M14 problem!

anonovic.aleksandar

anonovic.aleksandar

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Hey guys, I need some help here. I have recently purchased an SA stock for my M14. I had to mod. it by shaving some of the stock down on the inside where the op rod slides as it was rubbing against it. It is now smooth as a baby's butt.

I did the safety test and everything works, ie the safety engages, etc, BUT,

once I dry fire the rifle I have to use a considerable amount of force to #### it again. Now if I #### it as fast as it does by itself when fired, no problem but I found a spot that is showing a little wear on the receiver. I stripped it and checked the op rod and the trigger group and they are both working flawlessly but once all the components are together something is off. Should I be concerned?
I haven't fired the rifle since I found out about this issue. Oh and I also put it back into the old stock it came with just to see if that's the problem and it's still happening. I'm guessing by the dent in the receiver that it's been like that since day 1.
Also, the rifle was indexed by M14Doc so that's not an issue.


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Sounds normal to me........

It does take a little effort to slowly pull the op rod back.........If you have a USGI op rod spring, they are stiffer then the stock Norc springs......

These rifles are meant to yank the op rod back and let her fly forward to chamber a round..........you don't be gentle with these babies.... ;)

A properly tuned M14/M1A will "ring" when the action is cycled on an empty chamber........if you don't hear that resonating ring.......well then start tuning.... ;)

Also make sure all points that require lube are properly lubed...........this can smooth out things quite a bit.......

That receiver mark doesn't look like it came from the op rod.........that mark is circular......so it probably is a forging mark, or the receiver was hit by something to make that mark.........
 
The only time that it is REALLY hard to get past the first two inches of cocking the rifle is right after a dry fire. Every other time is done COMPLETELY wthout using the amount of force I described first. I compared it to my friend's Norc and the problem seems to be on my rifle only. Like I said, the problem is the first two inches, just enough for the bolt to move out of the locked position. There are no rough spots on the roller guide and the rifle was never hit on that spot to make it so, guaranteed.
 
Mine does the exact same thing, about half way though re-cocking it, it seems like it sticks and more force is required to follow through.

My guess is it just takes that extra force to reset the hammer. Remember it takes a decent amount of force to re-#### the hammer, even manually by your hand. The hammer is also applying alot of force against the bolt all the way though until the sear catches the hammer and resets. It makes sense to me anyway that, that is what is causing the problem.
 
50calshooter said:
My guess is it just takes that extra force to reset the hammer. Remember it takes a decent amount of force to re-#### the hammer, even manually by your hand.
Click to expand...

I think we have a winner here....... ;) :D

There will be more "op rod" resistance if the hammer needs to be re-cocked.

Once you have cycled the action back and cocked the hammer, cycling the action will take less effort..........
 
I suspect, as in previous posts that the difficulty is the force to draw back the hammer on the trigger assembly. Try this. With the rifle in an uncocked state, look at the side of the rifle (the op-rod side) and under the stripper clip guide (or under the sight) you will see the hammer resting against the bolt and firing pin. Now, pull back on the op-rod and watch the bolt push back on the hammer. Once the hammer is pushed back into cocking position, pulling back on the op-rod gets much easier, right? It should be about 2.5" of travel too, right?

Did that help?

With regard to the little dimple, it is from the bolt. Check the underside of your bolt. You will see a little rail on the underside of the bolt that will correspond to that dimple. What is happening, particularly on the Norky op-rods, the bolt is essentially being "pounded" open. You should also see a corresponding hammering mark on the inside of the op-rod. I smoothened mine out a bit in my new op-rod and voila, the marks did not get bigger and the bolt operation got really smooth.
 
It's a battle rifle. Tolerances that produce metal wear on those things should be taken with a load of salt. Shoot it and if scores well then that should be your main concern.
 
sobo4303 said:
I suspect, as in previous posts that the difficulty is the force to draw back the hammer on the trigger assembly. Try this. With the rifle in an uncocked state, look at the side of the rifle (the op-rod side) and under the stripper clip guide (or under the sight) you will see the hammer resting against the bolt and firing pin. Now, pull back on the op-rod and watch the bolt push back on the hammer. Once the hammer is pushed back into cocking position, pulling back on the op-rod gets much easier, right? It should be about 2.5" of travel too, right?

