My M14 did something weird and scary.

muscles1000

muscles1000

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Hey everyone... wanted to get your thoughts on a malfunction i had this weekend.

The rifle in question is a Norinco M14 with a 18.6" barrel, a TRW Bolt, a USGI spring guide and a USGI oprod spring... i bought the rifle from a CGNer on the EE, i know the gunsmith who did the work and the gun has always performed flawlessly. The Rifle has had about 700 rounds through it and was greased properly. The malfunction occurred about 60 rounds into my shooting session for the day.

The ammunition in use was 308 Winchester 150 Grain Core-Lokt Soft Point, new from the store that day.

I loaded a 5/20 round magazine (an older mag but one that i have never had a prob with), released the bolt, shouldered the rifle, fired the first round no problem...

The second time i pulled the trigger the gun fired twice :eek: (as in i pulled the trigger once but the rifle fired twice in rapid succession) and ejected two empty casings, it chambered the next round but i cleared it and made the rifle safe so i could check everything out.

Nothing was visibly wrong, and i tried out another mag with different ammo and all was well.

so... uhh... what the hell happened?!

I did not enjoy this experience, is my rifle sick? (will my #### fall off?)
 
Sounds like a slamfire.. Check your bolt.. have you cleaned it latley? Is there any crap built up on/in it?

take a look at your firing pin too... If it got stuck forward or if you had anything in the bolt (grit) or broken casing... Might want to check the ammo for primer height it's doubtful but just check it anyway...

Your #### will not fall off (you bought 2 of em right?).. But I would give yer bolt a good cleaning...
 
I'd also test the trigger assembly by cycling the bolt with the trigger held down. See if it hold the hammer back after its cocked. Let the bolt slam home while maintaining the trigger down. Does the hammer follow? Let of the trigger and see if anything weird happens. I'd do this over and over again and see if I can get the hammer to drop improperly.
 
+1 on GP's post in addition to what I said earlier make sure the hammer locks back solidly and can't come forward without the trigger bring pulled...
 
Thanks for the advice and information everyone, it is much appreciated.

After considerable inspection, and attempting to get the hammer to drop improperly, and being unable to replicate the problem, i have decided to take the rifle to the smith next week.

I would very much like to blame the ammo...but i did not have the presence of mind to retain the casings of the rounds in question. I went through the brass from that day, all the primers looked fairly uniform to me. The ammo from that box was also fed to another M14, from the same mag, before the trouble with the shorty and had no problem.

Thanks again for the responses all!
 
I assume that the fired cases were normal, there was no separated or blown case.
That means all rounds fired with the breech closed and locked.
This suggests that for whatever reason, the hammer released from the disconnector hook, causing the rifle to double.
Do check the trigger mechanism function carefully, make sure the disconnector is working positively, that the hammer is held cocked, and is caught when the trigger is released.
Might be a problem, might be a one time fluke.
 
muscles1000 said:
Hey everyone... wanted to get your thoughts on a malfunction i had this weekend.

The rifle in question is a Norinco M14 with a 18.6" barrel, a TRW Bolt, a USGI spring guide and a USGI oprod spring... i bought the rifle from a CGNer on the EE, i know the gunsmith who did the work and the gun has always performed flawlessly. The Rifle has had about 700 rounds through it and was greased properly. The malfunction occurred about 60 rounds into my shooting session for the day.

The ammunition in use was 308 Winchester 150 Grain Core-Lokt Soft Point, new from the store that day.

I loaded a 5/20 round magazine (an older mag but one that i have never had a prob with), released the bolt, shouldered the rifle, fired the first round no problem...

The second time i pulled the trigger the gun fired twice :eek: (as in i pulled the trigger once but the rifle fired twice in rapid succession) and ejected two empty casings, it chambered the next round but i cleared it and made the rifle safe so i could check everything out.

Nothing was visibly wrong, and i tried out another mag with different ammo and all was well.

so... uhh... what the hell happened?!

I did not enjoy this experience, is my rifle sick? (will my #### fall off?)
Click to expand...

Some do bump fire if bench rest shooting - solved by pulling the trigger all the way back --
 
I had a springfield and a norc do the same thing...it was the way I was holding on to it...changed my grip no problem after that
 
the m14 bump fires quite easily. (check out "m14 bump fire videos on youtube)
so easily in fact that an accidental bump fire can be confused as a slam fire.

first thing though with this particular rifle....
the TRW bolt tells me that you no doubt have a tight .308 headspaced chamber..... In a rifle built like this, you MUST maintain a clean chamber. I clean mine after every 50 to 100 rounds..... it's imperative.
dirty chamber in a "match" 308 chamber WILL lead to slam fires.

If it has only happened once and subsequent firings revealed no repeat, an accidental bump fire is my guess. This is solved by maintaining a very tight grip at the stock wrist and as mentioned by others, ensuring that the trigger is pulled fully to the rear

failing that..... have someone inspect your rifle that is truly familiar with operating on an m14. If you have troubles, shoot me an email ;)
 
As soon as you wrote you used 308, I knew the rest of the story. The gun is built for 7.62x51. Yes, lot's of people run 308 with no issues. I suggest some PMC, or surplus if you can find it.
 
CanAm said:
As soon as you wrote you used 308, I knew the rest of the story. The gun is built for 7.62x51. Yes, lot's of people run 308 with no issues. I suggest some PMC, or surplus if you can find it.
Click to expand...

Forgive my ignorance, but i was of the understanding that with the TRW bolt i was good to go with commercial .308?

I have the spare Norinco 7.62 bolt for this rifle, i just prefer to avoid eating into my stock of surplus NATO stuff when i have the option of buying 308 @ crappy tire. You don't happen to know where a guy can get a case of PMC 7.62x51 do you?

Regardless, this thread has given me a hell of a lot to think about... the more i know the more i realize how little i know. I really need to get off my ass and attend an M-14 Clinic.
 
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