Got a Polytech to rebuild..........

[HavelockLEO]

After Hurricane Irene rumbled through my area and I got squared up with the city from the gi-normous amount of overtime I worked I went LGS shopping and found a forlorn Polytech M14S at one of my favorite haunts to bring home.
So after the paper work I left the store fat, dumb, and happy
Upon closer inspection and with the help of a friend on another forum I found out that my particular rifle came across the ocean in 1993, complete with the ugly faux flash suppressor (no lug and welded on of course), with a complete Chi-com cleaning kit in the butt stock, and sporting a Gen 1 SA Inc. scope mount.
On the VERY up side though I got a forged receivered rifle for the cost of a bare LRB, and there the inate goodness trails off.
So I got to thinking that I'd always wanted a Scout/Squad type M14 so I started parts/smith shopping.
I already had on hand a the following parts:
TRW Bolt
HRA M14 trigger group
SA Inc trigger group
USGI Gas cylinder/plug/piston
Smith Ent. Direct Connect Vortec flash eliminator
VLTOR Mod-Stock
I bought the following:
Smith Ent. Hooded HK style gas cyl. Lock front sight
Fulton Armory 18.5 in Bush length barrel
And in a few weeks I’ll be getting the Holy Grail for the build, a Knights Armament Co. M14 RAS.
So other than a few minor parts I’m lacking and getting a work order with the smith I want to send her to, I think I’ve got a good start on sweet carbine length M14 with a forged receiver.
As I get closer to the finish I’ll post updates.

 

[wally]

Fulton Armory used to specialize in rebuilding these circa 1995, if you have access to old rec.guns Usenet archives you'll find good reports about their work. Don't know if they still do it or not.

My Polytech continues to work fine, although I don't shoot it anywhere near as much as I used to, my plan was to send it in for rebuild when problems developed. Seems mine was not as poor as many folks claimed, although its certainly no tack driver.

 

[HavelockLEO]

wally
from the research I've done and continued to do since i got thhe rifle, the issue was the Chinese bolts, not the receivers. The Chinese made thier bolts to different specs than we did, both geometrically and in Rockwell hardness, the bolt conversion isnt too invasive annd I have a great gunsmith thats done more of them than he can count without looking at his books.
Fulton wont touch a Chi-com receiver anymore from what I've seen, havent for a long time.