Can i Shoot my M14

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Hellhammer

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I received my polytech M14 today and i was wonering if i could shoot it out of the box without exploding my face, or i ABSOLUTELY have to get the headspace checked??

Thanks!

And i would also like to know if its better to shoot .308 win or 7.62 nato ammo ( i heard 7.62 nato was the best)
 
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Hellhammer said:
I received my polytech M14 today and i was wonering if i could shoot it out of the box without exploding my face, or i ABSOLUTELY have to get the headspace checked??

Thanks!

And i would also like to know if its better to shoot .308 win or 7.62 nato ammo ( i heard 7.62 nato was the best)
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Shot it your #### won't fall off
 
Go and shoot it after a thorough cleaning and follow up greasing. Send me (just PM me) 3 brass cases and I'll measure your chamber dimensions. Remember, this M14 platform is a battle rifle (read: large chamber for bolt inter-changeability and dirty dusty corroded wet muddy ammo).

Nope yer #### should not fall off! :evil:

Cheers
Barney
 
Hungry said:
Go and shoot it after a thorough cleaning and follow up greasing. Send me (just PM me) 3 brass cases and I'll measure your chamber dimensions. Remember, this M14 platform is a battle rifle (read: large chamber for bolt inter-changeability and dirty dusty corroded wet muddy ammo).

Nope yer #### should not fall off! :evil:

Cheers
Barney
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What he said!
 
Isn't it stamped .308 on the side? cuz mine is, have over 600 rounds of factory and easily a thousand of handmades, just keep the bullets between 150 and 165 grains.
Marstar told me it would be fine to shoot factory .308's and have with no problems.
 
Headspace - the great Satan. UNESCO, even the SPCA reported that last year zero people died from not checking headspace, yet it remains the #1 fear of shooters.

It's a measurement, a specification on which reamers, brass and dies are based. Reamers can vary a bit, and wear as they are used, so chambers vary. Brass varies quite a bit, as do dies. All of this makes for each firearm being unique, yet we go back to insisting on the correct headspace when it's actually a workable range. You adjust your dies to your brass that you are using in your gun. Any problem with excessive headspace (too little is only a problem in that brass cannot be chambered) comes not with the first firing, but possibly with successive firings, when the brass fatigues from being worked too much. Will someone die? I can't imagine how a separated cartridge could kill someone, but I suppose a minor injury is possible from escaping gas even if you're wearing shooting glasses. We need to understand and take precautions against all risks, and this is just one of dozens that shooters face.

As most shooters seem to shoot factory or milsurp and do not reload, all they will see (if they take out their micrometer) from out of spec headspace would be a change in dimensions.
 
Thanks a lot man , i fired at least 9 different gun while in the army including rocket launcher and neevr heard of that chambering problem so i told myself maybe we were just army style lol, but when i read on the internet that it could be dangerous i was suspicious, but now i feel army style again !! thanks!
 
Hellhammer, just wait for a really cold day. Then when your testicles ascend back up into their body cavity you'll be golden. It's times like this we need Westicle here!
 
No Worries

I bought my Poly two months ago and then decided to check it out and discover new and exciting things about my new boom stick. Well long story short, first 10 sites were freakishly explicit about this headspace stuff. I actually bought gauges to see for myself. Well took a clinic from Hungry and discovered that all is well.

Y'know what I did? I fired that damned thing till my shoulder hurt...hee hee! :D

some factory had some residue staining at the neck, some didn't. Some cases (where I over trimmed) also had that staining. I even left about .005" off of my die to compensate for my "headspace" at one time. I''ll admit, they scared the hell out of me until Hungry settled me down.

Tonight I was a little curious George and measured fired (4 or 5 times) cases vs unfired (different makes and loads). I even got a little adventurous and actually cut open three cases to see the horrific deformation of the cases. Y'know what I found? Nothing! Nada! Zip! NOt even stretch marks or the little dimple. Nothing.

The casings were still uniform. I even cut a new brass casing (Win). No different (maybe .0005") hard to see the vernier. And that with a M14 with a headspace measurement of 1.638" (.308 Field). The bottom line....I dunno, but take that headspace stuff with a grain of salt.

Some folks will go to great lengths to state that a catastrophic end awaits if the headspace is greater than the SAAMI field. Well, in my case, I got all scared and worried for nothing.

Send yer case to Hungry and he'll set ya on the straight and narrow with no BS.:)
 
No, you can't. You can shoot a chinese copy of an m14 though, as one is currently at your disposal; just be sure to expect the quality of a chinese copy and not an m14.
 
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