CanuckShooter
CGN frequent flyer
I sold my $399 era M305 to my dad years ago along with all my Portuguese surplus 7.62 
and have recently been toying with the idea of owning another. The pics that I'm seeing of these new rifles priced in the $600 range give me the impression that the new manufacture rifles available now have better machining/fit and finish than the $399 era guns. Would those of you who own/have owned both agree? How do the rifles compare overall? Any issues that are specific to the new ones? How do the new rifles headspace compared to the old ones, and do they often still have barrels that are out of index? I remember it being somewhat common for the old rifles to have soft rear sights prone the stripping? I've been out of the M14 loop for ages. 
I tend to see more shortie M305s than full length these days. Are there any trade offs going to the shortened barrel? Recoil, muzzle flash, volume? Any one here care to share why they prefer the shortened barrel over the original, or vice versa? I tend to be somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to original firearm designs, and the M14 looks a bit odd as a shortie to me, but maybe I'd have to handle one to fully appreciate it.
Thanks!
and have recently been toying with the idea of owning another. The pics that I'm seeing of these new rifles priced in the $600 range give me the impression that the new manufacture rifles available now have better machining/fit and finish than the $399 era guns. Would those of you who own/have owned both agree? How do the rifles compare overall? Any issues that are specific to the new ones? How do the new rifles headspace compared to the old ones, and do they often still have barrels that are out of index? I remember it being somewhat common for the old rifles to have soft rear sights prone the stripping? I've been out of the M14 loop for ages. I tend to see more shortie M305s than full length these days. Are there any trade offs going to the shortened barrel? Recoil, muzzle flash, volume? Any one here care to share why they prefer the shortened barrel over the original, or vice versa? I tend to be somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to original firearm designs, and the M14 looks a bit odd as a shortie to me, but maybe I'd have to handle one to fully appreciate it.
Thanks!
