Weight Differences of M14 and Garand

[Life During Wartime]

In a previous post, I asked what people would like to take to war if given the choice. A lot of responses were M14 and/or M1 Garand and it got me to thinking...
In terms of weight, the /06 is a heavier cartridge than the smaller lighter .308, but the M14 has relatively heavy magazines compared to the lightweight en bloc clips of the Garand. The question then is: At what point are they equal in terms of weight and which would allow one to carry more ammunition. For this question, All of the /06 is in clips and all of the .308 is in its mags.

 

[briansmithwins]

I always hated written math problems.

BSW

 

[Robbins290]

I cant tell the differnce between them loaded. But the m14 handles alot better. From engaging multiple targets anyways.

 

[rcmodel]

1.5 pounds for a loaded 20-round M-14 mag.

10 x 8-rd MI clips + its ammo belt = 5.31 pounds.

So, 80 rounds of M1 ammo in clips weighed about 5 1/3 pounds.
80 rounds of .308 in M14 magazines weighed about 6.0 pounds, plus the web gear magazine pouches needed to carry them.

So, figure about a pound heavier then a like number of 80 rounds of 30-06 M1 ammo.

The thing is though?
For an infantryman, the rifle weight you have to hold up in your hands all the time is a more telling factor then the ammo load you carry balanced on your shoulders.

That always gave a slight edge to the M-14 for me.

rc

 

[OARNGESI]

That's a simple problem but first you need a scale and a couple rifles and atleast 1 loaded mag and 1 loaded clip.

 

[Life During Wartime]

Thanks rcmodel!
That is exactly what I wanted to know

 

[tahunua001]

the M1a is a lighter rifle than the M1 and 308 is a lighter cartridge. you could carry more 308 than 30-06 if you didn't bother with more than 1 extra mag and just used stripper clips/bandoleers.

 

[rcmodel]

didn't bother with more than 1 extra mag and just used stripper clips/bandoleers.

True.

But then you would get over-run in your foxhole & killed by death wish crazy, political or religious indoctrinated, betel nut chewing, rotten fish breath, BBQ goat eating, green teeth, sweat a lot, never had a bath, enemy volunteer conscripts.

While you were fiddling & diddling around with stripper clips and clip guides while trying to reload your one magazine with stripper clips & clip guides!

M-14 / M-16 stripper clips and clip guides are for the Rear with the Gear.

Loaded M14 / M16 magazines or M1 clips are what you use for the fighting part of it.

rc

 

[tahunua001]

you must have missed the word 'extra', if you are alone and facing down more than 40 people(2 magazines total) then you have a bigger problem than not being able to reload fast enough.

 

[rcmodel]

you must have missed the word 'extra',

Yes I did.

You must have missed the OP's first question about given a choice, what rifle would you like to take to war.

I have never been to war, but you don't go to war alone.
I served & trained in US Army Infantry for 6 years during the Vietnam war.
And you hopefully are surrounded by at least 40 other good guys fighting on your side to begin with.

And 40 on the other side ain't near enough reason to be reloading a couple of magazines with stripper clips if you could have had a bunch of loaded magazines in your muddy hidey-hole just to save a couple of pounds.

rc

 

[Risky buisness]

you would get over-run in your foxhole & killed by death wish crazy, political or religious indoctrinated, betel nut chewing, rotten fish breath, BBQ goat eating, green teeth, sweat a lot, never had a bath, enemy volunteer conscripts.

While you were fiddling & diddling around with stripper clips and clip guides while trying to reload your one magazine with stripper clips & clip guides!
A+, rcmodel. My old Gunny mentioned just about the same thing these many years ago.

 

[Hangingrock]

PI-M14/ITR-M1/VN-M14. Being LH I did not care for the M1.

 

[Float Pilot]

Back when I had to carry an M-14, the ammo came on 5 round stripper clips in bandoleers...(still have some) and the stripper clip guide is attached to the M-14 rifle on a permanent basis.

In fact we used the rifle to load our mags. I carried 6 mags on my modified web gear ( two mag pouches on each side, but one of the four was for frags, or usually a MK3A2 concussion grenade (looks like a big coke can, which is hard to put anywhere else.)

Or whatever I needed to carry that day. Like a real soda can. It did not seem all that heavy when I was 20 years old... It sure would now....

 

[rcmodel]

Boy ain't that the truth!!

An M-14 was a one hand gun if I wanted it to be when I was active duty and 25 years old.

Now at 69, I need help to just to shoulder one to shoot it!

rc

 

[fragout]

I never weighed loaded Garand enbloc clips. Thanks for the info.

Your spot on about the loaded 20rd M14 mag weights. Mine are at 1.5lbs exact when loaded up with M80 Ball.

Another nice feature about the stripper clip guide is that it makes a good spot for an optics mount. A solid mount in turn... makes for a good spot to mount NVS.

 

[303tom]

Both rifles fully loaded weighed darn near the same, but the M14 held 12 more rounds..........

 

[jmr40]

According to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M14_rifle

m14 9.2 lbs unloaded

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Garand

Garand 9.5 unloaded

There isn't any real difference.

 

[fragout]

The M14 can vary in weight, depending on the stock, bbl length, and optics mount/optics... (if optics are utilized)

M14EBR's with 22in USGI std weight tubes can be from 11 to 14 lbs...depending on the type of optic/NVS. (Very close in weight to that of an M249)

On the other end, SAI states that thier Socom16 is around 7.8 lbs with thier version of a synthetic stock. ( I'm not sure I beleive that or not, but they might be in the ballpark if the fwd mount is removed)....and thier synthetic stock is lighter in weight vs a GI synthetic.

My 18in bbl M1A-A1 with USGI synthetic stock, empty 20rd GI mag, and sling weighs 8.5lbs. (No optics mount)

So...... with a loaded 20rd mag, she comes in at just a hair under 10lbs.

My M14S which sports a 18.5in tube, SEI gas lock (hooded) front sght, Vortex flash hider, shimmed gas cylinder, GI synthetic stock, sling, ARMS 18 split rail mount, and empty mag weighs in at 8.9 lbs.

A loaded mag puts her at a tad over 10lbs.

Add a loaded 8rd enbloc clip to an M1, and she should be in the same ballpark as my M14S....concerning wieght.

FWIW...... The ability to identify targets at 300plus meters in te middle of the night is worth the weight of NVS in my experience.