I fell in love with the M-14 the first time I got to fire one for Marksmanship ribbon qualifications on a 200 yard range in RI. There was a constant 20 mph crosswind and I had to crank in 10 inches worth of correction to compensate. Otherwise, I shot expert my first try. It was an interesting and very elating experience. Very few qualified, let alone at the expert level that day. My smile lasted for weeks. . Due to the wind that day they allowed us 5 freebie sighter rounds which did not count for our score. My first 2 sighters were at 3 oclock, 10 inches right of the center of the bullring. The next 3 after adjustment were in the bull. Thank heaven the wind stayed constant. . Each time I have considered buying a new .308 rifle, the M-14 has been given a look. Each time it was beyond my budget, and I ended up buying a substitute at 1/2 the price of the M-14 or less. I am pretty happy with my DPMS- A10
My Navy frigate had the M-14 rifle as standard issue for the Security Force. During a "Security Alert", the fifth man responding to the armory got the M-14 with three 20 round magazines, two got the M1911A1 pistol with two 7-round magazines and two got the Rem 870 12ga. shotgun (13 rounds in one pouch) - I always tried to make sure I was Number Five! During out Gitmo refresher training, we were the first ship to 'cheat' at the security drills and deploy TWO complete teams, with the second taking up positions different from the standard - I'd take my M-14 up on the "Mack", between the stacks and the radar antenna - I commanded the entire weather deck and upwards from there! No hiding places for the 'enemy'. The instructors liked that concept. The M-14 may be 'obsolescent' but it still rules the battleground for aimed fire! It's the only firearm from my military days I have not yet acquired - I have the Rem 870 and the .45 pistol. Prices are just too high.....
I qualified with the M14 in Basic. One trick using iron sights and sighted in at 100 the M-14's come-ups are rather simple. Here is an article: THE RIFLEMAN: Part Nine: Battle Sights and Staying Alive
The M14 has been my rifle since I was a small child. My Father was on the National Guard Rifle Team and had a pair of NM M14 on permanent loan to him. He also got cans of Lake City NM ammo to practice with, as much as he wanted, apparently because we sure shot a lot of it. I have a M14 and two M1A rifles. One of the M1As is a rather unique one in that the serial number is X006. It is a NM rifle and has one of Sadlak's first titanium scope mounts and a Leupold Mark 4 M3-10X. This is my go-to rifle.
I've always found it interesting that this "obsolete" weapon is still the designated sniper rifle of the military. Unfortunately, Mr. Clinton had 734,000 of them destroyed, receiver cut in half, op rods torched. I guess he thought it his duty to remove these assault weapons from civilization because we all know how many convenience stores are robbed with an M14 or their civilian equivalent.
The Army has a variety of dedicated sniper weapons in the inventory. M14s, M24s, Mk11, and whatever else SOCOM purchased. There was talk about standardization and I do know know if anything came of it. The Army's New Sniper Rifle If they do standardize, as it does everything as well as the M14 and can be suppressed; the SOCOM Mk 11 is hard to beat.
This is from someone who was a "Designated Marksman" during my deployment. I was issued both a standard M4 and a M14 AMU Match model. They both had their +'s and their -'s, and believe me the -'s where a PITA. Ever had to dissemble and clean a M14 after a sandstorm out side the wire while on a mission? How do you re zero your scope afterwards while in a heavily populated area? Simply put, you can't. That is when the M14 went back into the MRAP, and I would then use my M4 for the remainder of the mission. Until someone devises a way that you can field strip, and reassemble a M14 mounted with optics that will hold it's zero, I will just stick with my AR10's. The M14 is a battle rifle first and foremost, and yes it also served it's purpose as a Sniper's rifle. but today, the FN Scar Heavy 7.62 would run rings around the M14 platform in reliability, accuracy, and user ability while in adverse conditions such as what I experienced in the Middle East.
95% of all well know VN snipers were with the U.S.M.C. They employed modified off the rack from the PX Winchester Mdl 70 bolt rifles. they were fitted with the Unertl 8x scope. This was then given the designation of M40.
It wasn't much different with the Army. Adelbert Waldron had 109 confirms and used the M21C; often the exception to the rule is also king of the hill. "our most successful sniper was Sergeant Adelbert F. Waldron, III, who had 109 confirmed kills to his credit. One afternoon he was riding along the MekongRiver on a Tango boat when an enemy sniper on shore pecked away at the boat. While everyone else on board strained to find the antagonist, who was firing from the shoreline over 900 meters away, Sergeant Waldron took up his sniper rifle and picked off the Viet Cong out of the top of a coconut tree with one shot (this from a moving platform)." That was one heck of a shot. Edit Confirms meant someone else confirmed the kill.
The M-14 and M1 Garand are limited by their operating rod systems to the military ammo that they were designed around or ammo with identical pressure curves. Other ammo tends to bend the operating rod which puts the rifle out of service. Defeats the idea of common, readily available, can find it on a shelf at Walmart. The .308AR, FN-FAL and HK91 type rifles are much more adaptable in ammo usable.
I have a Sadlak Titanium mount for my M14 and I have to say that it is the best mount I have ever found for that particular rifle. I highly recommend them. This is my "GoTo" precision rifle.
Simple fix with an adjustable gas plug. $40 and good to go. http://www.creedmoorsports.com/shop/Schuster_M1A_Adjustable_Gas_Plug.html
Field stripping my M14 for cleaning doesn't affect the zero at all? never having been through a sand storm, I lack that experience and I am equally sure that there are battle rifles better suited and better adapted for combat in different terrain but I'll stand with my M14 and shoot against anybody, get the weapon wet and muddy, full of sand, clean it, and shoot against anybody. I'll still hit where I point it.
"Of the commercial actions available, why not the Model 70? Why Remington? “The new Model 70 (post-’64) had a weak extractor, and if you didn’t clean the chamber after about every 10 shots it would likely break. And in Vietnam, we didn’t have that luxury.” http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/usmc-sniper-rifles-2/ The M40 was a Remington. As many sniper rifles were purchased through other channels; did the Remington or Winchester rifles used in Vietnam have a M nomenclature?
The first Pre '64 Mdl 70 Winchesters that were fielded during the Vietnam War was given the designation M40, after Vietnam, the Marines then adapted the Remmington 40XB as the base for their next generation rifles that were given the designation M40A1.
Zero should not be affected by field stripping. The mount is firmly attached to the reciever's side mount with a big screw. Why was it even removed? Field stripping only pulled the bolt, op rod, spring, trigger housing, gas piston, etc. off. Even with declining eyesight I still shoot a 4" group at 200 yds with my old blunderbuss M1A. Well sometimes it gets a bit larger---lol.
