James River Armoury M14 feedback

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MartyK2500

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I have been debating between 2 purchases, both are at damn near same price, and 1 of these 2 belongs in this section, JRA M14.

I would like to ask those who own some, how ready are they fresh out of the box?
Do you still need to do basic M305 tuning? As in gas shimming, recoil spring guide rod and spring change...
Headspace, I would presume bang on 1.630''?

I am asking, as I don't mind putting an extra 2-3 hours of tuning, and another 150$ or so in parts, but I wouldn't want another money pit like my ex-M305 was.

As for what I want to do with it?
Hit a figure 11 using irons out to 300M.
I am guessing if it does 2.5 moa or under at 100M it should be on par with what the platform can do.
 
I admit to being a little baffled by the trend in tight chambers for semi-auto battle rifles; it always seemed like an invitation to dirt sensitivity, ammo intolerance, and a higher risk of slam fires. Gimme a big ol' sloppy 1.634" any day ;)
 
Even if 1.630, i would of given it a 4 thou bump during reloading, giving it some clearance.
My debate has been settled though and JRA didn’t win it.
If it was same as pictured i was a likely taker, i was wanting a nice birch M14 for a while.
Actual product is walnut, so I’ll wait and see next batch.
 
TacticalTeacher said:
L - R - B..... hahahahaha. :evil:

I still had to tune my current standard SA Inc M1A! No big deal!

Then I rebarreled that SA Inc rig!

Cheers, Barney.

:wave:
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Actually, there is very little info on JRA compared to LRB, hard to say how good or not their quality control is.
I had a bonus at work, and I was thinking an all American 2000$ M14 would fit the bill perfectly!

This was the one, looks like someone else jumped on it, good for them!
https://www.wanstallsonline.com/james-river-armory-rock-o-la-m14f-308win.html

Myself was put off by the stock, the website picture does not represent actual product, it's more of a darkish matte stock than the one we see.
Next time around (probably next year because now the money is spent!), I will look into LRB if they can have a 2K offering.
Still a very nice stock and no problems, let's just say a birch stock with a little of tiger stripping would of won my heart and my wallet instantly.
In light of this I guess you figured it won't be bush beater, but something I would occasionally whip out to service rifle practices and take great care.

Now with my monies, I got something way more boring than an M14, but should be handy. An annealing machine.

Edit : Barney I just realized, the AR I just finished building for Service Rifle practices/matches at Connaught has an LRB lower, it will be a constant reminder at least ;)
 
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walleyed99 said:
Look at a USGI parts kit from Wolverine, and pick up an LRB reciever. That's what I did and sold my Springfield National Match. Still needbto unitized the gas system, and glass bed it but is a great shooter as is. Had M14 medic set the headspace at 1.631 on the SAK heavy barrel... :)
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I am guessing that’s a project just a little north of 3K?
The annealing machine cost me 2K and that’s all i had i didn’t have more, just like the JRA rifle had a 2K asking price.
Tried researching some more, there is very little info on JRA QC.

For 2K you could build one with wolverine parts kits, nice USGI wood stock and norinco receiver.
I just have a real hard time with the concept that a 2K gun has a chinese marking on it somewhere.
 
I'm not crazy enough about the M14 platform to drop big bucks into one. They are a decent design but I'd rather blow money on a Stag if I was after an accurate semi 308.
I still have an old cheap Nork I prettied up a bit, did a few of the accuracy mods but nothing crazy, just stuff I could do myself. It shoots well enough that it's a keeper for sure, even with sloppy 1.645 headspace lol.
m14.jpg
 
I own a JRA..... It functions flawlessly and is ~ 2 MOA pretty consistently. Mine is the carbine version with a chrome lined 19” barrel, forged Rockola receiver, beautiful hand rubbed oiled walnut stock with GI branding marks and full auto selector switch cutout, and flawless function... have only shot my standard hand-loads in it... 43.5 grains Varget and a 155 Palma SMK. The brass ejection is brisk and consistent. My Springfield M1A Stainless Loaded was a bit more accurate, but of the two, I kept the JRA. It is tip top for a nostalgia buff and it just plain WORKS!!! A keeper.

I have NEVER so much as passed a screw driver within 100 feet of it. ALL the work to make it work was done by the manufacturer. I don’t like to buy someone else’s garbage that requires my time, money, and effort to make it right. If the factory can’t get it right, my time is way too valuable to waste correcting the mistakes of a manufacturer. Financially, one ends up in pretty much the same place at the end, but I chose to spend up front vs fixing and tuning over time and multiple paycheques.
 
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Hitzy said:
I'm not crazy enough about the M14 platform to drop big bucks into one. They are a decent design but I'd rather blow money on a Stag if I was after an accurate semi 308.
I still have an old cheap Nork I prettied up a bit, did a few of the accuracy mods but nothing crazy, just stuff I could do myself. It shoots well enough that it's a keeper for sure, even with sloppy 1.645 headspace lol.
m14.jpg
Click to expand...

LRB makes bolts that can close up that head space.
 
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