I just got one of those new m14 shorties. i was going to bed it, but discovered that the plastic stock does not have any "meat" where I would normally drill some holes to take bedding compound.
So I reverted to an old target shooing trick, first perfected with the Garand, but works on M14 too.
As you know, when you cam the trigger guard shut, you clamp the receiver onto the stock. If two pieces of thin cardboard (like a ammo box flap) are placed on the trigger guard clamping surfaces, the clamping pressure can be increased.
What I did was paint the metal with a coat of contact glue, and then put the cardboard on the tacky surfaces. The rifle was then assembled and left over night for the glue to dry. These pictures were taken when I took the rifle apart to trim the surplus cardboard off with a sharp knife.
At the same time a piece of cardboard was put under the receiver to increase the clamping pressure. I used some contact cement on the bottom rails of the receiver to hold the cardboard in place. After clamping overnight, the cardboard is ready for trimming around the outside and inside of the receiver.
Total cost : About 5 cents and 20 minutes.
I will re-test the rifle and see if grouping improves.
The send modification will be to the front sight. The front sight post is very high.
The rear sight is also quite high when the rifle is zeroed at 100 yards. To test this theory, I installed a different front sight that sits 0.200" lower than the original. (That is almost a quarter inch lower!)
With the rear sight cranked all the way to the bottom, the rifle shoot slightly low at 100 yards. I am guessing it will take 3 or 4 clicks to re-zero the sight, so 0.200" lower is about perfect for this rifle.
My plan is to cut the post off the front sight and to install a ring sight. I have done this to some other rifles and find that so long as the aperture is large, it makes for a great general purpose front sight.
The way this is done is to take a regular aperture insert:
and then trim away most of the outer ring, leaving an aperture on a post that can be soldered into a slot in the front sight base.
If the aperture is big enough, it can be used on any kind of target. if you can see it inside the ring, you will hit it.
I will update after the sight is fabricated and test shot.
So I reverted to an old target shooing trick, first perfected with the Garand, but works on M14 too.
As you know, when you cam the trigger guard shut, you clamp the receiver onto the stock. If two pieces of thin cardboard (like a ammo box flap) are placed on the trigger guard clamping surfaces, the clamping pressure can be increased.

What I did was paint the metal with a coat of contact glue, and then put the cardboard on the tacky surfaces. The rifle was then assembled and left over night for the glue to dry. These pictures were taken when I took the rifle apart to trim the surplus cardboard off with a sharp knife.

At the same time a piece of cardboard was put under the receiver to increase the clamping pressure. I used some contact cement on the bottom rails of the receiver to hold the cardboard in place. After clamping overnight, the cardboard is ready for trimming around the outside and inside of the receiver.


Total cost : About 5 cents and 20 minutes.
I will re-test the rifle and see if grouping improves.
The send modification will be to the front sight. The front sight post is very high.

The rear sight is also quite high when the rifle is zeroed at 100 yards. To test this theory, I installed a different front sight that sits 0.200" lower than the original. (That is almost a quarter inch lower!)


With the rear sight cranked all the way to the bottom, the rifle shoot slightly low at 100 yards. I am guessing it will take 3 or 4 clicks to re-zero the sight, so 0.200" lower is about perfect for this rifle.
My plan is to cut the post off the front sight and to install a ring sight. I have done this to some other rifles and find that so long as the aperture is large, it makes for a great general purpose front sight.

The way this is done is to take a regular aperture insert:

and then trim away most of the outer ring, leaving an aperture on a post that can be soldered into a slot in the front sight base.

If the aperture is big enough, it can be used on any kind of target. if you can see it inside the ring, you will hit it.
I will update after the sight is fabricated and test shot.
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