A few M14 questions???

[Patriot-Brewer]

LRB is out of standard contour bbls right now so I'm getting a medium for no extra cost. The twist is 1/10 instead of 1/12. It will also be chrome lined but Paul said it will shoot both .308 and NATO fine.

1. Will chrome and 1/10 twist still handle standard NATO ammo fine (When I find some)?

2. Anybody know how much heavier a med. cont. bbl is over a standard?

That's the crappy thing about it but Paul said he has no idea when they're going to get standard bbls in from Criterion (might explain why they called me 6 months before I expected).

My rifle is being built on their new M25 reciever with the dovetails built in for a rail (no side-mounting scopes) so my last question is...

3. Opinions on GOOD scopes and rings for the M14? Would some type of red-dot, etc. be more practical if I'm shooting 500 yards or so (I know the rifle's good that far with no optics and I'm not sure I'll ever put optics on it but just in case).

4. What spare parts should I invest in? (oops, that's 2 questions)

Tnx

P-B

 

[Ed]

Barrel will be fine.
For a nice scope to suit the rifle I'd look at spending half as much as you just dropped on the rifle. That said, I put a Leopold on one of my M1A's and the other 2 are iron sighted. I just like Iron sights better. 500 would be to far for an Aimpoint or Eotech to be used effectively.

 

[General Geoff]

500 yards is a stretch for iron sights, even if you have impeccable vision.

I'd suggest going with a Leupold Mark IV scope. That's what I'll be putting on mine once I have the money.

 

[Patriot-Brewer]

I'm blessed with 20/15 vision...(laser modified).

Yeah, 500 yards may be a stretch. I guess I shouldn't believe everything I read on the web.

This is my first M14 so I have a lot to learn about their relationship w/me. Thanks for the ideas and info. I actually thought the Mark 4 M3 leupy might be a good choice.

Is it worth it to get a spare gas block, trigger group and bolt?

 

[glockman19]

Congrats.

I go a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x40 on mine. $485 @ www.opticsplanet.com

 

[PracticeFreedom]

Hello Patriot-Brewer

As far as spare parts, I'd get a complete set of springs (+2 recoil springs) and bolt parts (extractor, firing pin, etc---seen bolts shed extractors several times) If you can find it, get a complete bolt and have it headspaced to your rifle as replacing the bolt-roller is a royal PIA without the tools. This way, you can just drop in your spare bolt and mail the other one out for service and still use the rifle. For other parts, maybe an operating rod, handguard, and rear sights. Never seen a trigger group or gas assembly break myself---although I've seen everything mentioned above fail at one time or another--admittedly sometimes through severe abuse (jumping on the op-rod to unfreeze a chambered round--don't ask.) Be warned, USGI parts are always getting more expensive----crazy prices like $225+ for a complete TRW bolt.

Also, chrome-lining in the barrel is a GOOD thing, well worth a theoretical 1/4 MOA disadvantage to double the barrel life and have good corrosion resistance.

 

[Onmilo]

1/10 twist barrels are best with 168-172 grain Match bullets.
147 grain NATO will work just fine, the big issue here comes with the faster twist causing more stability on the bullet which reduces the lethality somewhat.
Fast and stable makes it punch nice neat holes without the all important yawing in soft tissue.

LRB manufactured rifles pretty well come with all mil-spec parts so for spares I would suggest:
1.operating rod spring
2.hammer spring
3.extractor & spring
4.ejector & spring
You shouldn't need anything else for a long, long time to come but with parts getting scarce and really climbing in price I would also recommend a replacement operating rod, Mil-Spec trigger group, and bolt be kept on hand if you can swing the $500.00 this stuff will cost you now.

 

[BOW CEFUS]

how are the groops with your mini 14

 

[General Geoff]

mini 14..?

 

[Onmilo]

Groops????

 

[General Geoff]

Just to clarify for Bow Cefus: An M14 is a battle rifle designed and implemented by the military in the late 1950s. It is a select-fire weapon (full-auto capable), and is chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO, a cartridge similar to (and mostly compatible with) .308 Winchester. Springfield Armory, Inc., manufactures a semi-automatic-only version of the M14, called the M1A.

The Mini-14, in contrast, is a rifle designed/built by Ruger, chambered for .223/5.56mm NATO. Its basic design is lifted from the M14, and it operates similarly. Otherwise, they are indeed two different weapons.


Interesting bit of trivia: Both the Ruger Mini-14 and the SAI M1A were introduced in 1974.

 

[Dienekes]

Not sure about the weight differential between std. and med-hvy barrel, but I have the latter on my M1A and it is probably a plus factor in damping down barrel wander, especially in offhand and sitting. Mine is a 1:10 and likes 147s and 168s fine. I run the same twist in an M1 6 groove and same results there.

I have a Smith Enterprises mount and rings for mine but after some experimentation I am leaving it off until such time as I have a real (i.e., no other options) for it. Any decent mount I know of adds a fair amount of bulk and weight, in addition to raising the line of sight awfully high. A pad or spacer is pretty much a necessity to get your head up high enough. The whole lash-up also raises the weight of the loaded rifle with sling up around 13 pounds. It really changes the handling of the rifle and its character quite a lot. It's not all gain.

My eyes are not what they were but I have gone to the trouble to get glasses made up specifically for iron sights at distance. There's a lot to be said for irons if you can make them work for you. The biggest disadvantage to them is target definition.

If I really, really wanted to put .30 caliber on target way out there with glass I would be more inclined to just pull out the M70 and run with that.

 

[24kshooter]

IMO - You are getting the best end of the component change. If you are going to shoot 110's or 125's TNT's keep velocity under 3200. For longer distance shooting I just bought a Leatherwood Scope mount - it is low profile and appears to be hd material. However it has a windage adjustment system that may or may not be good feature. Only time and 1000 rounds will tell.

 

[Jeremy2171]

500 yards is a stretch for iron sights, even if you have impeccable vision.

You might need to practice more. 500yds is "close" range for an M1A with irons. Take it back to 1000yds with irons.....

 

[General Geoff]

Well I guess it depends on the target size. Shooting a soda can at 100 yards with iron sights is a moderate challenge to me, granted I don't have the best vision. I guess shooting at man-size targets would be significantly easier at distance.

 

[30Cal]

A medium weight contour (which Kreiger sells as their "DMR" barrel) is a pound heavier. A heavy weight is another pound on top of that.

Ty

 

[rosco22]

500 yards is a stretch for iron sights, even if you have impeccable vision.

I'll be sure to pass that along to the guys a Camp Perry this year , should be news to them .............

 

[Patriot-Brewer]

Lots of good info and opinions...tnx

Some of you may be under the impression the rifle is a standard M14 receiver but it's not. It's LRB's M25 receiver which does not require scopes to be side-mounted. A Picatinny rail slides into a dove-tail mount on top of the receiver and is then tightened down.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

PB

 

[Sunray]

"...I'm blessed with 20/15 vision...(laser modified)..." 20/25. Optically modified. And I'd still use the iron sights but I could be convinced into a Leatherwood ART or a Burris Mini(4" eye relief though). Mind you, I really like size of the old 2.5 to 8 Scopechief I have on my '03A4.