Armscorp M14

[anapex]

How good are Armscorp M14s? I've done a search and there seems to be a better then average response about them but is there anything too look out for with them? Also did Armscor in the Phillipines ever make an M14? If so how would I tell one apart from an Armscorp from Baltimore? They want $800 for it which seems to be a good price from what I've read.

 

[P95Carry]

Hooking in outa interst - to see what folks might come up with. This a next ''possible'' on list Dave?

 

[anapex]

Yeah it's a possible, I've unfortunately found 3 more possibles in the last day! I guess that's what I get for visiting 3 or 4 shops in a day

 

[444]

You might want to check out some of the M14 related forums. Also check out the book: Boston's Gun Bible.
I have never had one, but from what I have read, they arn't bad. If I am not mistaken, Fred (of Fred's M14 Stocks fame) shoots one, or did shoot one.

 

[anapex]

What are some of the M14 related forums?

 

[horge]

Just to reiterate what Anapex already knows, for the sake of others tuning in...
Armscorp is not Armscor

Armscorp is the US subdisidiary of the South Afrikan defense conglomerate.
They mostly sell remanufactured military surplus rifles...
and from what I've heard, the quality is quite satisfactory.

Armscor of the Philippines doesn't make M14's,
though it does make/market a line of .22LR sport rifles.
(I wish Armscor DID make M14's for civvy use)


hth

horge

 

[kaferhaus]

Armscor of the Philippines doesn't make M14's

Mabuhay

I believe they do make M16s for the Philippine Govt. and they also make 45s. Charles Daly is one of their customers.

 

[Spot77]

I guess that's what I get for visiting 3 or 4 shops in a day

When do you work?!?!?


I have the same problem.....I think I'm going out to Hap Baker tomorrow to exercise the AR for a while.....

 

[anapex]

When do you work?!?!?

That's one of the worst problems I've had since I started my new job. Flexible hours and I can work from home. Which usually means I take a nice long lunch break and hit the shops If you want company for Hap Baker let me know, I can take one of those breaks then

 

[Gewehr98]

This is an Armscorp of Baltimore, Maryland M14NM



Or rather, the receiver is an Armscorp. It's got a Krieger medium-weight barrel, and uses a Harrington & Richardson USGI donor rifle for all the other bits, sans the full-auto stuff. Standard M14 accuracy tricks included are the unitized gas system, glass bedding, etc. I'll put it up against any Geneseo, Illinois M1A any day of the week, without hesitation, it's that good a rifle.

I built it as my High-Power competition rifle in 1992 after witnessing several horrible examples of Springfield Armory's M1A that should never have left their factory.

You'll know an Armscorp M14NM or M21 when you see it. The receiver markings on the heel will show M14NM or M21 plus the Armscorp logo, and the receiver's operating rod track will have "Baltimore, MD" roll marked underneath it.

 

[horge]

Originally posted by kaferhaus
Mabuhay

I believe they do make M16s for the Philippine Govt. and they also make 45s. Charles Daly is one of their customers.

Mabuhay right back at'cha, kaferhaus!

It was Elisco Tool & Mfg. that manufactured M16's here, under license from Colt's.
Interestingly, when the license ran out, and Colt's demanded much more money to renew,
Elisco opted to buy Armalite Inc., lock-stock-and barrel(s) in 1983, in order to
manufacture AR-180's for the Army. The folks in charge were closely associated
with then-President Marcos --and when the latter was kicked out of office
in 1986, the folks at Elisco-Armalite sort of lost their direction. The following year,
Armalite was sold back to US owners.

Tickles me pink that for a couple of years, Armalite Inc. was a Filipino company...

Today, M16's sold here are either old Elisco's, new Bushies or occasional Colt's.




I'm really digging Gewehr's little baby...heheh...

 

[Spot77]

If you want company for Hap Baker let me know, I can take one of those breaks then

I decided today was too cold (and you know how cold it is on that concrete slab )

Looks like I'll have some days in Feb though. We'll have to keep an eye on the weather.

Spot77 + cold weather = not a chance!

 

[kaferhaus]

The folks in charge were closely associated
with then-President Marcos --and when the latter was kicked out of office
in 1986,

Yeah, I was living in Manila at the time,(JUSMAG) it was quite impressive how the folks took to the streets... and I still have visions of Imelda's closet full of what 4,000 pairs of shoes??

I was also in Cavite (Sangley Point) back in the 60s when the Huks were still in that area... exciting times those were too!


Salamat on the corrections..

Steve

 

[esskay]

What are some of the M14 related forums?

http://www.m-14forum.com/

http://www.ambackforum.com/index.php

http://www.warrifles.com/forums/

 

[esskay]

Another great resource on M14s and M1As:

http://www.imageseek.com/m1a/

 

[HankL]

Darin, Did you you get a receiver that was in spec. on the first try?

