Future of the M14 Rifle?
Sage EBR USMC M39 EMR
Springfield Armory Inc. National Match(#NA9102)
Springfield Armory Inc. M14E2-A1
What about the future? Is the M14 here to stay? If history is any indication, M14 type rifles will be around for a long time to come.
There are several factors driving the M14 popularity swing. First is the mystique of the government’s insistence that no civilian is trust worthy enough to legally own a rifle that belches more than one shot with one pull on the trigger! It was OK to spread them to unstable governments all over the world, but not to an American citizen…. That type of thinking usually ends up creating a huge amount of the “I want one of those!” cravings we all seem to have.
I think I related once or twice before that I had a real M14NM rifle for about 17 years. It was a beauty! Springfield Armory serial number 348721. The National Guard issued it to me and I was able to keep it at home and shoot it any time I wanted. You would think that would cure my curiosity, but it only served to generate a passion for these fine rifles.
I also got into building National Match M1A’s (the only game in town) and I owned and shot several over my tenure with the Guard Rifle Team. That has a lot to do with my appreciation for commercial copies of the M14. I noticed a post on CSP where someone questioned why anyone would want anything other than an M1 Garand, because they are a real gov’mint issue rifle and all them M14 clones is only copies of the real thing. Bull pucky! The only significant difference between a government M14 and a commercial M14 is the lack of a selector. The M14 shoots best semi auto anyway!
Two other big things are driving the run away popularity of the M14. One is the military using them again in large numbers and the other is the evolution of the new hammer forged receivers from LRB Arms. I don’t think you can get any closer to the real deal than you can with the LRB Arms M14SA rifle. In spite of their start up pains, LRB has all the other M14 makers running around with their tails between their legs! Well, maybe not Springfield, Inc. They have just been around too long.
The future looks bright for the M14! About the only thing that can slow it down would be another round of the AWB law. If it comes again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the M14 is added to the list of bad, uglies, right next to the AR15!
In the mean time, more and more people are getting exposed to this great shooting rifle. It would be nice if they weren’t so expensive, but real steel and wood, made to mil spec, just can’t be cheap. We can only hope that import laws are relaxed so M14 parts can be brought back into the country. That would help a bunch. You don’t think the major commercial arms companies would be behind this stupid executive order do you? Would they stifle competition?
I’ve been surprised by the demand for match grade M14 rifles coming in. Even accuracy upgrades going on standard rifles. I guess a lot of folks just want an accurate rifle. Not many are actually shooting the M14 in rifle matches. Someone once said that ”only accurate rifles are interesting”. I tend to agree and so do many of my customers.
There is also a lot of interest in tactical rifles. Special accessories and stocks like Sage and the new JAE-100. Whistles and bells still ring a lot of chimes. I’ve been selling a lot of Smith Enterprise accessories as well as Sadlak scope mounts, spring guides, and TN coated pistons. With all this new stuff, it’s easy to understand why everyone wants an M14.
Even with all the goodies available, I’m still building a lot of standard rifles. I don’t think there is really anything better than a basic M14 rifle. They feel good in your hands and shoot exceptionally well. They have plenty of power and hit way out there! What’s not to like?
So, yes, the M14 is going to be around for a long time and it’s getting even more popular. The future is bright…. If the politicians don’t muck it up!
I believe LRB Arms and Springfield Armory have both decided to not sell stripped receivers, even to most gunsmiths. Some of you are probably already aware of this. There are a couple of reasons for this, the least of which is profit. There isn’t much in receiver sales, but the important one is that too many shade tree gunsmiths attempting to build their own, screw up. I don’t know any better way to put it…. Receivers come back damaged with folks wanting replacements or their money back. Building rifles is not easy to do. Those who make an uneducated attempt at rifle building and succeed are in the minority and damned lucky. Those of us who do it for a living have a hard enough time, but we have the training and experience to correct problems when they surface. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get a good receiver to play with. There’s always SARCO and others selling seconds that one can practice on. I’m not venting here. It’s a serious subject and a building error can be dangerous to the user. At one time I packed parachutes. Would you trust your life to someone who never packed a chute when your plane is going down in smoke?
I’ve been answering questions about bullets for the M14 lately and thought it would be good to elaborate a little more. I have found that the M14 will shoot anything from 125 grains to 185 grains without problems or damage as long as the proper powder is used and loads are kept within the M14 safe working pressures. Even the 190 grain bullets have been shot successfully when the rifle has been modified to keep the loads working pressure down, but I can’t recommend bullets that heavy.
The 155 grain Sierra Palma bullet can be shot to 1000 yards and works well in a 1:12 inch twist barrel. These can be fired at velocities around 2700 to 2800 FPS. Most accuracy loads involve bullets in the 168 to 175 grain range at velocities of 2550 to 2650 FPS. I think the best all around bullet for accuracy is the 175 grain Sierra Match King. These bullets were designed specifically to replace and match ballistics of the M118 Match bullet. However, they are much more accurate than the M118. At one time, the military used M118 Match ammo for it’s sniper rifles with good results. Around 1980 the Army decided to try and save money by loading this bullet in ball brass with ball powder.
One of the reasons for this change was the switch to the XM852 cartridge that used the 168 grain Sierra Match King bullet for competition. It was felt, at the time, that this bullet was in violation of the Geneva Convention on Warfare. It infers that no hollow point bullets should be used in combat because they are inhumane. Of course, bombs, rockets, and flame throwers are OK! It seems to me that Winchester took over the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant at that time and changed the type of powder being used in the M118 Special Ball ammunition. This caused problems and the ammo just didn’t give the consistent results required for long range sniping. The Attorney General of the United States reviewed the Geneva Convention dictates and the design of the Sierra bullets. He ruled that the ballistic hollow point bullet of Sierra Match King bullets was not a true hollow point as it was not designed to expand so it was OK to use it for combat sniping.
One of the reasons for this change was the switch to the XM852 cartridge that used the 168 grain Sierra Match King bullet for competition. It was felt, at the time, that this bullet was in violation of the Geneva Convention on Warfare. It infers that no hollow point bullets should be used in combat because they are inhumane. Of course, bombs, rockets, and flame throwers are OK! It seems to me that Winchester took over the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant at that time and changed the type of powder being used in the M118 Special Ball ammunition. This caused problems and the ammo just didn’t give the consistent results required for long range sniping. The Attorney General of the United States reviewed the Geneva Convention dictates and the design of the Sierra bullets. He ruled that the ballistic hollow point bullet of Sierra Match King bullets was not a true hollow point as it was not designed to expand so it was OK to use it for combat sniping.
This greatly improved the effectiveness of our snipers except at extended ranges. Turns out that the 168 grain bullet won’t stay stable to 1000 yards. The M852 round goes sub sonic and the bullets tumble. Not good…. That’s why we now have the M118LR cartridge that uses the Sierra 175 grain Match King bullet. It shoots accurately to ranges in excess of 1000 yards in the M21 as well as the M24 and M40 series sniper rifles.
One of my points here is that the 175 grain bullet is perfectly safe to shoot in the M14 rifle. This is predicated on using medium powders like IMR4895, Varget, TAC, and others of like burning characteristics. Velocities should not exceed 2550 FPS for best accuracy and good working pressures.
By Ted Brown
The standard rifle is less expensive to build and that will make it the most popular configuration, but if you have the means you should consider the top of the line MK14 SEI, M21A5 Crazy Horse and the new M14 EBR-RINM-SEI from Smith Enterprise, Inc.
These modernized and enhanced rifles will carry the M14 far into the future.
Reply to this