M1A/M14 Advice

[Marine24]

Since my goal is a M14 in an "as issued" condition, a build with GI parts is preferred but as you said, they are becoming difficult to find. I expect companies like LRB and James River are using reproductions in some cases for that reason.

If I could find a Springfield Armory GI, it definitely would be a contender.

[Shooter45]

Watch the M14 Forum. A Springfield Pre-Ban model was just on there for $1700. In order to verify that they're GI parts you'll need the serial numbers. Important parts to watch for is the serial number on the receiver heel, the bolt, and the op rod mainly. If you get really picky you can watch for the trigger and sights as well.

The manufactures for the US GI M14 were Springfield Armory (SA), Winchester, Harrington and Richardson (HR), and Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Inc (TRW). Springfield are the most common and the most manufactured. While Winchesters are rare and bring a lot higher priced. TRW on the other hand is very valuable and demanded as they exceeded the requirements on the specs and their parts are know to last the longest in opinion.

Numbers to watch for to verify it is a GI part:
GI bolt: 7790186
GI op rod: 7267064
Trigger group: Manufacture Stamp: SA, TRW, HR, 7267030
Hammer: 5546008
Gas cylinder: 7790902

On GI manufactures parts, there will also be an initial of the manufacture on the part such as SA, TRW, H&R, or HRT. There is a wealth of information on the M14/M1A platform out there and I'm just starting to learn about them after about 10 years with the weapons. I've forgot more than I remember hence I have the books for fast reference.

Lee Emerson makes some great books that are worth purchasing for reference, "M14 Rifle History and Development." Along with The M14 Owners Guide and match conditioning instructions" by Scott A. Duff and John M. Miller and the shop manual from Jerry Kuhnhausen.

Getting a rifle as close to USGI as possible is hard but very feasible if you take your time. To me, the biggest things I'd look for is the serial number on the receiver to verify it was built during the proper time, a USGI bolt, USGI op rod, and preferably a USGI gas cylinder. Everything else is fine. If you don't get a USGI bolt, it's easy to swap out the ejector and extractor with USGI parts to get them up to spec. GI op rods are very pricey at around $250 and up but the current ones being manufactured aren't bad. Just my opinion on them for the amount most people shoot and problems that have been discussed.

The USGI parts numbers listed are from "M14 Rifle History and Development" on page 144.

[Marine24]

Wow. Appreciate the detail. It is like Groundhog day and reminds me of my first M1 Carbine purchase. Were the M14 similar to the M1 Carbine and mix master rifles by design? Not sure if all manufacturers made every part.

I've got an e-mail in to Ted Brown over at the Shooter's Den to see what he can do for me. Receiver will likely be LRB or Gunwerks but should help scratch the itch while I work on a true USGI M14.

[Shooter45]

The M14 adopted some similarities of the M1 Garand but it was an entirely different beast. There are some parts interchangeable between the Garand and M14 and the sights are one of them. Only differences is yards increments for the Garand and meters for the M14.

[Marine24]

I'm with you there. With the M1 Garand, most of the major parts were of a single manufacturer but with the M1 Carbine, it wasn't unusual to have multiple manufacture parts in an original M1 Carbine since some manufacturers only produced receivers and the remaining parts came from other manufacturers. Makes it difficult to figure out whether a M1 Carbine came that way originally or a result of a rebuild or franken build.

[BPTactical]

I'm with you there. With the M1 Garand, most of the major parts were of a single manufacturer but with the M1 Carbine, it wasn't unusual to have multiple manufacture parts in an original M1 Carbine since some manufacturers only produced receivers and the remaining parts came from other manufacturers. Makes it difficult to figure out whether a M1 Carbine came that way originally or a result of a rebuild or franken build.

Uhmm, no.
Springfield Armory
Winchester
Harrington & Richardson
International Harvester
Beretta
Breda
FMAP

[Marine24]

I'm not communicating very well. WW II Garands were manufactured by Springfield Armory and Winchester.

Both manufacturers made each of the components on the Garand and stamped them appropriately. Those with the correct manufacturer's mark on all the stamped components are highly collectible, as opposed to the typical mixmaster Garands that resulted from rebuilds, imports or general maintenance.

Following WWII, Springfield rebuilt a number of M1s at the onset of the Korean War. Iver Johnson and Harrington & Richardson also produced M1s during the Korean War period.

For the M1 Carbine, some manufacturers only built the receiver with the remaining components coming from other manufacturers to complete the rifle.

My question was whether the M14 followed the M1 Carbine model or the M1 Garand.

Somewhat of a moot point since it unlikely to find an original M14 receiver since they were select fire unless you have the appropriate license.



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