Did that help?

With regard to the little dimple, it is from the bolt. Check the underside of your bolt. You will see a little rail on the underside of the bolt that will correspond to that dimple. What is happening, particularly on the Norky op-rods, the bolt is essentially being "pounded" open. You should also see a corresponding hammering mark on the inside of the op-rod. I smoothened mine out a bit in my new op-rod and voila, the marks did not get bigger and the bolt operation got really smooth.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info. I was just concerned that something other than cocking was the issue as it seems like I have to use plenty of force to #### it and I noticed the dimple for the first time. Did you dremel the dimple a bit to smooth it out?
 
I'm on my blackberry so can't see the dimple pic too well.

Things to check when a rifle just seems very hard to ####.
The first inch or so of rearward travel of the oprod moves the bolt back and as it does, the bolt tail comes into contact with the hammer. As the hammer is pushed back, you get spring compression in the trigger group. So at this point , in the first inch of travel, you are compressing two springs (oprod/hammer) and camming the hammer with the bolt tail. Resistance can vary , but I would expect it in a new rifle. If you feel that the resistance is too great, there are inspection points that can be measured to determine if this resistance can be relieved somewhat.

Hammer spring- many chinese springs are slightly overlength. Measure with caliper. 2.0" is absolute minimum length. I think Maximum is 2.14" but I'm on the road without my manuals.
A slight variation in hammer spring length can really be felt in terms of hammer camming resistance. Ensure spring ends are 90 degrees to spring body

Second things is the stock itself. Again , my notes are at home, but the stock has a minimum and maximum measurement between the heel (back of receiver) and the rear trigger bearing pads. Off the top of my head, it's around 1.7". At the same time, the front trigger pads must be parallel to the rear pad and forward receiver bearing pads.
If there is insufficient space between heel and rear pad, the bolt/hammer interface is too close together and difficulty cocking the rifle by hand is a symptom of this.
Also , if front and rear trigger pads are not parallel to each other, the trigger can sit at a slightly opposed angle which also contributes to a difficulty in cocking the rifle.

Not saying the above is what's happening with your rifle, but these are inspection points to verify when the issue you describe shows itself.

I tried to p.m. You last week when you messaged me but my inbox capped out and the long response I typed did not go thru LOL
 
I say once and for all, Hungry should do a drag through the mud, the brush, ice, snow, and water immersion youtube vid of a Chinese M14. We need to get this image of the M14 as light weight paper puncher that needs to cleaned by angels with Q-tips GONE!
 
With regard to the little dimple, it is from the bolt. Check the underside of your bolt
Click to expand...

That's exactly what it is, totally normal, no worries.

Next time you stip her, run the bolt back & forth slowly without the Op Rod (so you can see)

Two square angles cannot rotate without a rub. It is bolt to receiver mating :D

Here is mine with close to 7000 rounds and she runs like a clock. You'll find it on all M1A's, including uber expensive Springfield $3000 Super Matches ;)

DSCI0046.jpg


Note: This is a lubrication point along with the lug on the receiver which the bolt locks into. The mating right & left lug surfaces of the bolt and receiver require lube.
High Temp Heavy duty bearing grease (green in colour) in a small tub from Cdn Tire with a Q-Tip works perfect ;)

Did you dremel the dimple a bit to smooth it out?
Click to expand...

NO! Everything is fine.......:D
 
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No..I did not...I repeat NOT...touch the little dimple. I went to a clinic and was told by the best that it was normal. If you remove the bolt, or look on the underside of it, you will see a little "ridge", which is by design. You will see that it corresponds to the dimple on the receiver.

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What I did dremel very, very carefully, was the little ridges inside of my new op-rod so that the bolt was "guided" out of and into battery, not slammed. I only did this because I was blowing the rollers on the bolt. If you are not blowing rollers, then leave it alone.

Picture002-3.jpg


Here is a picture of the blown roller on the new bolt. Notice the underside, you can see the ridge I was referring to earlier.

Now go out and shoot that thing worry free. :D ;)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to do a little measuring this week-end just to satisfy my curiosity but now that I've seen all the photos you guys posted I'm glad to know I don't have a rifle with a down syndrome. I'll be taking her out next week and will post the range reports.

Many thanks!
 
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