for years I have heard the mini 14 has a wisp thin barrel with only one millionth of an inch around the bore but lord and behold I miked the barrels on an M 14 M1 garand AK 47 and the barrels on those guns measure almost exactly as the mini 14 barrel BUT they have a .30 caliber hole drilled in them not a .22 so the mini has a thicker barrel which is no where near as good as the others
the ultra ultra thin mini 14 barrel
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Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Amazing!
I highly doubt it was only ever a millionth. That seems very, very thin. Do you have a citation for that number or were you just exaggerating a bit?
Bob I was exaggerating lol. the minis just had bad barrels not thin ones the M1A M1 garand ak47 had thinner barrels then the mini. they miked almost the same outside but the mini only has a .22 hole in the middle not a .30. M14-.585 AK-.582 garand .589 mini 14-575 so the mini has a slightly thicker barrel being it has a .22 hole. so it was never a "pencil" thin barrel on the mini that bent in a crosswind (lol) that led to poor accuracy
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Owen
Moderator Emeritus
Ha! I've never heard "the barrel bends in a crosswind" before!
My understanding is that the mini-14 moving parts were pushing on the barrel pretty bad. That said, the AK-47 and the M14 aren't exactly paragons of accuracy either.
My understanding is that the mini-14 moving parts were pushing on the barrel pretty bad. That said, the AK-47 and the M14 aren't exactly paragons of accuracy either.
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
When you say many, what's that number equate too?
I would say about ten M1As Al .I have owned standard, super match, national match, the "loaded" version I have now and I have owned 6 norincos and poly techs when they were under $300 and have been around a lot at matches. The super match weighed a ton and could hardly be held for long and I do concrete roofing framing and was just a little more accurate then the standard which shot inch groups with a chrome barrel and mostly TRW parts
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
I had one built by a former AMU gunsmith that was stupid accurate. Buddy of mine finally made me an offer I couldn't turn down.
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
Ah, but wouldn't you say the the standard mini is more akin to the mil-spec M14, which was a 3-5 minute gun? IIRC, the acceptance criteria was 7 MOA groups with ball ammo.
I work with the M14 quite a bit at work, and I haven't been impressed with it at all. The amount of work required to get them to shoot well is a heck of a lot more than "using good parts."
I work with the M14 quite a bit at work, and I haven't been impressed with it at all. The amount of work required to get them to shoot well is a heck of a lot more than "using good parts."
Owen what parts were the M1As made from? if you do a search for M1A accuracy you will find they are revered. I have rarely saw one that would not shoot with a load it liked. my first one had TRW parts all standard and shot little groups. I have a loaded one now which only has a medium stainless barrel and nothing else being the loaded name is just advertising and I shoot inch groups with Rel 15 and 147 FMJ don't even need match bullets
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
I did not say M1A I said M14. Real M14s with the switch and everything.
I am in the process of rewriting the procedure used to turn M14s into match rifles: you might say "itsa pain." It a hue amount of work to get an M14 to shoot almost as well as as a box-stock AR-10 or bolt action.
I honestly believe match M14s are the reason that so many people think if you want accuracy, you can't use a semi-auto, it has to be a bolt-gun
I am in the process of rewriting the procedure used to turn M14s into match rifles: you might say "itsa pain." It a hue amount of work to get an M14 to shoot almost as well as as a box-stock AR-10 or bolt action.
I honestly believe match M14s are the reason that so many people think if you want accuracy, you can't use a semi-auto, it has to be a bolt-gun
yes I have a rem ar .308 and it shoots well. I wonder if your M14s are just shot out or fired on full auto where they rattled themselves loose. Owen how are going about working on the M14s with a different procedure. have you ever worked with civilian M1As. I have heard the M14s/ M1A are being successfully used in afghan with scopes for longer range work
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Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
Back when the Army Marksmanship Unit was building M-21s and match rifles, the accurizing process was really tedious work. I worked with CWO Jim Carpenter (IIRC the last name) and he was a proponent and former AMU guy.
He told me that they very seriously considered welding the scope mounts to the receivers as nothing they were doing worked very well.
Once you strip the barrel off the receiver, put a Hart or Shilen barrel on, tune the gas system and bed the epoxy infused stock in (IIRC) three places, it becomes pretty cost ineffective.
He told me that they very seriously considered welding the scope mounts to the receivers as nothing they were doing worked very well.
Once you strip the barrel off the receiver, put a Hart or Shilen barrel on, tune the gas system and bed the epoxy infused stock in (IIRC) three places, it becomes pretty cost ineffective.
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
itsa, not shot out, we're putting in new barrels, and replacing most of the small parts. The M1s being used are variants ofthe Navy MK14 which is an M14 in an aluminum chassis stock, which eliminated the bedding problem.
The Navy started the show wiht the MK14 Mod0 and Mod1, which are match conditioned M14s in differnt versions of the Sage Chassis stock, with heavy contour Douglas Barrels.
The army is using whats called the EBR which is a stock M14 dropped into a Sage Stock.
The Navy started the show wiht the MK14 Mod0 and Mod1, which are match conditioned M14s in differnt versions of the Sage Chassis stock, with heavy contour Douglas Barrels.
The army is using whats called the EBR which is a stock M14 dropped into a Sage Stock.
I wish you guys were not so far away so we could shoot my M1As. they are standard except my loaded one has a stainless medium barrel. I never had a bedding problem for as long as I had them. if I was not paying for ammo and had access to 600 yd rifle ranges and no job maybe I would have had bedding problem lol. the fiberglass stocks seemed not to have bedding problems even with a lot of rounds fired. Me and my friends bought a lot of norinco and poly techs when they were under $300 and I shot 2 inches at 200 yds with all but one. all I ever did to them was to put them in a $30 fiberglass stock relieve the handguard shim the gas system and trim the gas plug so when tightened it did not push back the operating rod. on some I would mig spot weld the front stock ferrule to the gas cylinder.no bedding no barrel changes. The army like any govt institution likes to use the most expensive complicated method to do anything
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