M14 Article: Part Three

[MTMilitiaman]

They said the military and police communities had moved on in the 60s.

They said the M14 was dead--an archaic design representing a bygone era.

The fact that we are still having this conversation speaks volumes about the degree to which Stoner-philes have repeatedly underestimated the adaptability and resilience of the M14.

As for ergonomics, I'll take the M14 ergos over the AR ergos any day of the week.

People talk the ergos of the AR up but I never found them to be anything special. You can say what you want about the location of the M14s safety, but the location of the AR's charging handle is abysmal, whether it's 1930 or 2030 only an aircraft engineer could think that was a good idea. And at least the M14's safety is ambi.

 

[lipadj46]

Well every weapon system has its fanboys and it is not too hard to see which side of the fence some folks are on. There is lots of good factual info in these posts but there are also lots of opinion and propaganda too.

Personally I prefer the M14 ergonomics and a bigger round but that is just me.

 

[H2O MAN]

MTMilitiaman

They said the military and police communities had moved on in the 60s.

They said the M14 was dead--an archaic design representing a bygone era.

The fact that we are still having this conversation speaks volumes about the degree to which
Stoner-philes have repeatedly underestimated the adaptability and resilience of the M14.

Well said!

 

[TexasRifleman]

The only reason that any of these tacticool accessories exist for the M14 is that the M14 is available.

First rule of a gunfight...... Bring a gun.

While the M14 and the modernization is nowhere near perfect, you have to admit that the manufacturers like Sage, Troy etc have done an excellent job of bringing an "old world" design into a useful modern weapon system.

Is it the best? No, probably not (as much as I do like them) but as you say, it's available.

These days that's a big plus for any weapon. It's there, at a reasonable cost, and does a more than serviceable job at the task.

That's better than most firearms I'd say.

 

[NickEllis]

I have no idea how this thread became a M14vsSR15 thread. Its uncalled for.

KellyTTE, thanks for posting your information. Its a great thread on whats available for the M14 platform. Thanks for taking the time! I'm looking for an MCS now to try out and see how it does for adding optics to the platform.

 

[Art Eatman]

Anybody got anything constructive to say about modernized M14s? Anybody have experiences to comment about?

That's what's pertinent to the thread.

I dunno. Lotsa folks seem to really enjoy raining on other folks' parades. Must be kin to my ex-wife.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

I have a lot good to say about modernized M14s. While I can understand the sentiment towards the old fashioned M14, esp among those who were "over there" with them and are over here because of them, I feel the modernized M14 has a lot to offer in the way of improving all aspects of combat related performance including reliability and durability but most notably accuracy, esp over the long term, flexibility as related to attachment of optics and combat multipliers like IR lasers and lights, and controllability.

In fact, from my perspective, I don't see how any other modernized 7.62mm platform can touch it. I like the modernized M14 enough that if it's the last thing I do on this earth I'll own an SEI built Mk 14.

That said, I will admit my experience with most platforms is lacking, save for the gold Old Fashioned M1A in GI synthetic. I'm still not saving my pennies and dreaming of a stinkin AR-10, in any format, when I go to sleep at night.

 

[H2O MAN]

Art Eatman Anybody got anything constructive to say about modernized M14s?

They're Gr-r-reat!

 

[Zak Smith]

The M1A/M14 is the - or at least one of the - dominant rifles used in "He-man" / "Heavy-Metal" division, which requires a .30 caliber full-power rifle and iron sights (at most matches). We have several local fans of the M14 platform for this division. Here is one of best, shooting at the 2008 RM3G Nationals in Raton (he came in 4th in He-Man Iron).


............... Larger version of above photo.

I believe several local M14 shooters tried the Sage M14 stock and found it heavy and unwieldy. The M14, in stock form, is a very nice package, IMO.

 

[H2O MAN]

My first hand experience

I started out with a Springfield Scout in 2001 and had it bedded in Walnut with a number of other National Match modifications.

The AWB expired and the SAGE EBR became available, I made a leap of faith and changed over to the EBR in 2004.

The original EBR was the M14ALCS and it was heavy. SAGE was rather quick to upgrade and lighten their product.
The nose of the stock was shortened, holes were drilled and cuts were made to lighten the original EBR.


Today, the new and improved M14ALCS/CV is the lightest SAGE EBR available. A new and lighter EBR is in the works...

My MK14 SEI with the chrome lined standard profile 18.0" M118LR barrel weighs 10.3 lbs.
This weight includes an Aimpoint T-1 and the whole thing weighs just one lb. more than the 9.3 lb. Scout pictured in Zak Smith's post.

This one extra lb. gives me tension bedding of the receiver that never wears out.
A barrel that's semi free floated forward of the op rod guide block and I have the super reliable Micro T-1.
This MK14 will shoot 1 MOA with Portuguese surplus all day long, even with my sound suppressor installed.

I don't find the 18.0" barreled action in the M14ALCS/CV to be heavy or unwieldy.

The M14 in stock form is an excellent rifle, but the modernized M14 is vastly superior.



.

 

[amprecon]

The M1A rifle is a fine rifle to me and even as there are other alternatives out there I'm pleasantly satisfied with mine.
I wanted to make it more versatile so I installed the ARMS #18 mount, a 6X Nikon scope and a light.
Now everyone has different uses and plans for their rifles, but I use mine to hunt with, a scope allows me to get more out of the potential of the caliber and a light comes in handy in the dark when heading back to the truck or tracking blood-trails.