 

[Gewehr98]

Yup. We were rather anxious to measure it's dimensions when it arrived.

Especially since folks were saying that the Armscorp receivers weren't correct in their receiver-to-bolt lockup fit. We put Dykem on the H&R bolt lugs, and assembled things to see what would happen. No problem, there was excellent receiver engagement on both lugs.

We had a USGI, torch-cut receiver we could compare some dimensions to, and the Armscorp receiver was spot-on. I paid particular attention to the barrel axis and oprod track, because my gun was going to be used frequently in High Power competion. Accuracy with the Krieger barrel and reliability were tops in my priorities, I didn't need an oprod dismount during a string of fire, etc.

Compared to the Springfield Armory receivers we had on the bench, I was tickled pink.

The serial number is fairly low, 111xx, so I don't know what range the supposed "problems" happened with the Armscorp M14NM and M21 series. I'd gladly buy one again.

Another place to look at M14/M1A info:

Different's M1A Website

 

[Gewehr98]

So you folks can recognize one when you see it...

Receiver heel markings, oprod side rail markings, and the nice interface between the ARMS #18 scope mount and M14 receiver:

 

[HankL]

I just wondered, the SN of the one that went back was A006728 the one that was in spec. was 0072XX. I don't remember all of the details as "He Who's Name Is Not Spoken" was taking care of business. This was all going on in 1991-92.

Once again, that's a great looking rig.

 

[Freedomv]

Back in the early 90's I was looking at their recievers and was not greatly impressed. I sorted thru several to find one that I thought was worth working with.
Some had faulty elevation notches, others had too much machined away from the ramp cut on the right side of the reciever bridge that allowed the firing pin to hang-up when the bolt was rotated to close. Some had flaws in the castings etc. Some would allow GI barrels to crank in to far. etc
I like to hold a reciever with pencil or other object and tap it with something else to see if will ring like a tunning fork. I feel that a reciever that is dead (will not ring) is no good. and the longer and clearer the ring the better that it is. I found many of their recievers at that time did not pass my ringing test. A dead reciever usually indicates a crack or void/imperfection in the casting.
A lot can change in ten years and I would imagine that their quality has come up in that period of time.
My $.02 worth

Vern

 

[MrAcheson]

I feel that a reciever that is dead (will not ring) is no good. and the longer and clearer the ring the better that it is.

Oddly enough you probably don't want this. It's an easy way to sort out cast recievers because they won't ring like a forged one. But having a ringing receiver isn't necessarily a good thing either, because it will damp vibration poorly. You probably want a receiver in the middle of the pack.

 

[Gewehr98]

I'm not real big on ringing receivers, either.

The M14NM pictured above rings like a gol-darned bell after each shot. Drives me nuts. If I wanted to shoot a tuning fork I would've bought a tuning fork.

FreedomV, those flaws in receiver fit and finish were EXACTLY what I witnessed in a couple of early 90's Springfield M1A receivers, right down to the missing rear sight elevation detent notches. Plus a paper-thin right receiver oprod rail, etc. Hence my going to the substantially better Armscorp product.

 

[esskay]

Gewehr98,
Nice looking rifle. What's that you ziptied to your scope? Was brass banging up your scope?

 

[Freedomv]

Don't get me wrong, I was not advocating springfield recievers then or now as all manufactures have their problems and I have taken several springfields back to Geneseo to get them replaced for a wide variety of reasons.

I am not saying all Armscor recievers were bad then or now either. I was just stating what I found while sorting thru the recievers offered for sale at Camp Perry in the early 90's. and as I said a lot can happen in ten years.

In my experince I had never had a rifle (M-1 or M-14) ring when it was fired. Not saying that it doesn't happen or can not happen but with a rear lug installed and glass bedding anchoring the rifle to the stock I never noticed it happening with the rifles that I built. Also the tension created by useing a stand off between the barrel and stock when glass bedding tends to dampen the barrel and other vibrations etc.
However the M-16/AR-15 that I shoot have a very noticable spring/vibration noise that transfers and is amplified by the stock and I can see why that type of noise can become annoying.

another $.02 worth now I'm up to $.04

Vern

 

[Gewehr98]

A point of clarification for FreedomV...

You said Armscor - that's the Philipino company that makes the AK-22 and AR-22 rimfires, and the Rock River Arms variants of the 1911A1.

Armscorp is the Baltimore, MD company that sells M14 style receivers and complete rifles.

But you knew that.

That piece of black cordura and the zip ties do indeed keep the brass from mangling the scope tube. Turns out the ARMS #18 is the lowest scope mount on the market, even lower than the Brookfield, and one pays a price having the scope tube so close to the bolt.