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M14 / M1A in the classic .308 chambering
7.62x39Lover
Member Posts: 3,939 ✭✭✭
Hi Guys!
A lot of guys say that these rifles are very accurate. A lot of guys say that they are not accurate at all.
Are they only accurate upon taking many accurizing measures? Are they accurate straight out the box? What is the truth?
I am a big fan of a gun with a story.
Comments
The M14 M1A. Is very accurate and one of the most reliable rifles the military ever had in its arsenal. I shot one at a telephone pole once, I would say was 12 to 14 inches thick, went clear though and the bullet was sticking half way out on the other side, that was using a 150gr. FMJ. If I ever would have to go back in the service again, I’ll dump the M16 and scrounge around for an M14.
Not only was it accurate, but the recoil is spread out over a longer time, making it more pleasant to shoot than the M1 rifle.
It's even more accurate with a USGI SAK National Match barrel, made by Sacco Defense. The M14 became "obsolete" before the US military had a chance to develop a complete National Match version. Any that you see advertised as National Match are the manufacturer's opinion of what it should be.
Neal
I have owned several and if memory serves around 2" at 100 yrds. is about the best you can hope for. Very nice rifles but heavy especially if you scope it.
I have never seen one that wasn't accurate. When I was shooting military rifle matches back in the mid-eighties it was the rifle everyone wanted but few had, at least in my club. I built an M1A with military parts and a brand new Springfield Armory receiver in 1984 and it would shoot better than I could see with iron sights, especially at 600 yards. I shot a 4 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. Not too great? It was over 200 rounds of various military stuff- Czech, W.German, Bulgarian, all kinds of surplus ammo that was going for 10 to 15 cents a round back then. Some of it I don't even know what country it came from. I really liked that rifle!
The 'accurized' M-14's I used were quite accurate. I'm not sure they were as accurate as a well built bolt action but it's hard to tell since the M-14's were open sights and the BA's were scoped. The M-14 expectation for our use was 8-12" @ 600 yards. You'd better had pretty good eyes to make that in variable light. The bolt action expectation was "if you can see it and hold appropriately, you can hit it".