how often do take your m1a apart

roval · Aug 9, 2022

i have a loaded m1a that i have had for maybe 6 yrs. it doesn't get shot a lot. i think over the years i have taken it apart 3-4 times including yesterday. first when i got the rifle to see how it goes, 2nd after a couple of hundred and with replacing the guide rod with sadlak guide rod, maybe one other time to put grease in certain areas not easily accessible. i have never broken down the bolt. i do clean the gas piston after a couple of hundred rounds or so but usually do cleaning and greasing without taking it apart.
i couldn't even remember how to take the guide rod, operating handle and bolt and had to rewatch videos.
i didn't want to loosen the action.

25-5 · Aug 9, 2022

I have a NM so I've never had the stock off in a decade. The barrel is bedded. I do clean after each use since I use other milsurps in between.
I clean the gas port every other time. Some good info on the M14 forum.

CapnMac · Aug 9, 2022

Took mine out o the stock to make cleaning easier.

It was not like I had it set up for NRA High Power where Bedding is Uber Alles.

Had the gas piston out maybe once, more out of curiosity than need (it did not really need any cleaning).

Pretty sure I never disassembled the bolt, ever. It never really got grubby enough. Mostly just greased the roller and reinstalled it.

roval · Aug 9, 2022

thanks. now i don't feel too bad although it was kind of fun relearning how to take it apart. it did make greasing much easier including the roller bearing and i was able to reapply oil to the barrel. guide rod and operating rod. by the time i next break it down i may have to rewatch some videos.

Zygodactyl · Aug 9, 2022

I have a bedded NM and I've taken it apart once in 40 years. I clean the bore with a guide and the gas piston. I clean the bolt face and exterior surfaces.

Charlie98 · Aug 9, 2022

Everyone pretty much covered it... if it's bedded, leave it in the stock, otherwise, it's not hurting anything to pull it from the stock, unless you get silly with it.

You DO need to disassemble the bolt once in a while... to clean it, and grease the roller. The bolt tool really helps, here, but is not absolutely necessary. You also need to inspect the bolt lugs, and I usually look at the safety bridge to make sure it's not damaged.

Speedo66 · Aug 10, 2022

When I was leaving basic, they made us ultra clean our M-14's before they would let us go. The drill sgt. rejected mine several times because he said the piston wasn't clean enough.

I finally turned around and scraped the entire piston with my pocket knife, actually removing metal, until the whole thing shined. When I brought it back to him once again, I was afraid he was going to murder me. He held it up and said "this is what I want them all to look like".

I grabbed my things and ran.

caribou · Aug 10, 2022

I carry my Nat Match in a fiberglass stock.
The hardest part was that it initially took me quite awhile to get that operating rod to come off.

I clean mine nearly every day with a wipe down, and oil, or I disassemble it for cleaning after shooting.

Besides cold condensation on inside and outside metal surfaces, I have salt water spray and mist all around.

The buttstock cleaning kit is very handy.

roval · Aug 11, 2022

caribou said:
I carry my Nat Match in a fiberglass stock.
The hardest part was that it initially took me quite awhile to get that operating rod to come off.

I clean mine nearly every day with a wipe down, and oil, or I disassemble it for cleaning after shooting.

Besides cold condensation on inside and outside metal surfaces, I have salt water spray and mist all around.

The buttstock cleaning kit is very handy.

you're an outlier in your frequent use/carry of the gun. is the gun's action still tight?

robin banks · Aug 11, 2022

there is no need to take the rifle out of the stock. the barrel and gas system easy to clean with the stock on. unless 1000's of rds fired leave the stock on cause the trigger latch tension that holds the rifle together might get loose

Slamfire · Aug 11, 2022

When I shot my M1a in NRA Highpower, I removed the action from the stock, once a year, at the end of the shooting season. The action is bedded to the stock and I did not want to create wear.

There was always gunpowder residue up front in the gas piston area.

I learned how to take the bolt out without removing the operating rod from the rifle. I pulled the trigger guard, wiped out residue and greased and oiled things.

I always cleaned the gas piston and wiped out the gas cylinder lock and gas cylinder from the front. If you don't clean out the gas piston, it will fill up with gunpowder residue and cause malfunctions. I wiped under the barrel with the operating rod locked back, and used a paint brush to grease the underside of the barrel, and the shaft of the operating rod.

I over grease and over oil, but, it really does not hurt anything.

Americans training with the M14 at Fort Bliss prior to going to Vietnam

Robbins290 · Aug 11, 2022

I never taken my scout apart.

roval · Aug 11, 2022

Slamfire said:
When I shot my M1a in NRA Highpower, I removed the action from the stock, once a year, at the end of the shooting season. The action is bedded to the stock and I did not want to create wear.

View attachment 1095625

There was always gunpowder residue up front in the gas piston area.

I learned how to take the bolt out without removing the operating rod from the rifle. I pulled the trigger guard, wiped out residue and greased and oiled things.

View attachment 1095626

I always cleaned the gas piston and wiped out the gas cylinder lock and gas cylinder from the front. If you don't clean out the gas piston, it will fill up with gunpowder residue and cause malfunctions. I wiped under the barrel with the operating rod locked back, and used a paint brush to grease the underside of the barrel, and the shaft of the operating rod.

I over grease and over oil, but, it really does not hurt anything.

View attachment 1095627

View attachment 1095628

Americans training with the M14 at Fort Bliss prior to going to Vietnam

View attachment 1095629

View attachment 1095630

View attachment 1095631

View attachment 1095632

View attachment 1095633

i also use a small brush to apply greas to the underside of the barrel where the operating rod may make contact

caribou · Aug 11, 2022

roval said:
you're an outlier in your frequent use/carry of the gun. is the gun's action still tight?

Loose enough to work really good with no noticeable wear on the bolt lugs or lug recesses.

I grease everything below the stock, yet there's always a nook or cranny thats to be delt with.

The true wear is on the finish. My .22lr and 12 gauge are painted with reustolum primer, something I'm trying to avoid with this rifle. I do paint the stock to go with the seasons, and its flaking has actually made quite a nice "cammo' to it.

Only NORMA brass gives me problems.

Otherwise, Im very happy with it.

how often do take your m1a apart

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