M14

[rikkn]

Hi guys, new to the forum, from Greenville, SC. Been collecting military weapons for years, and recently opened a shop here in town. Looking for a little help here.
This is now mine, came into the shop today. I have never owned an M14 before, actually first time I have seen one !!! Not exactly sure what I have either, so help me out here guys. Came with several boxes of ammo, 3 mags, 3 handguards, and a bayonet with markings on the blade I have not seen before either.
Help me out with some comments please, this rifle may be a keeper.

 

[usmc1488]

Nice! What do the marks on the receiver heel say? The barrel marks are visible after you lock the oprod back. The trigger group has marks as well. Pull oprod back to make sure the hammer is reset. To pull the trigger group out pull the trigger guard up and out toward the barrel, it swings. Then lift up. Is it a class 3?

 

[jetmd]

From the pictures you have an E2 version, with the correct butt pad pistol grip and forward grip.
The Big question is what receiver is this built on? Can you supply a picture of the receiver?
If you are concerned cover the last three digits when photographing. Not only is the manufacture
of the receiver vital to the price, but also S/N range.

Different

M14 Forum - M14 Forum for M14 M1A Rifles

WarRifles.com - Powered by vBulletin

These sites will keep you busy reading and learning for the next few minutes.

Regards,

Chet

 

[rikkn]

Only had a chance to snap a few quick pictures, this came in at the end of the day. Will take more pictures tomorrow and post them. Totally new to these, my first M14.

 

[RTH1800]

Troll much?

 

[rikkn]

Here is the receiver top, s/n is 11575.

RTH - What does " Troll much " mean ??

 

[usmc1488]

ArmscOrps Receiver, Not Bad!

 

[jetmd]

Troll much?

Please explain?

 

[M1Amen]

From the pictures, you have a very nice piece. As my screen name suggests, I know a little bit about the M1A.

The stock alone is worth a couple of hundred bucks. It is an M14E2 stock, one of the versions that was developed to help with recoil under fully automatic firing and is also better suited to shooting in general due to the elevated stock comb. The stock in the picture is particularly valuable because it has all of the hardware, although it does look like it has seen use.

Many of the remaining M14E2 stocks are missing pieces of the front grip, so you have hit a jackpot on that one. You could easily replace the stock with a wood stock or a fiberglass GI stock and sell the M14E2 separately for a nice profit.

Your flash hider still has a bayonet lug, which is also a plus. This means it is a real USGI part. The vented hand guards are nice, but they were known to crack at times and they will allow a bit more mirage to rise off the barrel due to heat more easily escaping the area. Not all M1A's have vented hand guards, and I have never installed any.

If you are interested in adding an immaculate and finely refinished stock, PM me. I have a friend who is an FFL and also refinishes stocks for the M14/M1A and I would love to put you guys in touch. You would gasp at the quality of his work.

In summary, you may also wish to not sell that rifle. In my opinion, it is the finest battle rifle in existence. If you do sell it, go shoot it first and I think you will see what I mean. They are expensive for a reason - they are accurate to about 1-1.5 MOA out of the box, and with a little tweaking, they can become sub-minute rifles.

I would forgo any modifications such as bedding to the stock. M14's are notorious for eating their bedding and the bedding can require frequent touch ups every thousand rounds or so. Also, you would want to keep that stock in really good condition because they are sought after by collectors, especially with all the hardware.

If that were mine, I would try very hard to keep it.

 

[RTH1800]

What I meant was if this is a class 3 weapon, which all m14's are, you knew much more than you were saying, or in a lot of trouble. You posted like you know nothing about them, transfers, select fire, mfg. etc.
So, if this is class 3, you either knew more than you were saying, or someone will be knocking on your door.

 

[McCrazy]

Can we see a pic of the rifle from the other side? Would also help answer some questions.

 

[Unknown]

I used to own quite a few M1A's, and shot them for years in competitions. I never had issues with any of the bedding, but that may be because I was given tips early on regarding ways to help maintain the bedding..

1. Bed with Marine-tex, or some similar product that does not deteriorate when contacted by solvents, oils, or other things like Hoppe's. The old Bisonite, and Accraglass, are much more sensitive to solvents.
2. when storing the rifle, release pressure on the bedding by opening the trigger guard.
3. If possible, store the rifle with the flash hider down. That way the oils are less likely to run to the rear and sit between the heel of the action and the stock.
4. Remove the action from the bedded stock only when absoutely necessary. Often removing and replacing the action back into the tightly bedded stock can damage, or acuse premature wear to the bedding.
5. Keep the bedding clean, and as free from oil and grease as possible (without removing the action from the bedding)

I recommend against putting a Harris type bipod onto this rifle for a number of reasons...a big reason is that the wood on the forend is so thin that the bipod's spring action can rip a large chunk out of the stock....(yeah, ask me how I know).

