB, SEI, and springfield armory.

[TOrrock]

The M1A is the semi auto M14 variant that Springfield Armory Inc. sells. They wanted to call it a M14 but ATF wouldn't allow it when they were introduced, so they went with M1A.

Firstly, you need to ask yourself what you want to use the rifle for. Are you wanting a clone of the USGI M14, a heavier barreled target rifle, a custom build DMR (designated marksman rifle), a shorter barreled carbine type?

Springfield Armory has a somewhat spotty reputation on current M1A's. This is mainly due to the fact that they ran out of USGI parts about a decade ago, so all their rifles are commercial grade. The earlier M1A's were built using their commercial receiver and mostly USGI surplus parts, and they have a much better reputation.

Armscorp also makes a commercial receiver, which a lot of knowledgeable M14 guys prefer over the Springfield if they're going to go with a cast receiver. Both Springfield and Armscorp are cast, the original M14 receivers were drop hammer forged like the M1 Garand.

Fulton Armory uses Armscorp receivers branded Fulton.

LRB are forged, and are about as highly regarded as they come. They are extremely well built, using premium commercial parts and GI where they can. Instead of using .308 Win. chambered non chrome lined Wilson barrels like Springfield, they use Krieger chrome lined 7.62 NATO chambered Criterion barrels.

You pay for it though.

So, what are you looking to do with it? That will go a long way towards where you want to look, and the features you'll want on your rifle.

[Dot.Com]

Firstly, thank you for the replies, it has certainly cleared some things up.

I mostly planned on getting an M14 as a semi-auto option for precision target shooting, I'm not a superb shooter, but as long as the rifle is MOA to sub-MOA capable I would be happy. In other words though, I don't really need it to be a battle rifle, just something I can take to the range and work on my shooting, and of course have fun with.

I like to have options further down the line, so I had planned on keeping it woodstocked at first, then maybe toying around with some of those fancy chassis from sage or troy after I get familiar with the rifle.

Primarily though, I would like to build it myself. Is it particularly difficult to get the parts required for a solid target rifle?

[steve-oh]

I love the M14 but if you're looking for precision it's probably not your best option. It's better than most shooters but they are difficult to get sub moa consistently. I'm only on my 2nd M1A though and there's a lot of people with more experience so I may have to defer to their expertise.

[TOrrock]

I love the M14 but if you're looking for precision it's probably not your best option. It's better than most shooters but they are difficult to get sub moa consistently. I'm only on my 2nd M1A though and there's a lot of people with more experience so I may have to defer to their expertise.

What Steve said. The M14 system can be made to be very accurate, but they require a lot of work to keep them that way. The rifle was designed to be a battle rifle, not a tack driver.....


I love the M14, I've owned a fair number of semi auto clones and one real registered transferrable Class 3 select fire M14, but the AR-10's will out shoot them easily and with less work.

[Iraqgunz]

Hindsight is 20/20. I wish I hadn't bought my SOCOM II and then converted it to the Troy MCS. I would have just bought an LMT .308 gun.

[DocGKR]

The first rifle I shot expert on after getting commissioned in 1986 was an M14. Back when I shot Hi-Power, I had a lot of match grade McMillan stocked M1A's, both iron sighted and with optics (they were heavy beasts). For a variety of reasons, I have sold almost all my M1A's--I only kept two lightweight 18" SA M1A's in simple GI brown stocks and I'll get rid of those as soon as I move out of CA.

I've seen more M1A and M14 clones break recently than I care to contemplate--particularly the SA M1A SOCOM's; in fact, I've yet to see a M1A SOCOM make it through a multi-day carbine course without breaking. If you do decide to get an M1A/M14 clone, make sure you send it to someone like Smith Enterprise or Fulton to have all the current manufactured poor quality parts replaced. M1A's can be made very accurate if you spend a lot of money...but they don't stay accurate very long. Buy 3 of them, so that at any given time you can have one that shoots well, one for training, one that is being re-built... Mounting optics is a bit harder than on an AR15/AR10 type rifle. Again, Smith Enterprise and Fulton Armory are good sources.

Two years ago after teaching my section of the course at a SWAT carbine school presented by a large PD here, I decided to stick around and run through the rest of the day's drills and tests with the students. However, instead of using an optic equipped 6920 like normal, I chose to run an old school, iron sighted, CA civilian legal, 18" M1A that had all the crappy SA parts replaced with USGI ones. Last time I shot a SWAT course with iron sights was back in 2000 with a Colt 6520 carbine. The young studs were giving me a hard time about my old "musket"...until we started shooting. I was surprised how well things went--dumping 20 rounds into a stationary head size target at 100 m was easy, close in CQB drills and shooting on the move went well, and some scenario based tests (including simulated one arm injuries) posed no problems. The rifle fired 500 rounds of 155 gr Hornady AMAX with no failures to feed or function. In this era, I FAR prefer an AR15 in 5.56 mm or 6.8 mm, but it was interesting to see how well the old dog (both the rifle and me) could run and it was a lot of fun! One area that could be an issue on M14/M1A’s is the safety location--this is a huge liability concern for an LE rifle. The poor safety location on an M14/M1A is MOST definitely an issue for demanding LE tactical use, especially for entries/CQB--in fact, it pretty much makes it a non-starter for those missions.



The only reason I continue to own M1A's is that they are still "legal" and not restricted as "assault weapons" under CA's asinine laws (unlike AR's, AK's, FAL's, etc...). M1A's work OK as simple, rugged iron or possibly RDS sighted rifles of limited long term accuracy potential, kind of like a big AK. For mounting optics or any other precision role, there are far better choices. The only justification for my M1A's existence is to reside in the trunk of my POV's. For every other situation, I am reaching for the far superior ergonomics of an AR15. Now that viable modern designed 7.62x51 mm carbines are coming to the market, for example the 16” KAC SR25 EM and LaRue 16” OBR, I might consider switching over from an AR15 for the superior terminal performance offered by the 7.62x51 mm cartridge—but I would NEVER willingly choose to purchase an M1A in this day and age for serious/duty/precision use, given the substantially better options available in most areas.

http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a...4735#987104735

http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a...3673#939103673

http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a...5131010204/p/1

[Dot.Com]

It seems that getting the performance I want from the platform will be more of an undertaking than I thought. For the most part the general consensus is pointing towards just checking out an ar-10, and I may end up doing just that.

I was looking for some info, and I got exactly what I was looking for, thanks for all the help.

[TOrrock]

Doesn't mean you can't still have one to enjoy.

There's a lot to be said for the confidence inspiring feel of a 21" barreled M14 on the range.

It was America's last battle rifle. A piece of history.

And if I lived behind the lines in Kali like Doc does, I'd have an 18" Criterion barreled M14 Bush Rifle with an Aimpoint T-1 and light on it in a GI synthetic stock, just about like his set up there, rather than one of the neutered AK's or AR's that I'd be allowed to have there.

I know guys who grab their M1 Garands and Carbines out of the safe to watch Band of Brothers. Nothing at all wrong with that.

But, if you're looking for a precision tack driver, the AR system starts out being intrinsically more accurate, easier to keep that way, easier to mount optics to, and far superior ergonomics.

What's your price range?