There are a number of modifications that turn a standard rifle into a match rifle, and bedding is only one. Some others:
-unitize the gas cylinder
-ream out the flash hider
-trigger job
-relieve pressure around the upper handguard, there is a specific way to fix the upper handguard
-hooded rear sight, different front site, more possible adjustments on match sights
-of course bed the action with a little upward pressure at the front. This usually requires a bedding jig to center the barrel, and
Give the proper amount of pressure

That is most of the ones I can remember. Hope that helps.

You have a VERY nice rifle, congratulations.

 

[MJ1]

What I meant was if this is a class 3 weapon, which all m14's are, you knew much more than you were saying, or in a lot of trouble. You posted like you know nothing about them, transfers, select fire, mfg. etc.
So, if this is class 3, you either knew more than you were saying, or someone will be knocking on your door.

LOL! Open the eyes and you will see there is nothing in the selector cutout in the last picture. The sky is not falling.

 

[usmc1488]

Go to M14 Forum - M14 Forum for M14 M1A Rifles, everything you could ever want to know is there. Again you have an Arms corps receiver. I had one that was fantastic, some have issues with them. Get a smith that knows the m14 or m1 to look at it first before you try to shoot it. The m14/m1 garand have specific idiosyncrasies that if not looked at specifically could result in injury or at least a blown up rifle. Watch this video on how to disassemble:

M1A M14 Field Strip Disassembly - YouTube

 

[Guest]

Can we see a pic of the rifle from the other side? Would also help answer some questions.

Yep the right side of the receiver will tell it all as many real deals were cut and re-welded, and some with a heel from a semi auto. The op rod dismount is a dead give away, and if it has two of them, an bigger story unfolds.
FYI, early days the stock was known only as the M14e2 but later after the experimental designations were phased out it was known as the M14a1. In the full auto mode most M14's were a hand full with a std stock, but with a E-2 stock and the muzzle stabilizer she rocked. (That stick is missing the stabilizer) The Straight line recoil of that stock made a big difference also. The front hand grip was hardly ever used, look good on paper but sucked in the real world. Some E-2 stocks were fitted to XM21's and worked very, very well.

 

[RTH1800]

Point was that the OP posted 4 pictures none of which showed MFG or selector area. He then stated it was an M14, not an M1A.
Over 90% of the people in the USA believe in coincidence. They all work for someone else.
TROLLING

 

[usmc1488]

God he posted a pic of the heel like I asked which shows an ARMSCORPS receiver which is semi only. Also in the pic you can see there is no disconnect link, and only sai calls their clone m1a. Every other company making a clone receiver calls it m14. Put the tin foil hats away and like our parents told us if you can't say anything nice get the f out! If you know nothing about m14s and an armscorps came in with its heel marked "m14" you wouldn't know that there myriad of copies, most casual gun guys don't even know that the real one is class 3.

 

[usmc1488]

Point was that the OP posted 4 pictures none of which showed MFG or selector area. He then stated it was an M14, not an M1A.
Over 90% of the people in the USA believe in coincidence. They all work for someone else.
TROLLING

God he posted a pic of the heel like I asked which shows an ARMSCORPS receiver which is semi only. Also in the pic you can see there is no disconnect link, and only sai calls their clone m1a. Every other company making a clone receiver calls it m14. Put the tin foil hats away and like our parents told us if you can't say anything nice get the f out! If you know nothing about m14s and an armscorps came in with its heel marked "m14" you wouldn't know that there myriad of copies, most casual gun guys don't even know that the real one is class 3.

 

[RTH1800]

It was not posted when I ask the question.
Think about it,
Here is my just acquired m14 E2. No pic of mfg or selector. Busy now, drool for a while. Might post more later. When you see an e2 called an m14 do you think semi or full auto?
Trolling. I will not add more as that was the original intent.

 

[rikkn]

OK guys, not playing stupid here, the guy I bought it from said it was an M14, was good enough for me, as I think I made a good deal on all the goods. Many know me on other forums, I used to spend a lot of time on Gunboards ( Rick N. ) - much less frequent visitor since I opened a little " hobby " shop with my son ( GUNSANDBIKES.com ), I moved well over 200 military guns from my collection into the shop. While I can identify most by types - K98, Arisaka, Carcano, M1, etc, etc. I am no expert in the individual characteristics of each. More of a passionate accumulator than a specialist. When I come across something I have never had, like the one in question here, I normally post about it and do tons of research. This group buy made me stay an hour late yesterday, so no time to play with it. Still not sure what I really have, but it is cool, and will be a keeper. If you know me from the other sites - you also know I have no secrets and share what I get these things for ( someone always asks ) . So, all that said - a couple questions :

1. What is the true designation for the one I have ?
2. Was it military or aftermarket ?
3. Would it make a good scoped weapon ? If so, what would be the most correct way to set it up ?
4. What is approximate value the way it is ?

 

[Guest]

If you know nothing about m14s and an armscorps came in with its heel marked "m14" you wouldn't know that there myriad of copies, most casual gun guys don't even know that the real one is class 3.

Correction, no such thing as a class 3 weapon, there are class 3 dealers who deal in Title II weapons though.

 

[Guest]

1. What is the true designation for the one I have ?
2. Was it military or aftermarket ?
3. Would it make a good scoped weapon ? If so, what would be the most correct way to set it up ?
4. What is approximate value the way it is ?

1. Armscorp M14
2. After market
3. Depending the task yes and no
4. Can't help you with that at all


Just an FYI, S/A (ILL) made Title II M1A's
Smith Inds Made Forged receivered Title II M14's for the US Navy, and also sold a few title II to the NFA market. There are a few Chicom M14's in this country that are Title II, but the bulk of the chicoms are semi only.

Lots of misnomers about M1A's and M14's in general,as many a heel is stamped US Rifle 7.62MM M14 and some are the real deal and other are just labeled that way as a sales gimmick.

The 4 main mfgs were Springfield Armory (USGI) Winchester, TRW, and my favorite of the bunch H&R, with Smith being the 5th USGI supplier. All that said ATF says once a MG always a MG and all USGI M14's were F/A. Now add the fact that a very small group of uncut M14's were nutered and sold via CMP are out there. There are less than 125 uncut real deal M14s in the NFA Registery, but many re-welds prior to 5-19-86 are there as well. There are but 2 real XM21s, and only one (that I know) of M21 that are in private collections, those weapons still have the correct serialized scopes as well.

 

[Douglas-001]

Good looking rifle. You sir are clearly in waaay over your head............send it to me for a full T&E. I don't know much about that platform other than, ahem...competition, loads, cleaning, unitizing gas system, trigger work, op rod guides, sights, bedding, and talking trash to AR 15 shooters! HA HA HA...seriously, just send it to me........

Doug

P.S. I am not holding an M14 in the avatar pic, that is an M1A SuperMatch. So take that federales.............

 

[jetmd]

Just to help clarify things a little: The term "M1A" is a proprietary title for Springfield Armory's M14 pattern rifle and should be used as such.
All others such as Armscor, Fed Ord, LRB, Norico etc would be correctly referred to as an M14 SA (semi auto)
I don't think the OP was trying to mislead or was fishing with any intent other than asking for help.
Wishing you the best with your new M14SA!
They are a LOT of fun.

 

[mescalito]

OK guys, not playing stupid here, the guy I bought it from said it was an M14, was good enough for me, as I think I made a good deal on all the goods. Many know me on other forums, I used to spend a lot of time on Gunboards ( Rick N. ) - much less frequent visitor since I opened a little " hobby " shop with my son ( GUNSANDBIKES.com ), I moved well over 200 military guns from my collection into the shop. While I can identify most by types - K98, Arisaka, Carcano, M1, etc, etc. I am no expert in the individual characteristics of each. More of a passionate accumulator than a specialist. When I come across something I have never had, like the one in question here, I normally post about it and do tons of research. This group buy made me stay an hour late yesterday, so no time to play with it. Still not sure what I really have, but it is cool, and will be a keeper. If you know me from the other sites - you also know I have no secrets and share what I get these things for ( someone always asks ) . So, all that said - a couple questions :

1. What is the true designation for the one I have ?
2. Was it military or aftermarket ?
3. Would it make a good scoped weapon ? If so, what would be the most correct way to set it up ?
4. What is approximate value the way it is ?

Most of your questions have already been answered.
Civilian receiver
Aftermarket receiver, USGI bolt, and I'll hazard a guess that the other major parts are USGI.
Do not do anything to that stock, not any part of it. That is what makes this piece interesting. Otherwise it's just another Armscorp with USGI parts.
Take it to a M14 smith. Some Armscorp have had problems.
Go to m14forum.com
Value is going to be dependent upon the condition. Armscorp aren't the most popular receivers, but not the worst either.

 

[RTH1800]

I was wrong. Sorry, most post that start like yours are not for real. One reason is most of us do not stumble into really cool rifles like that.
Nice rifle.!
I am very sorry for doubting your motives.
RTH

 

[rikkn]

No problem RTH !!!! You should see the odd & cool things I stumble into - almost on a regular basis here !!

 

[rikkn]

I was stuck in the shop all day today, must have picked up this new toy at least 30 times,,,,,,,, guess it's a keeper !! Now I need to find a correct bipod for it.

 

[Different]

The Armscorp USA receiver serial number 11575 was manufactured about mid-1994. Regarding M2 bipods, there are USGI, US commercial, mainland Chinese and Taiwanese models. Identifying which is which another topic all unto itself.